Lucia Lopez, J.D., Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Political Science in the School of Public and International Affairs at North Carolina State University. Her research lies at the intersection of public opinion and public policy, with a particular focus on how perceptions of deservingness and policy design shape attitudes toward government programs and policy beneficiaries. Her work examines how people decide who is deserving of government support and how public policies themselves shape those judgments across areas such as social welfare and law and justice.

Lopez’s research has been published or is forthcoming in outlets including Political Behavior, Public Opinion Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, and the Cleveland State Law Review. Her research has received support from the Russell Sage Foundation and the Rapoport Family Foundation. She has also received early-career recognition from the American Political Science Association and the American Bar Foundation.