About

Currently, I'm part of a motivated UX team, working as a Sr. UX Researcher at the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Prior to this, I was a Research Collaborator at Meta Reality Labs, where I got to work in the domain of Extended Reality (XR). My research interests span the area of Human-Computer Interaction, Persuasive Technology and Games. I get intrigued by the various paradigms of user behaviour, and I like to ponder upon them. Aside from working, I love playing guitar, video games, and listening to music & podcasts.

Perma-Run is a persuasive mobile game to improve user awareness towards secure smartphone behaviour. I planned and conducted research at strategic points to make informed decisions. I was also responsible for designing and developing the game for my Master's thesis.

TreeCare is a persuasive gamified step tracker (Android App) that aims to curb sedentary behaviour and motivate users to stay active & healthy. I designed the app along with a Ph.D. student & developed the android app. I also assisted the student with the planning & execution of evaluative research.

FoodyBuddy is a gamified restaurant menu app to motivate healthy eating behaviour. Along with another team member, I planned and conducted iterative research to inform our design decisions of the persuasive app.

As part of the HCI course at Dalhousie University, our team of 5 was tasked to analyze existing smartphone calendar applications for design improvements. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we had to switch to remote research in the middle of the project.

I designed a Persuasive Game according to the Persuasive System Design framework to motivate healthy oral behaviour. I brainstormed and reviewed other works to come up with a novel, interesting and a playful design.

Research Interests

I am an avid HCI researcher and, my interests lie in the area of Persuasive Games. I believe that even a minor decision on a product might have an impact on the user. I prefer a mixed-methods approach as this helps to back up the Quantitative results with Qualitative data.

Research Methods

  • Interview

    What other way to get insights from the user than a contextual interview. Sometimes I like to dive deep into the specifics for contextual purposes.

  • Usability Studies

    I conduct usability studies to make sure the design is usable as intended and to generate actionable insights for making informed design decisions.

  • Surveys

    I prefer using validated scales for measuring behavioural constructs and, I use open ended questions to collect user feedback.

  • Thematic Analysis

    I was excited to learn about thematic analysis during my HCI coursework. I love how one can uncover patterns from observation & user feedback by coding and forming themes.

  • Experimental Design

    As a researcher, hypothesizing and conducting experiments is an essential skill. Since my time at Dalhousie University, I have designed, conducted and participated in various experimental research studies.

  • Writing

    I have published and presented academic papers at various international conferences along with other researchers. Reading various research works intrigues me and motivates me to keep pushing forward.

Epilogue

"Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open"
- Albus Dumbledore