In 2002, Ott joined the Gladstone Institutes, an independent research center affiliated with University of California, San Francisco.
[2] Ott has worked to understand HIV transcription and viral latency within host cells as targets to eradicate the spread of the virus.
[6] Her laboratory has been exploring repurposing cancer drug therapies that target epigenetic machinery to reactivate latent HIV provirus.
[8] In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ott and her team of collaborators worked to reequip and recertify an unused biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) research laboratory at University of California, San Francisco in order to study SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19.
[9] Her team also received training in how to work with the virus without risking infection, though Ott has commented to the press that the limited stock of personal protective equipment is a cause for concern as they proceed with their research.
[8][11] She is also collaborating with Jennifer Doudna at University of California, Berkeley to develop a rapid CRISPR-based diagnostic test for the virus that would show results within 30 minutes.