María E. López

María E. López is Professor of Sociology at the School of Social Sciences and Professions, London Metropolitan University, and Deputy Director of the Global Diversities and Inequalities Research Centre (GDIRC). She holds additional roles as Research Fellow at Mexico’s Centre for the Study of Security, Intelligence and Governance (ITAM) and Non-Resident Research Fellow at the University of California San Diego’s Center for US–Mexican Studies.

Her academic journey includes a PhD in Hispanic Studies from University College London, an MA in Postcolonial Studies from London Metropolitan University, and a BA (Hons) in English Philology from the Complutense University of Madrid. She joined London Metropolitan University in 2007 as a Lecturer in Latin American and Spanish Studies and held administrative roles such as Head of the Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies and Postgraduate Research Coordinator.

María’s research focuses on violence against marginalized communities, particularly LGBTQ+ populations, migrant women, and refugees. Her work examines structural inequalities in gender, race, and class within hostile environments like Cuba, Mexico, and the UK. Recent projects funded by the Center for US–Mexican Studies and the Nuffield Foundation explore feminicidal violence, Afghan/Syrian resettlement challenges, and Mexico’s necropolitical border dynamics.

Her publications, such as Gender Violence in Twenty-First-Century Latin American Women's Writing (2022) and Homosexuality and Invisibility in Revolutionary Cuba (2015), address themes of gender violence, political oppression, and migrant resilience. She also edits the Violence in the Hispanic and Lusophone Worlds series for Tamesis Publishing House.

• Key research collaborations: Latin American and Caribbean Centre (LSE), Center for US–Mexican Studies (UC San Diego), ITAM, and CISAN (UNAM).
• Grants: Include Nuffield Foundation funding (2024–2025) and multiple London Metropolitan University and ITAM research awards.