Her research involves interdisciplinary scholarship that brings together social and natural scientific approaches (surveys, focus groups, micro-meteorological measurements, downscaled climate change scenarios) to examine human dimensions of climate change, particularly as it relates to the tourism sector. Prior to joining MSU, Michelle was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change at the University of Waterloo (Canada). During this time, her research examined the vulnerability of coastal tourism in the Caribbean, as well as winter sports tourism (Canada, USA, Olympic Winter Games), to climate change.