I am a political economist with an academic background in political science (PhD, 2013), sociology (MA, 2004) and economics (BA, 2002). My research over the last years has focused primarily on the drivers, implications and governance of international economic integration. While a doctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), from 2008 until 2013, and post-doctoral fellow at the European University Institute, between 2013 and 2015, most of my work has explored the conditions under which economic and social upgrading takes place in global production networks, particularly in the global electronics and automotive sectors in Eastern Central Europe. Building on this work, a part of my current research looks at the ability of the EU to promote labor standards through its European Neighbourhood (ENP) policies in Eastern Europe and Northern Africa. My ongoing research on the role of colonial legacies in contemporary international investment patterns have been supported by the Calouste Gulbenkian and Science & Technology Foundations (FCT) and is part of a book project to be completed in 2019.