Marina Lorenzini is the Research Program Coordinator with the Middle East Initiative (MEI). In this role, she is responsible for MEI research programs, which include several fellowship programs, faculty and student research grants, and MEI publications and policy reports. Her research focuses on the nuclear energy industry, critical infrastructure vulnerabilities, and sanctions across the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf regions. Alongside MTA Associate Sahar Nowrouzzadeh, Marina leads the MTA-MEI Iran Working Group. She has published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Lawfare, and the National Interest. Previously at the Belfer Center, she was the Project Coordinator with the Project on Managing the Atom (2022-2023).

Prior to joining the Belfer Center, she held positions at McLarty Associates, the Nuclear Threat Initiative, and the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School. Marina holds a M.A. in Law & Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. She wrote her thesis on Russian-Turkey energy trade, with a focus on the Akkuyu nuclear power plant. She earned her B.A. in Art History from Franklin University Switzerland as well as an Arabic Language and Linguistics Certificate from the University of Pittsburgh. She is an advanced speaker of Arabic and Italian, having used the languages extensively throughout her career, and has a strong proficiency in Latin and Persian translation.