[1] Whitchurch studies bacteria and the ways in which their behavior coordinates to form biofilms, an area with importance for the treatment of infection and the use of antibiotics.

[citation needed] Her team employs a range of techniques, including molecular biology, large-scale mutant library screens, high-throughput drug library screens, infection models, biofilm models, tissue and organoid culture, fluorescence microscopy, super-resolution microscopy, live-cell imaging, histology, and fluorescence in situ hybridization.

[5] At the Singapore Centre For Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE), Whitchurch leads a research team focusing on alternate bacterial lifestyles, including biofilms and cell wall deficiency.

This research will further our mechanistic understanding of these biological processes and their contribution to biofilm development, host colonization, infection, and antimicrobial resistance.

[citation needed] One of the bacteria that Whitchurch studies is Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a common bacterium which has developed a dangerous antibiotic-resistant strain or superbug.

[13] In addition to using sophisticated microscopes, Whitchurch and her team have developed computer programs to analyze data to segment, identify, track and analyse the movements of bacterial cells.

[3][14] Her team at SCELSE employs a range of techniques including molecular biology, large-scale mutant library screens, high-throughput drug library screens, infection models, biofilm models, tissue and organoid culture, fluorescence microscopy, super-resolution microscopy, live-cell imaging, histology, and fluorescence in situ hybridization to carry out their research.

[citation needed] In 2016, Whitchurch, Lynne Turnbull and other researchers from Australia, Japan and Switzerland discovered that the bacterium P. aeruginosa can actively explode, widely distributing its contents when it dies.

"[15]Whitchurch received the R Douglas Wright Career Development Award (2004-2008) from the National Health and Medical Research Council.