Owens' postdoctoral work sparked her specific interest in a critical group of enzymes, called UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (abbreviated UGTs), which allow the body to detoxify harmful drugs, chemicals, and other toxins.[1][2] By designing methods to research the genes that code for specific UGT enzymes, she identified a complex of 13 genes known as UGT1A.[4] Her lab showed that one of these genes, UGT1A1, processes the protein bilirubin, which is a breakdown product of hemoglobin.[4]