She studies East Asian security and the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, with particular focus on North Korean WMD procurement and proliferation networks, and China’s nuclear posture. She also studies Chinese, South Korean, and Japanese nuclear exports, as well as East and Southeast Asian export control systems and proliferation finance activities.
Melissa supports MIIS' research at both CNS and META Lab by investigating new techniques in open source geospatial analysis, incorporating satellite and aerial imagery and other remote sensing data, large data sets, social media, 3D modeling, and GIS mapping. She teaches “Geospatial Tools for Nonproliferation Analysis” at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, and is a regular contributor to Arms Control Wonk.