You can download my CV here.

MARIA NARAYANI LASALA-BLANCO

Contact Information

Email: ml2362@columbia.edu

Academic Appointments

Tecnológico de Monterrey. Profesor de Cátedra. Escuela de Ciencias Sociales y Gobierno. Mexico City, August 2026 to the present

CIDE, Profesor Investigador (Researcher Professor), Division of International Affairs, Mexico City, April 2023 to the present 

Arizona State University, Assistant Professor, School of Politics and Global Studies & Center for Latino and American Politics Research. 2018 to 2023

University of California, Santa Barbara, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science. 2015-2018

Fellow of the Broom Center for Demography. University of California, Santa Barbara. 2017

Harvard University,  Research Associate, Harvard Research Opinion Program, T.H. Chan Harvard School of Public Health. 2014-2015.

Columbia University,  Assistant Adjunct Professor, Department of Political Science. 2014.

Predoc, Survey Director & Project Manager, New York City Poverty Tracker (Polling Collaboration between  Columbia Population Research Center and Robin Hood Foundation). 2012-2013.

Adjunct Instructor, New York University, Steinhardt School of Education, Culture and Human Development. 2012-2013.

Education

 Ph.D., Political Science, Columbia University, 2014.

 Dissertation Title: God Made the Country and Man Made the Town: The Impact of Local Institutions on the Integration of Immigrants in the United States.

Examining Committee: Robert Y Shapiro (Main Advisor), Alfred Stepan, Ira Katznelson, Fredrick Harris and Rodolfo de la Garza.

Major Field: American Politics Minor Field: Quantitative Methods

M.Phil. , Political Science, Columbia University, 2012

M.A. , Political Science, Columbia University, 2008

B.A. , International Relations, El Colegio de Mexico, 2003

Fields

Urban Politics, Research Methods, Public Opinion, Political Behavior, Race and Ethnicity, American Politics.

 Publications and Manuscripts Under Review

Ethics as methodological innovation: participatory research adaptations in panel survey research with Syrian refugees(With Imanol Espina Baeza*) Special Issue Exploring Participatory Methodologies in Migration Research for Frontiers in Political Science and  Frontiers in Human Mobility. May 2026

Reverse Backlash under Polarization: Panel Evidence on U.S. Immigration Attitudes across Two Elections, 2016 and 2024. (with Imanol Espina Baeza).Open Journal of Political Science, Special Issue, 16  April 2026

Should Border Cities Cooperate? Cooperation on Migration between Cities along the Mexico-United States Border. First and corresponding author, with Francisco Pedraza  (ASU)  and Nuty Cardenas (CIDE).   R and R at Urban Affairs Review

Beyond Origin: Political Integration of Turkish and Mexican Guest‐Worker Descendants in Berlin and Chicago, (with C. Killic*)  Journal of Race and Ethnic Politics    R and R.

When Algorithms Meet Economically Depressed Areas: Conditional Effects of AI-Curated Political Content on Brexit Voting Across UK Cities, Neighborhoods and Individuals. International Journal of Public Opinion Research´s Special Issue on AI and Public Opinion. Oxford, Journal of the World Association of Public Opinion Research. R and R

Note: on Family Leave 2023-2024

 Forging Political Identities and Becoming Citizens. The Political Preferences and Engagement of South American Immigrants in the United States and Spain (with Laura Morales and Joan Carles Pamies*) American Behavioral Scientist, March 2022.

The Nature of Partisan Conflict in Public Opinion: Asymmetric or Symmetric?(with Robert Y Shapiro and Joy Wilke*), American Politics Research, October 2020.

Turnout and weather disruptions: Survey evidence from the 2012 presidential elections in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy (with Robert Y Shapiro and Viviana Burgos), Electoral Studies, February 2017.

Poor weather doesn’t dissuade voting in noncompetitive elections – not even Hurricane Sandy did in 2012. (with Robert Y Shapiro and Viviana Burgos).USAPP Blog LSE US Centre. March 2017.

