[3] Dolšak studies the aggregation and governance of common pool resources, including practices such as community action, social capital, market-based instruments, traditional regulatory policies, and the effects of globalization.

She focuses on political and economic factors that influence the adoption of environmental policies such as the mitigation of global climate change.

[9][10] Dolšak attended Indiana University Bloomington, from which she received a Joint Ph.D. in Public Policy and International Relations in 2000.

[11] Dolšak joined the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs (SMEA) at the University of Washington in 2010.

[1][3] In 2022, Dolšak was appointed to the Coastal Marine Advisory Council by the Governor of Washington, Jay Inslee.