She is a decision scientist and epidemiologist who uses mathematical models to inform policy. She is interested in the distribution of modifiable risk factors such as diet, exercise, and preventive screening, and in how these factors affect disease risk across the population and in subgroups. She focuses on obesity and cardiovascular disease prevention, particularly obesity strategies and policies for children and adolescents and cost-effectiveness research. One research areas is sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, and the health and economic implications of levying excise taxes on these beverages. She chairs the Epidemiology Section of the Obesity Society and is a 2015–16 Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow.