Her research focusses on the processes, structures and actors in the political, economic and social changes in China. Before coming to the FU Berlin, she was a professor for Governance of Energy and Infrastructure at the Hertie School of Governance and a junior professor for Chinese Business Studies at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, as well as a strategy consultant for McKinsey & Company in Berlin. She got her PhD in Development Studies at the University of Oxford. Her Master's degree was earned at the SAIS Johns Hopkins University with a focus on International Economics and International Development, and her BSc was earned at the London School of Economics in International Relations. Her articles have been published in The China Quarterly, The China Journal, Modern China, Journal of Contemporary Chinese Studies, Comparative Political Studies, Regulation & Governance, Business & Politics, Energy Policy, Applied Energy, Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, and Journal of Cleaner Production.