Prof. Hlavacek-Larrondo is an expert in the study of big black holes – those that lie at the centres of massive galaxies. She uses a combination of X-ray (e.g. Chandra, XMM-Newton, Rosat), radio (e.g. JVLA, GMRT, ATCA) and optical observations (e.g. HST, VLT) for her work. Her ultimate goal is to provide a detailed view on the role black hole feedback plays in the formation and evolution of galaxies, from heating to metal entrainment, as well as black hole growth. Other topics she works on include observational signatures of radio halos in cluster mergers, hyper-luminours infrared galaxies, numerical simulations of jets, and compact objects in general.
She was raised in Montreal and is originally half-Chilean, half-Czech.