(More) About Me

I'm a Philosophy PhD candidate at the University of Pennsylvania. My primary focus is on science-led philosophy of perception, though I'm interested in a wide variety of issues having to do with how humans and other animals perceive, think about, and interact with their environments. I like to think about color and pain, the connections between intellectual traditions, and how we should approach metaphysical and epistemological questions relating to cognition and perception. My research is supported by the Kone Foundation in 2022-2023. 

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I'm currently a chapter representative for MAP-Penn and, until recently, I was a graduate representative for the Penn philosophy department as well as a graduate Wellness representative. I've completed the Penn SCAN (Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience) certificate program, I'm a mindCORE affiliate, and I was a MIRA group member between 2017 and 2022 as well as a STAMP (Step-Ahead Mentorship Program) mentor for three semesters. I've co-organized the MAP-Penn Conference on Philosophy of Race, the MAP-Penn Conference on Philosophy of Disability and Illness, the MAP-Penn Summer Colloquium on Philosophy of Disability and Illness and the Penn Philosophy Teaching Workshop on Disability Inclusion and Accessibility. I have also run a number of reading groups, including one on Indian Philosophy and another on Philosophy of Pain. I'm currently co-organizing the MAP-Penn Conference on Climate Justice.

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Before starting the PhD program at Penn, I studied Tibetan language and Buddhist philosophy at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA) in India, worked as a teacher in Hong Kong, and received MA and BSc degrees from the University of Tampere (now Tampere University) in Finland. My partner John is a poet and we live in West Philadelphia with our FIV-positive Indian cat, Senge. I've been involved in Animal Rescue and Fair Trade, and I had the privilege of living in the wonderful Annikinkatu Community for many years. I'm a first-generation college graduate, my favorite tea is Bai Hao Yin Zhen, I use she/they pronouns, I'm a bad Buddhist, and the forest is my shrine.

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(Photo credit: Inka Uppal)