Dr Marcia Vera Espinoza
Thanks for visiting my website! I am a Reader at the Institute of Global Health and Development (IGHD) at Queen Margaret University, in Edinburgh. I joined the IGHD in November 2021, where I lead the Psychosocial Wellbeing, Integration and Protection research cluster. Previously, I was a Lecturer in Human Geography at Queen Mary University of London. My research interests are in refugee and migrant inclusion, forced migration and immigration policies in Latin America and international and regional migration governance.
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I am PI of a recently completed AMIF SRC project, exploring the role of social connections on refugees' experiences of integration in Scotland. I am also conducting research on the impacts of COVID-19 on migrant and refugee populations across seven countries in Latin America as part of the research group CAMINAR (Comparative Analysis on International Migration and Displacement in the Americas). In 2021, I also co-lead a cross-regional research project (with Prof Parvati Nair), funded by QMUL Strategic Research Priorities Fund, aimed to explore the role of civil society organisations supporting migrant populations in Brazil and India in the context of Covid-19 (MigPanBrIn).
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Previously, I was an associate researcher in the ERC funded project ´Prospects for International Migration Governance´ (MIGPROSP), and I taught in the Politics Department at the University of Sheffield.
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My PhD research, awarded in 2016 at the University of Sheffield, explored the experiences of resettlement and integration of Palestinian and Colombian refugees in Chile and Brazil, and analysed the extent and ways in which the resettlement programme is implemented in South America.
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I have been writing and researching about migrants and refugees in Latin America since 2004, first as a journalist and then as part of my academic career. At the same time, my life has been shaped by my own experiences of migration and translocal belongings.
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Since 2010 I have been presenting my research at a number of national and international conferences, mainly in Europe and Latin America. In this website you can find information about my research, publications, and upcoming talks.
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