Vyshali’s scholarship and performance art are primarily focused on discourses around chronic pain and fatigue, Euro-Western ocularcentrism and the logic of cure, and pain, language, and academic style, with research and teaching interests in disability studies, electronic literature, graphic novels, war and trauma narratives, consumer media culture, and trolling culture. Her creative work frequently uses fictocriticism, creative nonfiction, and lyric forms to explore issues of embodiment, queerness, hybridity, access, and intergenerational trauma stemming from the Tamil genocide.

Outside of teaching and writing, Vyshali also engages in advocacy efforts by organizations like People for Equality and Relief in Lanka and ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) Action and works on issues of access and equitable labor, particularly for disabled students and NTT faculty. She has volunteered with the Asian American Writers’ Workshop and written antiracist and feminist statements, access guides, faculty labor guidelines, and digital codes of conduct. She also dabbles in visual arts and video game writing.