Ashani obtained her PhD in Economics from Monash University, and is currently a Research Fellow at Monash SoDa Labs. Her research interests are in the broad areas of political economy, network empirics, conflict and development. She is particularly interested in identifying how economic shocks propagate within and between various types of societal networks that bind economic agents together through an invisible thread. Ashani is passionate about using innovative data and tools to explore the world's complex social, political and economic landscapes through a new lense.