Dr. Muhammad Aizat bin Zainal Alam is currently the Deputy Director of Research in SWRC. He is also a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics at the Faculty of Business and Economics and serves as an Associate Editor of the Institutions and Economies journal. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Malaya, where his doctoral research focused on retirement preparedness, financial literacy, savings behaviour, and the application of machine learning in economic analysis. Prior to joining Universiti Malaya he worked at the Securities Commission Malaysia, where he researched and developed capital market regulations. He obtained his Bachelor of Science (Actuarial Science) from UiTM and Master of Economics from Universiti Malaya.

His current work centres on social protection, with particular interest in addressing coverage and implementation gaps, enhancing inclusivity for underserved populations, and strengthening institutional and policy frameworks. Dr. Aizat is actively engaged in interdisciplinary research that bridges academic inquiry with practical policy impact.