Godwin started her academic career at Northwestern University. She was the first woman to be hired into a tenure-track position, and in 2004 was the first woman to be made Chair of the Chemistry Department. She was made a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor in 2002. Whilst at Northwestern University she began research into lead poisoning, and particularly how it impacts children. At the time Godwin lived in Evanston, Illinois, an area that was labelled as a high risk for lead poisoning. In the collar counties of Chicago, houses were built before the federal government of the United States passed a law banning lead paint. Godwin became concerned about the levels of lead in her family home, and particularly the risk that her son would suffer from lead poisoning. She studied the coordination chemistry of lead in water, and how lead is transported and survives inside the human body. She demonstrated that lead interferes with the ability of a protein to turn genes on and off. She showed that the mechanism by which lead modifies the function of proteins occurs through the displacement of zinc and calcium. Zinc displacement results in the protein changing shape, which impacts the protein's ability to function. This observation is of particular relevance for understanding how lead poisoning impacts children, as zinc binding proteins are of important in child development. Zinc displacement in biologically important proteins can also impact the blood pressure of adults and fertility of men. Meanwhile, calcium displacement by lead can modify the transfer of nerve impulses. She joined the faculty at University of California, Los Angeles in 2006. Godwin acted as Associate Dean in the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health from 2008 to 2011 and again from 2014 to 2018. In 2018 Godwin was elected Dean of the University of Washington School of Public Health, and started the position in July 15. In this capacity she has led open public health forums, including discussions about the relationship between public health and homelessness, and connected various stakeholders to the University of Washington Population Health Initiative.
Academic service
Whilst at Northwestern University Godwin was awarded $1 million from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute program to support students move between high school and college. At the time, only 1% of the faculty in the United States' Top 50 chemistry departments was African American. Godwin created the Minority Success in Science program, which connected community public health groups, local health organisations and school groups. She was particularly involved with initiatives that assessed lead poisoning in Chicago's soils, which inspired her focus her research in public health.
