Personally, Dr. Macintosh's research focusses on the study of extrasolar planets, in particular the study of such planets through direct imaging, and on using adaptive optics to shape the wavefronts of light for a variety of applications. Direct imaging of extrasolar planets involves blocking, suppressing, and subtracting the light of the bright parent star so that a planet hundreds of thousands of times fainter can be seen and studied in detail. Dr. Macintosh co-led the team that imaged the first extrasolar planets, and was the Principal Investigator of the Gemini Planet Imager an advanced adaptive optics planet-finder for the Gemini South telescope,. HHe has been very active in astrophysics science policy, including serving on the Steering Commitee of the 2020 Decadal Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics. Dr. Macintosh believes strongly in making astronomy and physics more inclusive, diverse and supportive.