Her laboratory studies the function of the posterior parietal cortex in cognitive processes such as decision-making and multisensory integration.

One of her discoveries is that individual neurons in rodent posterior parietal cortex can multitask i.e. play a role in multiple behaviors.

[13] Afterwards, from 2004 to 2010, Churchland worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington's Physiology and Biophysics department for Dr. Michael Shadlen.

She continued her research on primates to study sensory decision making, which included both experimental and theoretical work.

Churchland's lab measures and manipulates neurons in the cortical region, while rodents make decisions on external stimuli.

[18][19] McKnight Scholar Award (2012) [20][21] Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences by The Pew Charitable Trusts (2014) [22][23] Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship in the Neurosciences from the Simons Foundation and the Esther A. and Joseph Klingenstein Fund (2014) [22][24] The Louise Hanson Marshall Special Recognition Award from the Society of Neuroscience (2017)[19][18]