Melissa’s independent research focus on international migration stems from her fascination with the concept of nation-state sovereignty and the significance assigned to borders, the people living within them and their power to shape the identity of those people. Her research revolves around four main themes 1). who nation-states allow to enter their borders, 2). what governs decisions to whom entry is granted/denied and bases for deportation, 3). the treatment of noncitizens and how they fare once living/working within host societies and 4). migrants’ ability to experience a sense of belonging within host societies.  The numerous noncitizen statuses and the various rights allotted to each status also drive Melissa’s research.  Other research areas of interest include immigration policy, race/ethnicity, religion and transnational studies.

Melissa's manuscript, "The Making of the Contemporary Other: The Case of Arab Muslims in the U.S. After 9/11" is currently under review at Ethnic & Racial Studies and is based on findings from her dissertation, “Uncertain Times: U.S. Immigration Policy Practice and the Resolve to Make America Safe in the 21st Century.”  In August 2009, Melissa was a guest on a long-running Boston radio talk show, Talking Religion, aired on WRKO to discuss primary findings from her dissertation. 

Her on-going research collaboration with Dr. Peggy Levitt and Nancy A. Khalil uses a transnational lens to further understand the religious and cultural identities and lives of the second generation in America.  Their paper "Learning to Pray--Religious Socialization Across Generations and Borders" is forthcoming and will be published by Aarhus University Press.  Another manuscript is currently under review by Oxford University Pess.

A reseacher at Wellesley College and lecturer at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, Melissa has previously been a Senior Research Associate at the Steinhardt Social Research Institute at Brandeis University and has independently taught Introduction to Sociology, Introduction to Statistics, Race & Ethnic Relations, Research Methods and Sociology of the Family.

An alumnus of Florida State University and Denison University, Melissa resides in Cambridge, MA. Early dissertation results have been published in Battleground: Immigration (edited by Judith A. Warner, 2009). Forthcoming collaborative work on the utilization of cross-survey methods to examine rare populations will appear in a forthcoming issue of Sociological Methods & Research.