Her areas of expertise include seagrass ecology, hydrodynamically-mediated processes in seagrass beds and coastal plant communities in a globally-changing world. Projects she is currently working on include the impact of coastal structures on submersed aquatic vegetation, and habitat requirements needed to improve seagrass restoration, especially the sediment they colonize. She is also working on conditions necessary for the successful recruitment and establishment of seagrass seeds. She is a member of the Estuarine Research Federation, the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, the American Geological Union, and Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society. She previously worked on the NRC Committee on Mitigating Shore Erosion Along Sheltered Coasts. Dr. Koch received her Ph.D. in Marine Science from the University of South Florida.