María Paula is a student scholar (Fellow) in the Doctorate Program in Political Science at Columbia University. She earned her law degree (Magna cum Laude) and Master’s Degree in Law from the Universidad de los Andes. Until 2008, she was a full-time researcher at Dejusticia and was in charge of strategic lawsuits. She is a professor of Legal Sociology and Comparative Constitutional Law at the University of the Andes and the National University in Colombia. Her research is about armed conflict, the rights of victims of atrocious crimes; the Inter-American Human Rights System; incorporation of international human rights standards in the national system; and social, economic, and cultural rights.

Currently, she serves as an associate researcher at Dejusticia.