Star formation
Elmegreen is particularly interested in Star formation and star forming galaxies. In 1997, Elmegreen published an astronomy textbook for undergraduates titled, "Galaxies and Galactic Structure", through Prentice Hall. Elmegreen has also published over 200 academic papers. She was president of the American Astronomical Society from 2010-2012, and was appointed as a board member of the 2010 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey through the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.