I am an Assistant Professor at Emory University, focusing on the human-centered design and evaluation of AI-based systems, with a special interest in global health and sensitive domains such as reproductive and mental wellbeing. My work aims to bridge the gap between AI research and implementation, ensuring that systems developed in the lab work in messy real-world contexts, and for diverse communities and care workers. I am Co-Director of the Center for AI in Reproductive health at Emory, and serve on the WHO/Europe Technical Advisory Group on AI for Health. I have a Ph.D. in human-centered computing and an undergraduate degree in computer engineering from Georgia Tech.

I am also deeply committed to children's learning and development in a rapidly changing technological world. In 2018, I co-founded MakerGhat, a nonprofit in India that fosters hands-on making, creativity, and AI fluency among children and youth from underserved communities, so they can grow into active shapers, not passive consumers, of the technologies that shape their lives.

As an interdisciplinary scholar, I engage in participatory design, UI/UX research, system development, and mixed-methods evaluation. My research has entailed developing long-term relationships with communities, non-profit organizations, and industry actors. I have been fortunate to receive several honors for my work, including from Google, the ACM SIGCHI Dissertation Award, MIT Solve (Global Learning Challenge Solver), and Forbes 30 under 30 Asia. I was also named to the list of 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics, and 75 Women in STEAM by the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India.

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Academia can be a wonderful environment for those passionate about research, but has many unwritten norms. To make this hidden curriculum accessible, I have compiled some advice for prospective PhD applicants.