Her focuses on obesity, specifically how patient obesity influences the healthcare experience, the efficacy of commercial weight-loss programs, and how features of the built and social environment influence diet and exercise habits among low-income urban populations. Her research has won several awards, in addition to being featured by news outlets including The New York Times and National Public Radio. She has been recognized for her outstanding mentoring of trainees with the 2015 Frederick L. Brancati Excellence in Mentoring Award at Johns Hopkins.