I am a multi-disciplinary researcher who specializes in Asia - Africa interactions, currently based in New York City. As an Associate at the Harvard University Asia Center and also a Visiting Associate Fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies in New Delhi, I bring a comparative perspective to my work.

My expertise lies in managing research projects, curating multi-cultural teams and conducting extensive fieldwork across geographies. Research projects I have designed and led have examined investments in financial services and mining in Zimbabwe, agriculture in Zambia, infrastructure development in Tanzania and Kenya and pharmaceutical manufacturing in Ethiopia.

My effort has been to work with universities, research institutes and Civil Society Organizations to gather perspectives from the grassroots, produce evidence-based research that bridges the academic research – development practitioner work gap. During my PhD at the University of Mumbai, I was a recipient of the ICS-HYI China-India Studies Fellowship and spent a year at Peking University, China and the Harvard-Yenching Institute. Prior to this, I was also a Doctoral Fellow at the Indian Council of Social Science Research.

My analysis and Op-Ed's have been published in The Washington Post, The Hindu, The Diplomat, South African Journal of International Affairs and findings presented in various global conferences and podcasts, including as part of the Indian delegation to the 17th Russia-India-China (RIC) academic trilateral in Beijing. More information is available on my website: https://vedavaidyanathan.com.