In her more than thirty years at UAB (since 1978), Dr. Doss has specialized in United States History–Middle Period (1815-1877). Her research focuses on American history and in particular Southern history. Her book Cotton City: Urban Development in Antebellum Mobile (University of Alabama Press, 1985) was reprinted in 2001 with a new Preface by the author. Dr. Doss was awarded UAB's President's Award for Excellence in Teaching, School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the Alabama Association of Historians' John F. Ramsey Award of Merit "in recognition of superior, significant, and sustained contributions to the teaching and study of history in the state of Alabama." Her research has been supported by grants from the American Association for State and Local History, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her research has been awarded the Milo B. Howard Jr. Award from the Alabama Historical Association and Elizabeth Gould Research Award from the Mobile Historic Development Commission.