Keya's research interests are founded in critical cultural studies where she focuses on the intersection of international communication, media activism, gender and social justice, especially in the Global South. She is a doctoral candidate and her dissertation employs semi-structured interviews, textual analyses, and social media discourse analyses to explore the usage of stand-up comedy for socio-political activism in India. Specializing in qualitative methods, Keya has worked on research projects in Peru, Colombia, Ghana, India and the United States.     

Keya completed her undergraduate degree from the University of Delhi and studied her first MA degree in development communication from AJK MCRC Jamia Millia Islamia University in India. She came to University of Oregon to pursue her second MA degree in media studies at School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC) at the University of Oregon. After graduation, she moved to Geneva, Switzerland to work with the International Labor Organization (ILO) and helped in designing digital strategies for the outreach of social protection unit. She was appointed to work for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UNAIDS in India, and worked in the area of communication led innovations and advocacy for family planning, child marriage, adolescent health and menstrual health management.