Dr. Malhotra is the Vice Chairman for Operations of the Department of Neurological Surgery. He oversees strategic initiatives to enhance the quality of patient care. Dr. Malhotra has published more than 50 articles and book chapters related to his clinical and research work. Dr. Malhotra's work, along with that of his partners, has led to the University of Pennsylvania being the top rated neurosurgical department in the region for every year that the rankings have been completed. Further, the department is ranked amongst the top 10 in the United States. From a clinical standpoint, Dr. Malhotra provides expertise in the care of brain and spine neurological disorders. He takes particular interest in the development of advanced approaches to brain and spinal lesion treatment (such as meningioma) and spinal column reconstruction in addition to the treatment of cervical and lumbar disc herniation. His clinical goals focus on optimizing quality of life as well as life expectancy for disorders of the nervous system. When surgery is not necessary, Dr. Malhotra leads the interdisciplinary physician group to ensure the appropriate medical professionals provide optimal care to his patients. As director and creator of the Neurosurgery Quality Improvement Initiative Dr. Malhotra has developed a software system within the electronic medical record system to enhance disease management and predict response to therapy. His system, the EpiLog project, has completed beta testing. Not only is it currently in use at the University of Pennsylvania but it is also being considered for adoption at a wide range of national institutions. In 2011, Dr. Malhotra developed an outreach program in order to enhance and facilitate patient care. To support this program Dr. Malhotra sees patients in King of Prussia and Chestnut Hill, in addition to his primary site at the University of Pennsylvania.

As co-director of the translational spinal research laboratory, Dr. Malhotra's primary research interests focus on restorative approaches to treat disc degeneration. His novel approaches have led to multiple awards and research grants. Through his work, Dr. Malhotra hopes to reduce the need for invasive surgery and offer better treatments for disc degeneration. His interests focus on tissue engineering in order to develop treatments to restore native tissue mechanics of the spine while also delivering therapeutic agents and supporting tissue regeneration.