Her research focuses on nationalism and post-conflict transitions to democracy in sub-Saharan Africa. She earned her Ph.D. from Indiana University in 2015. She has conducted extensive field research in South Africa, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Fulbright-Hays Program. She has also conducted preliminary work in Ghana, while teaching graduate students in Accra. Dr. Holmes teaches classes on African Politics, Politics of the Developing World, Comparative Politics, Qualitative Methods, and Nationalism.