Many of her research papers have been published focusing on abating the spread of cholera in the developing world by developing ways to track its spread and researching inexpensive methods for filtrating out the infections agents of cholera in water systems. Some of these tracking methods include observing weather patterns, surface water temperatures, chlorophyll concentrations, and rainfall patterns. Colwell's findings of correlations between these phenomena showed that the infection rate of cholera is connected to water temperatures. This rising temperature causes algae blooms that host cholera bacteria, and rainfall and extreme weather patterns aid in spreading infectious hosts of cholera among water systems. Colwell also concluded that climate change will have a profound impact on the spread of cholera.