Her research has explored the connections between the destructive and creative forces of war. Through it, she has sought to understand how war fosters and often requires innovation, from its perpetrators and its victims alike, both as violence unfolds and after arms are laid to rest. Much of her work centers on the phenomena of missing persons and the forensic efforts to recover them, subjects that have urged an interdisciplinary approach to studying the scientific, social, and political processes of post-conflict repair.