Sonia Akter's research is situated on the nexus of agriculture, environment and development in the Asia-Pacific region. She has worked extensively on agriculture and food policy, natural disasters and women’s empowerment in South and Southeast Asia. She is presently a Senior Editor for the journal Food Security and an Associate Editor for the Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics (AJARE). She graduated with a PhD in Environmental Management and Development from the Australian National University in 2010, and holds a MS degree in Economics from York University, Canada. She was Scientist at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) (2014-2015) and Senior Researcher at Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Leipzig, Germany (2011-2013). She has served in numerous advisory roles and expert panels including the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, Singapore and a member of the impact assessment panel of the Seeds of Life program of the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) (2015-2016).