She is known for researching the effects of atmospheric pollutants, including ozone and carbon dioxide, on the productivity of selected major crops such as corn and soybeans.

[3] She was a doctoral student under the supervision of Stephen P. Long at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign,[5] before spending a year as a Humboldt Fellow at Juelich Research Center.

[7] As part of SoyFACE Ainsworth leads an open-air laboratory that allows her to grow plants in atmospheric conditions that are similar to those predicted to be present in 2050.

[3] SoyFACE is a multi-faceted facility that develops methods for studying crop responses to global atmospheric and climate change in the field.

[6][13] She has led summer camps for high school girls (Pollen Power) to teach young people about plant science and the Earth's future climate.