Her design research and practice concentrates on contemporary mechanisms of urban intervention at the juncture of landscape, culture, urbanism, and infrastructure. Prior to teaching at HKU, Melissa was a designer at Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd, where she was the project manager for CityCenter DC, a 10 acre mixed use development in downtown Washington DC. She has also worked as an urban designer at Dutoit, Allsop Hillier, and as an instructor and design critic at the University of Toronto and the University of Washington.