I am an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Southern California. Prior to joining USC, I was an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at Umeå University. Previously, I have been a Fulbright Scholar in Sweden (Stockholm University) and a 2024–25 Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. I have also been a visiting scholar at the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity at Stanford University and at the Center for Right-Wing Studies at the University of California Berkeley. I hold a Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Washington and an M.A. and B.A. from Stanford University.

My research interests lie broadly in political sociology with specializations in international migration, nationalism, and the welfare state. In my research, I examine sociopolitical attitudes and values, social policy preferences, voting behavior, and political parties across different demographic, political, economic, institutional, temporal, and environmental contexts. Much of my theoretical and empirical work focuses on attitudes towards immigration and ethnic/racial diversity as well as the social, political, and economic consequences of those views. I am also concerned with the experiences of immigrants and support for democracy.

My research relies mostly on quantitative methods, especially multilevel and repeated measurement models. I have extensive experience with survey design and administration, including panel data sets, as well as building unique contextual-level data sets from a variety of publicly available sources. I also have a deep appreciation for comparative historical methods and use its analytical tools for the selection of country and regional cases. Whenever possible, I pursue research that involves the analysis of longitudinal data because I am interested in how (i.e., if, when, and why) individuals, groups, and institutions change. As a comparativist, I pursue both case studies as well as cross-national and cross-regional research.

With my scholarship, I contribute to a variety of theoretical and empirical literatures in sociology, political science, and psychology: anti-immigrant sentiment, racial and ethnic prejudice, and stigma; diversity, tolerance, and inclusion; national identity, nationalism and radical right politics; social policy preferences, welfare chauvinism, and support for the welfare state.

My work has appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as European Sociological Review, European Political Science, International Migration Review, International Journal of Comparative Sociology, JAMA, Nations and Nationalism, and PNAS — and my co-edited and co-authored book, Migration Stigma, was recently published by MIT Press. My research has been discussed in The New York Times and Pacific Standard as well as cited in other media outlets such as Forbes, Business Insider, and The Conversation.