Sunayana Sasmal is a Research Fellow in International Trade Law at the UK Trade Policy Observatory, University of Sussex. Her work engages with the intersections of international trade, law, and policy, with a particular focus on the evolving architecture of global economic governance and sustainability. She brings extensive experience across international organizations, academia, and government, having previously held positions at the World Trade Organization, the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, the World Bank, Tulip Consulting, and the Centre for WTO Studies.

Currently, Sunayana is particularly interested in understanding how trade policy in critical minerals can be effectively deployed for the "economic security" of developed and developing, resource-rich countries alike. She also conducts research on general international trade law and policy issues to understand the future direction of global trade governance architecture.  

Sunayana holds an LL.M. from Columbia Law School, where she was a James Kent Scholar and Jagdish Bhagwati Fellow, and a B.A., LL.B. (International Trade and Investment Law Hons.) from National Law University, Jodhpur. Her scholarship has appeared in leading publications in the field, and she regularly collaborates with prominent scholars on issues at the intersection of trade, development, and sustainability. She frequently presents her work in academic and policy forums internationally.