Emily's doctoral project examines the creative practice of Takako Saitō (1929–2025) at its intersection with education and public engagement. It focuses on the mid-1960s to mid-1980s, a nomadic period in which Saitō moved from Japan to the United States and then across Europe. Emily argues that even as Saitō's practice adapted to new geographic, artistic, and social contexts, it remained anchored in a playful pedagogical philosophy forged in early postwar Japan. Her interdisciplinary methodology draws together art historical research, oral histories, expanded feminist theory, and embodied learning through reconstruction and reenactment. As part of her research, she runs performance-based events and game sessions for public audiences. She is funded by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, with additional research support from the Getty Foundation.

Alongside her PhD, Emily works as a researcher and archivist for Saitō's personal archive in Düsseldorf, preparing parts of the expansive collection for public access. She curated a display of Saitō's performance ephemera at the ECA Library and developed a complementary series of reenactments drawn from these archival fragments. Her research has informed exhibitions and accompanying catalogues, and she has presented her work at major conferences including the Association for Art Historians (AAH). In 2025, Emily was named an Ishibashi Foundation Fellow in Japanese Art by the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (SISJAC).

Emily received her undergraduate MA in History of Art from the University of Edinburgh in 2018, and a postgraduate double MA in East Asian Art History and Japanese from SOAS, University of London, in 2023. Between the two, she worked full-time as a school teacher, and continues to lead arts-based sessions for participants of all ages.