Ebola in the United States — Public Reactions and Implications(with Gillian SteelFisher and Robert Blendon) , New England Journal of Medicine,  August 2015

 Threats to Polio Eradication: A Polling Study of Caregivers in Higher Conflict Areas in Pakistan and Nigeria(with Gillian SteelFisher et.al.), The Lancet Infectious Diseases, July 2015.

  One Vote or Many Mexicos? Income, Heterogeneity, and the 2006–2012 Presidential Elections(with Jeronimo Cortina), Social Science Quarterly. November 2015.

Income, Hardship and Health in NYC (with Irwin Garfinkel, Jane Walfogel & Christopher Wimer), Columbia Poplulaton Research Center and RobinHood Foundation Inaugural Report. Spring 2014.

 Summary Report Policy Dialogue Task Force Meeting on Migration. With Mathew Winters. 2009.

Funded Research

  Title: "Inter City Cooperation Along the Mexico-United States Border, Roadblocks and Urgent Issues").Role: Principal Investigator    Source: Southern Methodist University, Texas Mexico Center

Title: The Syrian Refugee Panel Study and European Cities & Neighborhoods Study. Duration: 2016-2023. Role: Principal Investigator Sources: Institute for Social Science Research Arizona State University (2021); National Science Foundation (2017-2019); National Science Foundation (2019-2021); Skoll Center for Social Entrepreneurship (Oxford University) 2016-2017; UC Senate Grant (University of California, 2016); Institute for Social, Behavioral and Economic Research Social Science Research Grants Program (UC, 2016)Institute for Social, Behavioral and Economic Research SSR (UC, 2017)

Title: 2018  and 2020  Arizona Survey. Center for Latino and American Politics Research at ASU.  Role: Co-Principal Investigator, Survey Development. Source: https://clapr.asu.edu/node/477. 

Title:  The Cuyama Groundwater Basin and the San Antonio Creek Groundwater Basin Water Use, Migration and Risk Perception Census. Role: Co-Principal Investigator with Casey Walsh, Survey Director. Source: California Department of Water. 2017-2019.

 Title:   New York City Poverty Tracker with Irv Garfinkle (Principal Investigator), Julien Teitler, Chris Wimer and Jane Waldfogel). Role: Survey Director & Project Manager (during recruitment and first wave & Inaugural Report, 2012-2014) Source: Robinhood Foundation

 Title:   Collaborative Multiracial Post Election Survey.  Role: Collaborator    Source:  NSF

Title: American Cities Survey  Role: Principal Investigator Source:  Institute for Research in African American Studies

Awards

 APSA  Adaljiza Sosa-Ridell Mentorship Award  The recipients are recognized by APSA for their exceptional mentoring of Latina/o students and junior faculty. 2019.

Invited Collaborator. COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Ethmig Survey Data. At COST I have been part of the team leading the harmonization of all available survey data on immigrants and minorities in the United States and Europe.  2016-2019.

Faculty Fellowship (Stipend, Tuition and Health Insurance Fees) Source: Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Columbia University, 2006 – 2011

 IRAAS, Research Grant, Columbia University, 2012-2013.

 Merit Scholarship Award, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Columbia University. 2011-2012.

 Summer Merit Scholarship Award Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Columbia University, 2010-2012.

IGERT Fellowship (Globalization and Development program at Columbia University) led by Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz. 2007-2010.

Applied Statistics Center/Center for the Study of Developing Societies Summer, Research Grant, Columbia University, Summer 2010.

 Initiative For Policy Dialogue Summer Research Grant, Columbia University, 2007.

Mexican Association of Rural Studies (AMER) National Award for Best Undergraduate Thesis. 2005.

 Fellow & Research Associate of the Broom Center for Demography. University of California, Santa Barbara. 2017- 2018.

Fellow & Research Associate  The Columbia Population Research Center. Columbia University 2013-2015.

Ford Foundation and William Flora Hewlett Foundation Fellowship, 2005-2007

National Award for Best Undegraduate Dissertation. Mexican Association of Rural Studies, 2003.

