Melissa Lovell is a political scientist with expertise in the fields of Indigenous Affairs governance, social policy, and political ideology. Her research draws on interpretive and qualitative traditions of research to develop better understandings of the ways in which political problems are framed, and the effect of political framing on policymakers’ perceptions of what constitutes appropriate evidence or effective policy options.

Dr Lovell completed her PhD in political science in the School of Politics at ANU in 2012, and has taught courses in political ideas, social policy, political theory and introductory political science at the Australian National University and the University of Canberra. She is currently employed as the Convenor of the Freilich Foundation at the Australian National University, which exists for the study of all kinds of bigotry and the promotion of diversity and inclusion.