Elisa Chelle is a French political scientist specializing in health policy and elections. She has been a tenured Professor of Political Science at Université Paris Nanterre since 2019. In addition, she is a junior member of the Institut universitaire de France for the 2022–2027 term, a distinction that supports her ongoing research.
Her research focuses on the interplay between policy and politics, particularly in a comparative context between France and the United States. Chelle is the author of Comprendre la politique de santé aux États-Unis (2019), considered the first comprehensive French-language handbook on U.S. health policy.
Chelle has held visiting scholar appointments at institutions such as Columbia University, Cornell University, and Georgetown University, where she has participated in research and academic discussions on health policy and comparative politics. She is also affiliated with the Laboratoire interdisciplinaire d’évaluation des politiques publiques (LIEPP) at Sciences Po, contributing to a health policy research group.
Her professional activities extend to academic publishing and service. She has served as editor-in-chief of the journal Politique américaine since 2020 and is an associate editor for French Politics (Palgrave). She is an elected member of the French National Council of Universities and is involved with the Institut des Amériques, where she promotes international research collaborations.
Chelle’s expertise is is regularly sought by the media. She has appeared in or been cited by several national media outlets, providing analysis on topics such as healthcare and U.S. elections. Her work has received recognition, including the Caritas Research Prize from the Institut de France in 2014 for her dissertation on anti-poverty policy.
