Currently, she leads a lab in Princeton University that researches in Quorum Sensing: the process of cell-cell communication in Bacteria. Bassler's discoveries are described as "opening new vistas in basic science, but also of practical significance." As antibiotic resistance in human pathogens continues to be a significant challenge in research, Bassler's research contributed new and exciting strategies for treating bacterial disease. Bassler has received numerous awards, but most recently she was awarded the Gruber Genetics Prize. Within Bassler's lab, they focus on intra- and inter-species communication, self versus non-self recognition, information transferring, and population level cooperation. She focuses on five related research topics: How Bacteria Distinguish Self from Other: Ligand-Receptor Interactions, Dynamics: Small RNA Regulation of Quorum Sensing, Biofilms Under Flow and the Public Goods Dilemma, Manipulation of Quorum Sensing on Demand, and Micriblome Quorum Sensing and Inter-Kingdom Communication.