PhD Candidate, Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab

Melisa is a Gates Scholar and PhD Candidate in Psychology. At the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab, her research focuses attitudes, persuasion, and resistance against misinformation through inoculation theory. Throughout her studies, she initiated ways to contribute to societally contested issues, such as immigration and vaccinations, through her work. She is the Co-Founder of CUBIT, an inter-disciplinary initiative to leverage behavioural insights to tackle pressing societal challenges. Moreover, she won the WhatsApp Research Grant for Misinformation to develop interventions against the spread of harmful misinformation on WhatsApp in India, Brazil, and the UK. Similarily, in collaboration with the UK Cabinet Office (and supported by UNESCO, UN, and WHO), Melisa co-developd Go Viral!, a gamified intervention to combat the threat posed by COVID-19 misinformation. Melisa collaborates with the Stanford Health Communication Initiative and Duke University's efforts to fight vaccine hesitancy. She also enjoys public engagement (e.g., BBC World) and continues to advise governmental institutions (e.g. EU Commission, NATO) on leveraging psychological insights in evidence-based policy-making.