I am an Assistant Professor in the research-track in the Department of Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania. I direct the Computational Social Listening Lab. My research focuses on building predictive models for and uncovering insight into health outcomes and psychological states of individuals and communities. The goal of this research is to supplement clinical diagnoses and facilitate early and personalized interventions for improving treatments and well-being.
I develop computational models utilizing large-scale user-generated text, image, and mobile sensor data to answer questions pertaining to geospatial, cross-cultural, and temporal aspects of human behavior. My recent work investigates the manifestation of conditions such as loneliness, ADHD, stress, and depression on social media platforms and the role of heterogeneity in the digital behaviors of individuals across cultures.
My work has been covered by the American Psychological Association, WIRED, Canadian Broadcasting Company, The Atlantic, US News, and other venues.
We are grateful to the National Institutes of Health [details], World Bank Group, and Penn Global [details] for funding our work.
I have consulted for NGOs and not-for-profits (e.g. World Bank) in the past and am open to opportunities that have a strong social impact application.