Sudoyo is a Principal Investigator at the Genome Diversity and Diseases Laboratory of Mochtar Riady Institute of Nanotechnology. Previously, she was the Deputy for Fundamental Research at Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology. She was also the head of the Forensic DNA Laboratory and Principal Investigator at Genome Diversity and Diseases Laboratory at Eijkman.

      She specializes in mitochondria DNA as a powerful genetic marker for population studies. She has specific interests in fundamental information concerning the formation of functional mitochondrial to understand mitochondrial diseases and their diagnostic and therapeutic implications. Herawati also has a big passion for studying the genetic diversity of Indonesian populations, particularly on its association with disease resistance and susceptibility as well as tracing human migration. Her research team is dubbed "Gene Hunter" and has been collecting samples from many places throughout the archipelago, including very remote areas.

      Using DNA markers, Herawati also played a significant role in perpetrator identification of the 2004 Australian Embassy bombing case which subsequently led her to establish the Forensic DNA Laboratory at Eijkman Institute. She also initiates research on Indonesian wildlife forensics and population studies. Sudoyo is an active member of various local and international organizations, consortiums, and scientific panels on forensics DNA, bio-risk and biosafety, human genetics, and molecular biology network. Sudoyo is an Honorary Associate Professor from Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Australia.