Melina researches and writes about how practices of investigating research misconduct intercept and intersect with practices of experimental replication in the life sciences, including bioengineering/materials science. She studies controversies that erupt at this intersection, and new types of epistemic activism that exploit dynamics therein, in pursuit of research culture reforms and access at evaluative contexts.
Outside of research, she has been active in drafting codes of conduct for STS from a feminist standpoint, she is an advocate against the abuses of power in German higher education (with a joint project on the ‘habitable university metric’), held the office of PhD student representative at her university and is currently elected ombudsperson of a regional STS association.