Dr. Deng has research interests in high resolution simulation of precipitation, Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) and air-sea interactions. The recently released Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Version 3.5 is being used in her current research, with a focus on high resolution simulation of heavy rainfall around the eastern coast of Red Sea. In her previous research at  Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, she worked on the installation and evaluation of a shallow cumulus parameterization in the WRF Version 3.2.1. Also, ground-based optical rain gauge, radar and lidar datasets from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Tropical Western Pacific (TWP) site of Manaus were used in her studies to examine the evolution of rainfall and clouds associated with the MJO. 

Dr Deng's Ph.D. work at Iowa State University focused on investigating the effects of convective processes on General Circulation Model (GCM) simulations of the MJO with three modifications in the convection scheme: convective momentum transport (CMT), revised convection closure, and convection trigger condition. The related mechanism was discussed through the analysis of perturbation kinetic energy (PKE) and moist static energy (MSE).