She teaches courses on South Asian History, Asian Civilizations, Cultural Trends in Medieval Islam, Comparative Early Modern Islamic Empires, Raj and Resistance and the Mughal Empire, among other topics. In 2016, Dr. Balabanlilar was awarded Rice’s top teaching honor, the George R. Brown Prize for Excellence in Teaching. She also received the George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching in 2014 and the Phi Beta Kappa Teaching Prize in 2010. Dr. Balabanlilar’s research explores the Timurid-Mughal Empire of Central and South Asia and encompasses Islamic South Asia, comparative imperial court culture and early modern Islamic empires. She received her doctorate from the Ohio State University in 2007.