Melissa's focus lies on technical and smart textiles, sustainability, product development, and innovation management. She is currently a postdoctoral research associate at the Loughborough University in Great Britain. In 2019, she received her PhD degree from the University of Lille (ENSAIT-GEMTEX) in France, from the Universitatea Tehnică "Gheorghe Asachi" din Iaşi in Romania, and from the Soochow University in China. She worked in the research group Human Centered Design (HCD) under the Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctoral Program SMDTex (Sustainable Management and Design for Textiles). Before, she completed her Master of Arts in Textile Innovation and Branding at the University of Leeds in 2014.
She received her bachelor degree with honours in "Textile Engineering and Management" at the Saxion University of Applied Sciences in Enschede, The Netherlands in 2013. During her bachelor thesis entitled "Future Denim - Lease A Fleece" at the Mud Jeans International B.V., she developed a new product and applied an innovative sales model based on circular economy. Recycled denim fibers are used to produce a casual sweater. For this innovative idea, she was nominated for the Saxion Annual Award (Scriptieprijs) 2013 and received the Rachel Carson Sustainability Award (HBO Milieuscriptieprijs) 2013 for the best national dissertation in The Netherlands. She also published an article in the Dutch professional journal Tijdschrift Milieu - VVM netwerk van milieuprofessionals VVM, February 2014.
During her studies, she was a visiting student at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in Bangalore, India for six month, where she specialized in the Minor in Fashion Communication, but also developed skills in photography and design.
Generally her main interest is in sport and casual fashion. That is the reason for her work at Intersport International and an six month internship at PUMA in Herzogenaurauch, Germany.
Intercultural experiences are of great interest to Melissa. She loves traveling and has visited all continents, except for the Antarctic. In addition to her studies abroad, she has worked in Spain and completed a Work and Travel programme in Australia with the American Institute For Foreign Study (AIFS) after completing secondary education in 2008. Next to her mother tongue, German, she speaks five other languages: English, Dutch, Spanish, French, and Hindi.