I am an interdisciplinary social & behavioral scientist based in the field of public health. My area of expertise is on the conceptualization, measurement, and analysis of social norms as they impact behavior, especially health-related behaviors. I employ a mixed-methods toolkit when approaching research projects that aim to change behavior that have covered areas as diverse as women’s labor force participation in the Middle East and North Africa, reducing tobacco use, increasing pre-exposure prophylaxis use among Black women in Washington DC, increasing modern contraception use in Kenya, understanding the social dimensions of poverty in the US, promoting latrine use in rural India, and reducing intimate partner violence in Rwanda. Recently, I have focused on understanding the mechanisms by which stigma results in adverse health outcomes among transgender and non-binary adults in the US. I am also investigating (with Paul Deutchman) the social emotion of cringe, and how to leverage it to change behavior.
In short, I study how to change human behavior to improve population health outcomes.
Employment History
Summary
Assistant Professor of Public Health (2026 - present) in the Department of Health and Kinesiology, College of Applied Health Sciences | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.
Assistant Professor of Public Health (2024 - 2026) in the Department of Public Health Sciences and Administration, School of Health Sciences | College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA.
Postdoctoral Researcher (2022 - 2024) in the Philosophy, Politics & Economics program | University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Postdoctoral Fellow (2022 - 2024) in the Center for Social Norms and Behavioral Dynamics | University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Graduate Teaching Assistant & Adjunct Lecturer (2018 - 2022) in the Department of Prevention and Community Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health | The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
Research Associate in the Evaluation Office (2016 - 2018) | The International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), New Delhi, India.
Project Assistant (2014 - 2015) | UNICEF Oman, Muscat, Oman.
Research Assistant (2010 - 2012) | Addiction Research Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Consulting & Short Assignments
External Coding Consultant (Sep 2022 & March 2023) | Human Behavior Change Project, University College London, London, UK.
Interim Associate Director (Oct 2022 to Jan 2023) | Center for Social Norms and Behavioral Dynamics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Short-Term Consultant (Summer 2019 & Summer 2020) | Mind, Behavior, Development Group, The World Bank, Washington, DC, USA.
Research Assistant (Summer 2019) | Department of Prevention and Community Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington DC, USA.
Psychiatric Intern (Feb to Apr 2013) | Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman.
Education Consulting (Summer 2010) | DIYSmart Consulting, Guangzhou, China.
Where I’ve Lived and Where I’m Currently Based
I am a citizen of India. I was born there and lived there for about 12 years. I have also lived in Oman for about 10 years, the USA for about 12 years, the UK for one year, and Guangzhou, China for two months (see map below).
I am currently based in Champaign-Urbana, IL, USA.