Her research interests include injury prevention, community interventions and health behaviors with emphasis on high-risk populations. She has been principal investigator in recent studies of the Seattle campaign to encourage booster seat use for young passengers and a multi-site community intervention to improve child passenger safety in Latino communities. She is also the principal investigator for several studies measuring the health care costs of unrestrained motor vehicle occupants. Ebel received a master's in science in development economics from Oxford University in 1989, her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and the MIT Health Sciences and Technology Program in 1996, and a master's in public health from the University of Washington in 2001.