[3] Her research interests are organic geochemistry, isotopic biogeochemistry, paleoclimate and astrobiology.
[4] Freeman then did a postdoc at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (Savannah, Georgia) in 1990-91, and subsequently joined Pennsylvania State University in 1991.
[7] Freeman is a fellow of the American Geophysical Union (2013),[8] The Geochemical Society[9] and European Association of Geochemistry (2011),[10] American Academy of Microbiology (2011),[11] John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (2010),[12] Geological Society of America (2007), and Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (2001).
[13] Her paper titled "Water, plants, and early human habitats in eastern Africa"[14] earned the 2012 Cozzarelli Prize for Physical and Mathematical Sciences.
[16] She received the 2017 Alfred Treibs Award from the Geochemical Society for her contributions to organic geochemistry.