She is a biophysical surface chemist who studies interfacial interactions in biological systems. In particular, she used model membranes to understand the mechanisms of action of antimicrobial peptides on bacterial cells with the aim of designing new antibiotics and the impact of environmental pollutants (small molecule oxidants and airborne nanoparticulate) on the biophysical function of lung surfactant membranes. Finally, this knowledge of biological membranes is applied to functionalize nanoparticles for biocompatibility and surfaces for biosensing.