Deborah Phillips' main interests are in early child development, environmental influences on development, child poverty, and the intersection of child development and public policy. She is currently involved in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's multi-site, longitudinal study of the developmental effects of child care and continues her research on the child care workforce. She is also interested in the care of young children with disabilities.

Professor Phillips has served on numerous task forces and advisory groups that address child and family policy issues, including the Task Force on Meeting the Needs of Young Children of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Research Task Force of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Advisory Committee on Head Start Quality and Expansion. Prior to joining the Department of Psychology, Professor Phillips directed the Board on Children, Youth, and Families at the National Academy of Sciences and has held positions in the U.S. Congress, Yale University's Bush Center in Child Development and Social Policy, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Her co-edited volume, From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Child Development, was published in 2000 by the National Academy Press.