Zerah Lamorena is a first-year PhD student in the department of political science at UCLA, specializing in comparative politics and methodology, with minor interests in international relations. Her research lies at the intersection of political communication, gender, and the political economy of development, with a regional focus on Southeast Asia. In particular, she is interested in how social media shapes electoral outcomes and voter perceptions, especially of women candidates. Prior to graduate school, Zerah worked as a research assistant for faculty at Yale University, Emory University, and UCLA, contributing to projects spanning from macroeconomics to international security. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, both summa cum laude, from Stony Brook University, where she first became involved in faculty-led research as an undergraduate. At UCLA, Zerah aims to combine fieldwork, survey experimentation, and computational methods to produce actionable insights in political science. In the future, she hopes to pursue a career that enables her to continue contributing to policy-relevant research.
The APSA Diversity Fellowship Program, formerly the Minority Fellowship Program, was established in 1969 as a fellowship competition to diversify the political science profession. The DFP provides support to students applying to, or in the early stages of, a PhD program in political science. APSA has once again awarded a new cycle to provide support for students currently in their first or second year as of Spring 2025. Please join us in congratulating the 2025-2026 class of fellows.
- Learn more about DFP at https://apsanet.org/dfp
- Meet the 2025-2026 class of DFP Fellows