Her research addresses fundamental questions about the evolution and maintenance of biological diversity in aquatic systems. She has made contributions to research in three main areas: 1) the genetics of aquatic invasions and habitat transitions; 2) the nature and scale of recombination and mutation rate variation across genomes, populations, and species; and 3) speciation in ancient lakes. Her current research goals continue the advancement of these research directions while investigating the evolutionary consequences of multiple stressors in freshwater ecosystems.