Lisa started her studies at the University of Osnabrück, Germany where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in European Studies. Subsequently, she completed a Master of Arts in European Studies at the University of Hamburg, Germany and a Master of Arts in International Studies at the University of Limerick, Ireland. Lisa has been a PhD researcher with the Department of Politics and Public Administration since September 2008. Her research interests include the nature of migration movements, especially within the European Union as well as national integration and immigration policies and the effects of transnational migration on these areas.

Lisa has been working as a peer-tutor for the Regional Writing Centre at the University of Limerick since January 2009. In this role she was a member of the Keynote Panel of Peer-Tutors which opened the biannual Conference of the European Association for the Teaching of Academic Writing (EATAW) in 2011.