Manuel is a Fulbright scholar at Brown University pursuing his Ph.D. in Political Science with a special interest in comparative politics and political economy. He received his B.S. in Economics with an emphasis on economic theory and his M.S. in Economics from Javeriana University, Colombia. He is primarily interested in quantitative social science methodology, and the design of quantitative field research and field experiments. In particular, he has been working on security sector governance and reform, and prevention of crime in post-conflict regions.