Her current research interests include the relationship between social threat and social control, the effect of inequality on crime, theoretical criminology, and the death penalty. Her research on sentencing inequality has been published in journals such as Justice Quarterly and the Journal of Quantitative Criminology. In addition to her academic endeavors, she has extensive field experience in the criminal justice system, including work as a legislative analyst, as a crime intelligence analyst, and as an academic instructor in both male and female correctional institutions.