Her research focuses on numerical algorithms and software for the parallel solution of large-scale scientific applications involving nonlinear partial differential equations and related optimization problems in the PETSc/TAO libraries. More broadly, her work focuses on high-performance computational science, with emphasis on scalable numerical libraries and community collaboration toward productive and sustainable software ecosystems.

Lois serves as co-PI of the PESO project, a newly-funded five-year post-ECP software-ecosystem stewardship and advancement project; she also serves on the leadership team of the Consortium for the Advancement of Scientific Software (CASS).

During 2020-2023, Lois served as Deputy Director of the Software Technology focus area of the DOE Exascale Computing Project (ECP). She also served on the leadership team of the ECP Broadening Participation Initiative:
Powering HPC discoveries through scientific software ecosystems and communities (slides from an invited presentation at SC21, Nov 2021)
Broadening Participation in HPC: Together we can make a difference (slides from an invited presentation at SC23, Nov 2023)