Dr Patricia Menéndez  is a Senior Lecturer in Statistics (Data Science) in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Melbourne.

Her research spans statistical methodology, computational statistics, machine learning, and data visualisation, with a strong focus on real-world applications in climate change, environmental science, marine ecosystems, and criminology.

Educated in Spain, Japan, and Switzerland, Patricia earned her PhD in Mathematics from ETH Zurich and was awarded a prestigious Monbukagakusho Scholarship by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). She has held academic positions at the Public University of Navarre, UNSW, University of Queensland, and Monash University, and has also worked as a statistician for the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research and the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

Patricia is passionate about interdisciplinary collaboration and the development of statistical tools that support evidence-based decision-making. Her recent work includes interdisciplinary applications ranging from health inequality and coral reef monitoring to flood risk analysis and visualisation methods. She is also a dedicated educator, committed to fostering statistical literacy and mentoring the next generation of data scientists.