Bonning conducts fundamental and applied research on insect physiology and insect pathology with the goal of developing novel, environmentally benign alternatives to chemical insecticides for insect pest management. Her research has included the study of insecticidal toxins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis, insect small RNA, optimization of insect viruses for pest management, insect virus discovery and the use of viral proteins for development of insect resistant transgenic plants.