Her research combines the disciplines of paleontology, comparative anatomy, and development to formulate and test phylogenetic hypotheses of interrelationships of fishes. She is particularly concerned with assessing the role that fossils play in the interpretation of modern biodiversity and phylogenetics, as well as the role that phenotypic variation plays in the interpretation of vertebrate fossils and systematics. Current projects involve collaborations on the evolution of various Gondwanan fishes and a new direction using geometric morphometrics to detect clinical pathologies and treatment progression in human subjects.