Curiosity and Balance Beyond the Classroom: Prakhyat Dasari’s Journey
Prakhyat Dasari is a proud 2026 SDS alumnus. Having earned his graduate degree in Health Informatics and Analytics, Prakhyat details his time at Charlotte as a transformative, challenging, yet rewarding journey.
Experience at UNC Charlotte
Prakhyat made his experience at Charlotte his very own. From being a curious student in his classroom, which he has carried into his professional life, to working on our campus as a Teaching Assistant and Research Assistant, Charlotte provided Prakhyat with the tools to propel him into the next chapter of his life.
“I chose UNC Charlotte because I wanted more than just a technical education – I wanted an environment where I could apply data science to real-world problems, especially in healthcare. Coming from a biotechnology background, I was already interested in healthcare systems and patient outcomes, but I wanted to understand how data and technology could be used to improve them at scale. What made the decision clearer was the opportunity to work closely with professors, research teams, and healthcare-related projects that connected classroom learning to real community impact. That kind of environment was harder to find than expected.”
With experience in a different field, Prakhyat was motivated to expand his knowledge and explore the broader impact he could make within the healthcare system.
“My interest started during my biotechnology studies, but grew much more once I began working in analytics roles during my undergraduate years. I found myself becoming less interested in collecting data and more in the questions hidden within it. In healthcare in particular, small patterns in data often reflect much larger human problems, such as delayed care, unequal access, inefficient systems, and overlooked communities. Health Informatics and Analytics was a field that sat at the intersection of healthcare, data science, and human behavior, rather than being purely in one of those areas. That intersection felt like where the more interesting problems were.”
With the experience and knowledge provided in the classroom, Prakhyat wanted to express his appreciation for Professor George Shaw and the impact he had on his education.
“Professor George Shaw has had one of the biggest impacts on my journey at UNC Charlotte. Working under his guidance as a Graduate Research Assistant, I learned a lot not just technically, but professionally and personally. What I appreciated most was how patient and detailed he was when explaining research concepts and problem-solving approaches. He always made sure I understood the reasoning behind things rather than just giving answers, which helped me build confidence and think more independently over time.”
With Prakhyat honing in on the balance between professional and personal experience, he enthusiastically shared how he has witnessed his own personal growth while being at Charlotte.
“Before coming here, I underestimated my ability to adapt to unfamiliar situations. Moving into a new country while balancing graduate coursework, research, teaching, and internships pushed me far outside my comfort zone.
One thing I discovered was that I genuinely enjoyed teaching and mentoring others, which is something I had never experienced before becoming a Teaching Assistant. Helping students work through confusion and watching their confidence grow became one of the most rewarding parts of my time here. Those experiences also changed how I handle uncertainty. I became more comfortable with not having everything figured out, which may sound small but made a real difference.”
Through hard work, effort, and passion, Prakhyat is now a Clinical Informatics Intern at the Camino Research Institute.
“One of the most meaningful parts has been working with the healthcare-related community data to better understand healthcare access and utilization patterns within Latino populations in North Carolina.”
Pieces of Advice
To round out Prakhyat’s journey at UNC Charlotte, he wanted to leave incoming freshmen with a piece of advice he hopes will help future students have their own well-rounded experience as 49ers.
“Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone. Some of the most valuable opportunities like research, internships, mentorships, and networking, often begin with uncertainty. Growth usually happens when you take chances on experiences that initially feel unfamiliar. One thing that shaped me a lot was moving through different environments early on – from biotechnology and analytics roles during my undergraduate years, to research, teaching, and healthcare-focused work at UNC Charlotte. Those experiences changed the way I look at problems. I became more interested in understanding why things happen rather than just finding quick answers. “