Aparna obtained her PhD in Economics from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore, India, in November 2023. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Desai Sethi School of Entrepreneurship (DSSE) at IIT Bombay, where she focuses on academic research commercialization and intellectual property (IP) issues. Aparna is also an Affiliated Researcher at the Stiftungsfonds Deutsche Bank Chair of Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship, HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Germany.

With 12 years of professional and academic experience, Aparna has worked in research, public policy advocacy, project implementation, primary surveys, and consulting. Her professional journey includes research roles at notable institutions like IIT Indore, IIM Lucknow, CUTS International Jaipur, and India Development Foundation, Gurugram. Her interdisciplinary academic background spans economics of innovation, patent policy, and international trade. Her research on technology diffusion and cross-country patenting impacts has been featured in renowned international journals. Aparna’s extensive fieldwork includes examining cross-border trade facilitation issues along North East India's borders with Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.

She has published numerous articles and policy papers covering the semiconductor industry, international trade issues, gender dimensions in trade, and regional connectivity in South Asia. Aparna has been awarded the 2024 India Technology Policy Fellowship from Pacific Forum, USA, the Institute Doctoral Fellowship by ICSSR in 2018, the TEEP Scholarship by the Government of Taiwan in 2018, and a project grant from the NSTMIS, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.