The goal of Irene's research is to provide a long-term and large-scale understanding of the structure and functioning of lakes as well as insight into how human activities alter these ecosystems. To achieve these goals, Irene's group combines contemporary limnological studies with analyses of the sediment record. Her work incorporates physical, chemical and biological aspects, but in large part focuses on organismal responses to biotic and abiotic drivers. Her work in paleolimnology has applied primarily classical approaches, but she has recently entered the world of environmental DNA.