Nadine Reis completed a Master's degree (Diplom) in geography at Freie Universität Berlin, and a PhD in sociology at the University of Bonn. She is currently a research professor at the Center for Demographic, Urban and Environmental Studies at El Colegio de México. She is a National Researcher level I of the Mexican National Researchers System SNI. 

Her research focuses on the political economy of urbanization in Latin America, especially in Mexico. Her interest focuses on the manifestations of global economic structures (in particular, the financialized economy) in urban space, incorporating theories and methodologies from critical geography, international political economy, urban studies, and agrarian studies.

Building on her previous work on political processes and microcredits in drinking water supply in Vietnam, as well as on financialization and informal water rights markets in Mexico, another research area of hers is water and finance.

She has many years of teaching experience in Spanish, English and German. Her teaching covers various formats of courses in B.A., M.A. and PhD programmes, and includes introductory courses, methodology and in-depth courses and lectures, project courses, field practices and excursions in various countries as well as the supervision of bachelor, master and PhD theses. Amongst others, she teaches Urban Political Economy, Economic Geography of Globalization, Financialization and Development, and Research Methodology.