Melissa is graduated in Biomedical Sciences (Anatomic Pathology) and has a MSc in Molecular Biology in Health, specialized in oncobiology. 

She was a research fellow at Centro de Estudos de Doenças Crónicas (CEDOC) in Lisbon, and Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA), in Porto. For a few years, Melissa also worked as a R&D Scientist at the biotechnology company biosurfit. In the beginning of 2020 she joined the Microbes & Cancer group at i3s, where she is currently developing her PhD thesis.