 Teaching

Assistant Profesor de Cátedra. Tecnológico de Monterrey. Escuela de Ciencias Sociales y Gobierno. Mexico City, Liberals vs Conservatives. Democracy, Polarization and Public Opinion.

Assistant Professor (PIT). CIDE. Undergraduate and Graduate Courses in Political Science:  Quantitative Research Methods for Political Science (Introduction):  Quantitative Methods; Honors Thesis Seminar; Research Design; American Politics and Public Opinion Research. 

Assistant Professor. Arizona State University. Quantitative Research Methods for Political Science Public Opinion.  Graduate Courses: Polimetrics I & II, Public Opinion.

Assistant Professor. University of California Santa Barbara.     Undergraduate Courses: Quantitative Research Methods for Political Science, Challenges in Public Opinion Polling, Latino Politics.             Graduate Courses: Immigration, Religion and Democracy; Public Opinion and Political Behavior.

Assistant Adjunct Professor, Columbia University. Department of Political Science. Course: Race, Ethnicity and Immigration in American Politics. 2014.

Adjunct Instructor, New York University. Steinhardt School of Education, Culture and Human Development.    Course: Comparative Studies of Education: Quantitative Analysis. 2013.

Instructor (with Robert Shapiro) and Research Mentor, Columbia University. GSAS Office of Diversity-Leadership Alliance Summer Research Program. Course: Quantitative Methods for Political Science & Survey Research Methods. 2010-2013

 Teaching Fellow at the Department of Political Science &SIPA. Columbia University.  Courses: Quantitative Methods for Political Science, Analysis of Political Data and Applied Econometrics (with Prof. Robert Y Shapiro). Introduction to American Politics (with Prof. Justin Phillips). Fall 2006 to 2011.

 Teaching Fellow at the Workshop on Poverty, Development and Globalization (with Joseph Stiglitz. Manchester University, Summer 2009

Service & Diversity 

Faculty Mentor I have mentored over 200 students from underrepresented ethnic and religious minority backgrounds in the US, Mexico and Europe through honors contracts hiring them as research assistants accepting to be part of their thesis committee and coauthoring  with them.

Arizona State University 2018-2023

Steering Committee Member. Center for Latino/a and American Politics Research Steering Committee

Organizing Committee Member. Politics of Race, Immigration and Ethnicity Consortium (PRIEC). Helped organize these conferences in 2019, 2021 and 2022 at ASU. These conferences support and recruit to PhD programs students of diverse backgrounds, especially those.

 Committee Member at ASU´s Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI))

 Search Committee Member. Committee for hiring an Assistant Latino Politics and Institutions Professor (2019) and a Senior (Associate) Latino Politics Professor (2020). Both searches were successful and increased diversity at the School of Politics and Global Studies at ASU

University of California, Santa Barbara. 2015-2018

Faculty Mentor of 17 DACA Dream Scholars Program at UCSB (2015-2017)

Faculty Mentor of 14 McNair Scholars at UCSB (2016-2017)

Recruitment Materials.  Helped create recruitment video for the Admissions Office the UCSB Latino/Chicano Experience Documentary, see specially minutes 5:39 onwards  and other similar videos to expand the diversity of graduate and undergraduate student population.

Columbia University. 2010-2014

Graduate Student Mentor of the Leadership Alliance Early Identification Program (2010-2013), a program initiated by HBC’s and Brown University to promote the entry of underrepresented minority students to post-graduate education

Recruitment Materials.  The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences through the Dean’s Office asked me to produce a Diversity Documentary for recruitment purposes.

Graduate Student Mentor of the Leadership Alliance Early Identification Program at Columbia University (2010- 2013).Non-Academic Appointments

Non Academic Appointments

Researcher Los Angeles Times, Mexico City Bureau, 2005.

Political Liaison & Coordinator forthe Program for the Mexican Communities Abroad of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs in San Francisco, CA, 2002- 2004

Head of the Press and Trade Office of the General Consulate of Mexico in San Francisco, CA, January 2001- July 2002