Dr Phillips is a Senior Lecturer whose research focuses on multiple dimensions of migration especially transit & regional migration, forced displacement and resettlement with an emphasis on multiculturalism and public policy. Her work is deeply informed by her experience as a practitioner in the field and as a child of migrants. She has previously worked with international organisations in South Sudan, the Horn of Africa, Libya and the Middle East, with asylum seekers in immigration detention in Australia and managed a refugee resettlement project. Current projects include:

• Chief Investigator on the Australian Research Council Linkage Project, "Settling Well in Regional Australia: Experiences of people from refugee backgrounds" (LP 200100205). 
• Co-lead of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) Borders and Migration Research Program
• Recipient of WSU Global Challenges funding through the ‘Contributing to Fairer Societies’ stream for research on Forced Migration and Disability

She is a current board member of the Research for Development Impact (RDI) Network and sits on the Audit and Risk committee of the International Detention Coalition. Melissa holds a Graduate Diploma in Australian Migration Law and is Co-Managing Editor of the Journal of Intercultural Studies and Co-Founding Editor of Emerald Studies in Migration Policy, Research and Practice.