Mara is currently pursuing a PhD in City and Regional Planning at the Ohio State University under a Fulbright-CHED PhD Scholarship. The scholarship is keen on cultivating cultural exchanges between the United States and the Philippines, which is her home country. She holds a concurrent position as Instructor/Assistant Professor at the University of Science & Technology of Southern Philippines where she is currently on study leave. In the Philippines, she teaches the fundamentals of urban and regional planning to undergraduate students in Architecture.

Research interests

urban metabolism, city and regional planning, urban planning, urban systems, urban policy