Dr Balkau is the author of more than 500 peer-reviewed articles. She is the Principal Investigator of the D.E.S.I.R. Study (Data on an Epidemiological Study of the Insulin Resistance syndrome), a 9-year longitudinal study of 5200 people recruited in 1994, and is an investigator and member of the project management board of the EGIR-RISC (European Group for the study of Insulin Resistance - Relationship between Insulin Sensitivity and Cardiovascular risk) a prospective study of 1300 people with insulin resistance measured by the hyperinsulinaemiceuglycaemic clamp at baseline and followed for cardiovascular events and progression of the atherosclerosis. DrBalkau was also one of the principal investigators in the DECODE study, a meta-analysis of existing European epidemiological studies to investigate the diagnostic criteria for diabetes. She currently collaborates with the E3N cohort study, the French contribution to the EPIC and InterAct studies, for research work on diabetes. She spends time in Australia where she works with the diabetes group at the Baker IDI heart and diabetes institute in Melbourne.