Dr. Wackerbarth's research focuses on decision-making in complex environments marked by uncertainty or scientific ambiguity. Her current research projects explore complicated health care decisions. They include a study funded by the Centers for Disease Control to investigate pain management decisions and projects funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Cancer Society to model patient and provider decisions regarding colorectal cancer screening.

Her teaching interests include decision analysis, organizational change, and strategic planning.

Dr. Wackerbarth has joint appointments with the College of Pharmacy, the Gerontology graduate program, and the College of Medicine Department of Behavioral Science. She is also Director of Graduate Studies for the MHA program and a consultant for the Martin School's Center for Nonprofit Leadership.