Dr. Afzal is a Professor and member of permanent faculty at Lahore School of Economics. She has been a fellow at the University of Oxford where she has worked on issues in growth and social policy under modern financial paradigm in comparative studies of South Asian economies. Dr Afzal has also been a part of the visiting faculty for course on Data Analysis and Interpretation at Pakistan School of Public Policy for 104 and 105 Senior Management Course. She has also received formal training for Case Method Teaching at the Harvard Business School, Boston, USA.

Dr. Afzal’s research interests include various aspects of development with special focus on sustainable development, financial system, and risk management. She is currently conducting collaborative research with renowned international researchers on Blue Economy, Sustainable development and Green finance. She is publishing her research in prominent international journals. Some of her recent publications are “Investigating the resource curse: Evidence from MENA and N-11 countries”, Resources Policy, 2023; The Influence of Internet Penetration on Poverty and Income Inequality. SAGE Open, 12(3),2022 and “The Influence of Internal and External Stakeholder Mechanisms on Entrepreneurial Success: The Moderating Role of Digital Technology Adoption”, Frontiers in Psychology, 2022.

Along with academic research, Dr Afzal is also consulting with various organizations for projects on sustainable development and finance. Currently, she is working as “Project Coordinator” with World Bank Project Building Energy Efficiency Opportunities Study and as a “Project Economist” with HIMAˆVerte on a Pilio carbon Inseting project. She has also advised Government of Ras Al Khaimah, UAE (Dept. of Finance) on The Opportunities and Threats affecting the public finance and economic systems at the International level. Dr Afzal has also been a part of the advisory body of various projects for the Government of Punjab.

Dr Afzal is a recipient of multiple International Awards on her research. She received the Best Paper Award at the 4th International Conference on Advances in Social Science, Management and Human Behavior in Rome, Italy, December 2016. Prior to that she was awarded Best Paper Award at the 12th International Conference on Business Management at BIMCH and University of Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka in December 2015.

Dr. Afzal serves on editorial advisory board of three academic journals including “PLOS One, Review of Accounting and Finance and The Lahore Journal of Business”. She is also Patron to the Lahore School Finance and Investment Society and LSE Team Leader for Quality Assurance project for HEC Pakistan.

Dr Afzal holds a PhD in Economics from Lahore School of Economics with a concentration in Financial Economics. Her dissertation was focused on risk and return framework of financial intermediaries, under Basel regulations, in Pakistan.

Prior to her PhD, she did MPhil Economics and an MSc Economics and Finance from Lahore School of Economics. She is recipient of a Gold Medal for finishing at the top of her class and a Silver Medal for being placed on the Dean’s Honor List for finishing in the top 10% of the class as well.

Dr. Afzal teaches theory and applied courses in the fields of economics and finance, including Financial Economics, Development and Growth Economics, Monetary Economics, Business Economics, Risk Management and Financial Statement Analysis.