Kelly is Discipline Chair and Senior Lecturer in Political Science and International Relations. Her research focuses on the political economy of aid and development policy.

Kelly is an ARC Discovery Early Career Research Award recipient and an Endeavour Cheung Kong Award recipient. She completed postdoctoral training at the Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University, and the Southeast Asia Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong.

Her work has been published in Review of International Political Economy, The Pacific Review, and Globalizations, among others. Kelly previously delivered the conference keynote for the ASEAN Forum. She has written for New Mandala, Disruptive Asia, The Mandarin, and East Asia Forum, including on the limits of microfinance as well as how we can 'build back better' for gender equality in Southeast Asia after Covid-19. 

Kelly welcomes doctoral research proposals from students on topics in her field of expertise.

Co-editor (with Toby Carroll) of 'Studies in the Political Economy of Public Policy', Palgrave Macmillan, with over 20 titles including the widely acclaimed The Political Economy of Southeast Asia.

- Research Collaboration Award (with Annabel Dulhunty, Emma Mawdsley, Shahar Hameiri), 'Resourcing Australian Aid: Examining the Use of Development Consultants', $24,490

- Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award, 'Advancing Gender Equality Through Aid: Realising Women's Empowerment', $365,103

- Research Collaboration Award (with David Mickler, Kathryn Sturman, Matthew Wood, Matthew Flinders), 'Stakeholder Engagement and Legitimacy in Regional Organisations, $10,850

- Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Research Fellowship, Understanding the Reformed ASEAN, $23,500

POLS2220 Foundations of Global Political Economy (unit coordinator)
POLS3335 Social Movements and the Politics of Change (unit coordinator)
POLS5651 Global Political Economy (unit coordinator)
POLS3005 Autocracy and Democracy in Asia (team lecturer)