A graduate of UCD, Dr Porter completed specialist training in anaesthesia and intensive care in Ireland, an MD degree in University College Cork and undertook clinical and research Fellowship training in the University of Toronto and University Health Network, Canada in ultrasound-guided regional anaesthesia, obstetric and ambulatory anaesthesia, before returning to Dublin to take up her post in St James's Hospital.

Dr Porter developed pre-operative assessment and prescribing guidelines, discharge criteria and post-discharge follow-up procedures when the Day Surgery Unit in St James’s Hospital was established in 2005. She undertook mentorship training in 2017 and established mentorship and wellbeing programmes for anaesthesia trainees in St James's Hospital in 2018.

Dr Porter has held college tutor roles (College of Anaesthesiologists in Ireland, 2005-2013). Other roles in the College of Anaesthesiologists include:

• Simulation teaching faculty membership since 2010
• Leading the Multidisciplinary Anaesthesia and Surgery Operation Training (2014-2020)
• Anaesthesia emergencies since 2020
• Faculty on Consultants Simulation Training since 2015
• Faculty on National Airway Leads training.

Dr Porter was an examiner for both Membership (MCAI) 2000-2016 and Fellowship (2010-2016) postgraduate anaesthesia exams.

• She is on the Faculty for the National Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) Instructors' course, based in RCSI and the teaching faculty for the RCSI Boot Camp for Surgical Trainees.
• She is on the teaching faculty for the TCD undergraduate Trauma Evaluation and Management (TEAM).
• In 2018, she established an anaesthesia safety and quality case-based reporting and learning forum and runs in-situ simulation sessions based in the operating room for students, interns and trainees.
• Other teaching initiatives include simulation-based airway training for novices in anaesthesia and the development of small group workshop skills' teaching, adapted for pandemic education.
• Dr Porter runs an annual simulation session for the TCD Transition Year Programme for students (since 2013).
• She contributes to the Creative Life programme for the Mercers' Institute for Successful Ageing in St James's Hospital through music facilitation and performance, both on-site and online for staff and patients.

Dr Porter has been the lead for anaesthesia undergraduate teaching in TCD since 2017, and for anaesthesia postgraduate teaching at the St James's Hospital campus since 2018.

• Anaesthesia education
• Human factors in perioperative care
• Simulation training
• The development of quality and safety case-based learning
• Advanced airway management training
• Regional anaesthesia
• Perioperative applications of ultrasound and trauma management.

Dr Porter completed a MSc in Human Factors in Patient Safety at RSCI in 2020 and is a member of a Patient Safety Focus Group at the College of Anaesthesiologists and a Human Factors in Patient Safety Group (RCSI). She contributed to the Helsinki Declaration on Patient Safety in Anaesthesiology Project (2020-2021).

Earlier research was focused on the non-neural effects of the aminoamide local anaesthetic agent, Ropivacaine, including effects on coagulation and fibrinolysis through the design of in vitro models, the mechanism of cardiotoxicity mechanisms, pharmacological reversal, quantification of placental transfer, neonatal neurobehavioural effects and effects on neutrophil apoptosis postoperatively. More recently, Dr Porter’s focus has been on enhancing anaesthesia education and perioperative safety, with emphasis on human factors and simulation-based education.