Kurt Gothelf’s research is founded upon organic chemistry and branches out into DNA nanotechnology, bioconjugation, nucleic acid chemistry, and biosensors. 

The group was heading the DNRF Center for DNA Nanotechnology (2007-2017) and has explored artificial DNA nanostructures especially in combination with synthetic organic chemistry.

Currently, Kurt Gothelf is heading the Center for Multifunctional Biomolecular Drug Design under the Novo Nordisk Foundation's Challenge program. The aim is to develop new multifunctional drugs including proteins, peptides, and small molecules through oligonucleotide-based assembly. In connection to this, the group has a strong focus on the development of new protein-DNA conjugation methods.

Since 2023, Prof. Gothelf has been part of the Center for RNA Therapeutics Towards Metabolic Disease (RNA-META), an initiative dedicated to develope RNA-based medicines and innovative delivery methods for targeted disease treatment. Additionally, he is collaborating with the Technical University of Denmark and Harvard University on the BioNwire project, which focuses on the self-assembly of a bio-nano-wire device on a microelectronic chip for single-molecule biosensing and conductance analysis.