Before coming to MIT to work with LIGO, Melissa earned a PhD in Applied Physics from Stanford University. Prior to that, she received a BS Physics and BS Math from College of William & Mary, and M2 Quantum Physics from École Normale Supérieure ICFP.

In 2024 Melissa won a Nanophotonics Early Career Award for “significant contributions to the integration of quantum dynamics, squeezing, and soliton physics in optical cavities.”