I’m a comparative political scientist studying how and why people engage with information about political issues, particularly conveyed through media, and what this means for broader politics and policymaking. Substantively, I focus on migration and migrant integration in Europe and Latin America—issues that continue to animate politics in both regions. By combining quantitative, computational, and experimental methods with qualitative and interpretive approaches, my agenda aims to:

  • measure how forms of political and issue-specific knowledge relate to attitudes and preferences
  • link changes in policy agendas with dynamics in public opinion and media coverage
  • develop, test, and evaluate information-based interventions
  • find effective ways of analyzing textual and visual content at scale that retain qualitative insights
  • understand how research evidence relates to developing and communicating public policy at municipal, national, and international levels

My publications on these topics have appeared in journals including Comparative Political Studies, World Development, International Studies QuarterlyJournal of European Public Policy, New Media & Society, The International Journal of Press/Politics, International Migration Review, and Global Networks. I have also supported this agenda by securing funding as Principal or Co-Investigator on grants from UK research councils (ESRC and AHRC), the British Academy, and the World Bank among others.

Alongside my research, I serve as a Deputy Editor of the journal Migration Studies, and was previously an Associate Editor for the Journal of Refugee Studies (2021-24) and Evidence & Policy (2019-24). I also advocate for researchers as a member of the UK Young Academy, which is the national body for early-career leaders across sectors.

Currently, I am an Assistant Professor (Lecturer) in Political Science at the University of Southampton. Previously, I was a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Politics and International Relations of the University of Oxford while also affiliated with Nuffield College. I also worked at The Migration Observatory (2012-18) and the Centre on Migration, Policy, and Society (COMPAS, 2018-21) where I developed and led research into media portrayals of migration.

I have also held a Fellowship by Examination at Magdalen College, Oxford (2018-20), and a Career Development Teaching Fellowship at St John’s College, Oxford (2020-21) where I was responsible for undergraduate students on the BA Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE) degree. My teaching practice has been informed and certified by a postgraduate certificate qualification from the University of Oxford as well as Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA),  which is the UK’s professional body for the higher education sector.

I welcome enquiries from researchers, potential students, and public users on any of the subjects mentioned in my profile. Get in touch at the address provided on the Contact page.

Photo Credit: David Fisher (Fisher Studios Ltd)/Nuffield College