In her research she is developing tools that can be used for screening of marine natural products as a source of potential new drugs using several innovative assays that measure anti-inflammatory properties. In addition, several members of Lena¿s laboratory are actively using modern techniques to determine mechanism of action and specific protein targets of selected natural products, in particular, marine natural products showing anti-inflammatory activity. Her research interests also involve the evolution and functional aspects of innate immunity and its role in inflammation.