She was a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute for Society and Genetics at University of California, Los Angeles where her expertise was social movements, technology, and the use of DNA ancestry tests by white supremacists.

[6] After Data and Society, Donovan went on to Harvard Kennedy School, leading its Technology and Social Change Research Project and teaching a class entitled, Media Manipulation and Disinformation Campaigns.

Donovan co-authored a widely-read study that demonstrated that a significant number of participants in the January 6 attack on the Capitol were driven by their support for Donald Trump.

In September 2021, Donovan released a book entitled, Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America, with co-authors Emily Dreyfuss and Brian Friedberg.

[11][12] In a legal filing sent to both the Massachusetts Attorney General's office as well as the federal United States Department of Education, Donovan alleged that financial pressure from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative led to her being pushed out of Harvard.