Melody is a member of the faculty of the Department of Biology University of the Philippines Manila since 2002, who mentors students whose interests are in marine ecology, invertebrate zoology, and environmental science. She teaches Vertebrate Morpho-Physiology, Ecology, Parasitology, Invertebrate Zoology, and Science 11 classes. She is a graduate of BS Biology from the Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, UP Manila, and MS in Environmental Science from the Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology, College of Science, University of the Philippines Diliman. She has been working on Manila Bay ecological studies since 2009 with Dr. Benjamin Vallejo and has produced several publications. She is currently the project leader of a DOST-PCIEERD funded project “Port and ballast water baselines using ecological, microbiological and eDNA approaches” which aims to establish baseline data on organisms found in ports all over the Philippines.