Dr. Michels has expertise in epidemiologic methods, and epigenetic, nutritional, and cancer epidemiology. Her research focuses on women's health.

Dr. Michels is one of the co-founders of the area of epigenetic epidemiology and has made seminal contributions to the methods used in this field. Her research addresses the role of epigenetics in the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD). The Michels' lab studied the impact of events during perinatal life on the establishment of the epigenome.