Dr. Summers strives to increase our knowledge of childhood eye diseases in order to improve treatment. In addition to providing eye care, she is involved in research on eye diseases that affect children, including research in reducing disparities in eye care.

Dr. Summers is part of the Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group, a collaborative network dedicated to facilitating multicenter clinical research in strabismus, amblyopia and other pediatric eye disorders. The network of over 100 participating sites is funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), a part of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Summers also collaborates with Public Health colleagues at Mae Fah Luang University in Thailand to study ways to improve health literacy and healthcare education.