Pratibha Mahale was born in Nagpur, India and grew up in different cities of central India. She completed her undergraduate degree at Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, where she received B.S.-M.S. with Chemistry as major and Material Science as minor subject. During her undergraduate career, Pratibha researched on understanding structural and optical properties of lead halide perovskites.

Currently, as a graduate student in the Mallouk group, Pratibha researches on colloidal systems – understanding their synthesis, interaction, assembly and using them to design multifunctional materials.

Outside of the research lab, Pratibha enjoys writing poetry, traveling and gardening.