Gosia joined Queen's University Ionic Liquid Laboratories at Queen's University Belfast as a PhD student of Professor Ken Seddon, studying acidic ionic liquids for industrial catalytic processes. Having graduated in 2009, Gosia was appointed as a post-doctoral researcher in QUILL, and offered the opportunity to develop her own project on metal-containing ionic liquids, looking at their speciation, Lewis acidity measurements and applications in both catalysis and synthesis of inorganic materials. In 2011 she became a project leader, working with a small team on the synthesis of lubricant base oils, sponsored firstly by Petronas and then by Evonik. In parallel, she developed her research into main group chemistry in ionic liquids. 

Dr Lagunas has broad research interests including synthetic coordination chemistry, luminescence, molecular sensors, ionic liquids and inorganic electrochemistry. Her work includes the preparation of optical sensing molecules able to detect volatile compounds, such as acetylene and ethylene, or biologically relevant metals, such as copper or zinc. These molecular sensors work by changing colour or luminescence in the presence of the analyte. Dr Lagunas has also undergone innovative fundamental research on the relationships between the structures of metal compounds and their luminescent properties and published the first EXAFS studies showing evidence of the presence of weak metal---metal contacts in solution. She also carries out collaborative research in ionic liquids (e.g., preparation of metal nanoparticles and speciation of metal compounds in ionic liquids), and in the environmentally friendly synthesis of pharmaceutical compounds.