Sandra is Distinguished Professor at the School of Social Science and Government in Tecnológico de Monterrey, Santa Fe, Mexico City.

She developed a productive academic career as Associate Professor in the Political Studies Division at Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE) (2015-2023), with more than twenty publications in international peer-reviewed journals, focused on research on criminal violence in Mexico and its impact on political behavior. Together with Guillermo Trejo, professor at the University of Notre Dame, she coauthored of the book Votes, Drugs, and Violence. The Political Logic of Criminal Wars in Mexico (published in English by Cambridge University Press, in 2020, and in Spanish, by Debate, in 2022), recognized as the Best Book of the Autocracy and Democracy section of the American Political Science Association (APSA) in 2021. Her academic articles have also been awarded by the AmericasBarometer, as well as by Comparative Political Studies and the Journal of Peace Research.

Sandra has carried out extensive field work in north and south Mexico, collaborating closely with different organizations and sectors of civil society. Between 2023 and 2024, she was the Coordinator of the Security Program at México Evalúa, where she developed a series of policy reports on victimization against the business sector, violence against political figures, militarization, the prison system and crime prevention programs in Mexico.

Sandra has a Ph.D. and a master’s degree in Political Science from Duke University (North Carolina, USA) and a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations from the Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE). Sandra was visiting fellow at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies of the University of Notre Dame (2014-15) and visiting professor at the Center for Gender Studies of the Colegio de México (2022-23).