A native of Perú, Sonia Malena Alva Rodríguez's own research interests are in the area of bankruptcy law, antitrust law and banking law. She earned a law degree from the Universidad San Martín de Porres, where she teaches law and economics, and a master's in law from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. She did her postgraduate work at the Universidad Castilla La Mancha in Toledo, Spain.