She earned her PhD in Political Science at the University of California, San Diego. She was awarded a Fulbright-Garcia Robles fellowship in 1998-1999 and a Ford Foundation fellowship in 1999-2000. During the 2000-2001 academic year she was a fellow at UCSD’s Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies. Edmonds-Poli’s research focuses on decentralization and democratization in Mexico and the ability of local governments to exercise fiscal autonomy from state and federal authorities. Her recent book Contemporary Mexican Politics (co-authored with David Shirk) provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview and analysis of the Mexican political system (Rowman and Littlefield, 2012).