Dr Charles' research seeks to improve access to sustainable water and sanitation systems, particularly in low-income urban settlements, employing interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches to tackle these complex socio-ecological and socio-technical systems.
Dr Charles is the co-director of the REACH: Improving water security for the poor programme, and leads the research on water security challenges in Ethiopia. Her work has been funded by the World Health Organization, DFID, UK Research Councils (NERC/ESRC), and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and includes work in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nepal, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.