Larissa Fast has worked at the intersection of the worlds of academia, policy, and practice for over two decades. Her research addresses two fundamental problems: how best to protect civilians, particularly those who intervene in violent conflict, and how to make such intervention more effective, ethical, and responsive to local needs and circumstances. In addition to her book Aid in Danger: The Perils and Promise of Humanitarianism (2014), she has published more than two dozen peer-reviewed articles and policy reports. Her research has been funded by the US Institute of Peace, US Agency for International Development, Swiss Development Corporation, UK Department for International Development, UK ESRC, Research Council of Norway, and Wellcome Trust.

Larissa has worked in academia, government, and for non-government agencies. Prior to her current position as Senior Lecturer in Humanitarian Studies at the University of Manchester, she was Senior Research Fellow at ODI's Humanitarian Policy Group, a Fulbright-Schuman Research Scholar (2016-2017), and a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow (2014-2016) at USAID's Global Development Lab. She also held faculty positions at the Kroc Institute at the University of Notre Dame (USA) and Conrad Grebel University College (University of Waterloo, Canada).