Topalova specializes in the area of homeland security, criminal justice and public safety information sharing. She is a vice chair of the IJIS Institute Emerging Technologies Committee and a member of the IJIS Institute Technical Advisory Committee. Topalova is an IJIS Institute national representative to the Global Infrastructure and Standards Working Group Services Implementation Committee (GISWG-SIC) and Services Task Team (GISWG-STT) under the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative. She is also a member of the Global Federated Identity and Privilege Management Delivery Team (GFIPM DT).