She has worked closely with the HCRU for many years and has an interest in studying communication processes in healthcare contexts using methods from the social sciences. Her research has focused on a variety of topics, including informed consent practices with vulnerable populations, cross-cultural healthcare interactions and interpreting practices, cultural understandings of illness, monitoring and evaluating healthcare practices, and developing communication skills training programmes for healthcare teams. Watermeyer’s current research involves a number of collaborative multidisciplinary projects, including research into communication practices in TB care contexts. She is a National Research Foundation (NRF) Y-rated researcher.