Mala is a PhD Candidate and a recipient of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Studentship at the School of Law, University of Surrey. She is also the recipient of the P.K. Das Memorial Gold Medal for being the best outgoing student in the Master’s in Business Law programme from National Law School of India University, Bangalore. Mala holds an LL.M from the London School of Economics and completed her law degree from Bangalore University, India. Prior to embarking on her PhD, she worked in law firms in UK and India and taught at law schools in the Indian States of Assam and Gujarat.

Mala’s primary research interests are in the fields of dispute resolution, regulation, international arbitration, international commercial contracts, and international investment law. Her PhD research investigates the backlash faced by the investor-state arbitration system and the reforms processes at the ICSID and UNCITRAL.