Melissa is a post-doctoral fellow in the Poverty Health and Nutrition Division of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). She is an applied microeconomist working at the intersection of development economics, early childhood development, and social protection. Melissa holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Her dissertation studies the impact of income shocks on health outcomes, and in particular, the effects of Ecuador’s 1998-2000 economic crisis on child health and cognitive development, and the effects of Ecuador’s cash transfer program (Bono de Desarrollo Humano) on early childhood development and domestic violence. Her current research focuses on the determinants and consequences of poor early childhood development and spousal domestic violence in developing countries.