MIT Senior Speaks at UN About Public Health Innovation

Srihitha Dasari's varied experiences in public health have shaped her career aspirations beyond clinical medicine.

Mar. 19, 2026 at 1:08am

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MIT senior Srihitha Dasari never imagined she would be speaking in front of the United Nations about health care, technology, and the power of co-designing public health interventions in collaboration with impacted communities. But through her work with the PKG Center for Social Impact, she has gained extensive experience in public health environments, from visiting exam rooms at Boston's largest safety net hospital to collaborating with nurses in rural Argentina and working on maternal health in India and Nepal. This diverse experience has shifted Dasari's career aspirations from a pre-med track to a focus on increasing her impact in the healthcare field by combining clinical medicine with public health approaches to address health disparities.

Why it matters

Dasari's story highlights how experiential learning opportunities can broaden students' perspectives and ambitions beyond the traditional pre-med track. Her work in public health has shown her that meaningful impact can begin long before medical school, and that addressing systemic health issues requires a systems-level approach that combines clinical care with community engagement and policy work.

The details

Through the PKG Center's IAP Health Program, Dasari worked as an intern at the Boston Medical Center Autism Program, providing in-clinic support to children with autism and their families. This experience showed her that healthcare can be adapted to truly care for the whole person, rather than just checking boxes. Dasari then spent over a year as a PKG intern at Boston Medical Center, deepening her understanding of how healthcare systems can reinforce or reduce disparities. During her second-year IAP, Dasari received a PKG Fellowship to develop an electronic health record system for a maternal ward in a rural hospital in Argentina, which evolved into a social enterprise she co-founded called PuntoSalud, an AI-powered chatbot to bridge health information gaps. Dasari has also conducted maternal and neonatal health needs assessments in rural Nepal through MIT D-Lab, and interviewed healthcare providers in India about strategies to reduce non-medical cesarean section rates.

  • During her first Independent Activities Period (IAP) at MIT, Dasari enrolled in the PKG Center for Social Impact's IAP Health Program.
  • Dasari worked as an intern at the Boston Medical Center Autism Program for over a year, with continued support and funding from the PKG Center.
  • During her second-year IAP, Dasari received a PKG Fellowship to develop an electronic health record system for a maternal ward in a rural hospital in Argentina.
  • Dasari conducted maternal and neonatal health needs assessments in rural Nepal through MIT D-Lab.
  • Supported by the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives, Dasari traveled to India to interview healthcare providers about strategies to reduce non-medical cesarean section rates.

The players

Srihitha Dasari

An MIT senior who has gained extensive experience in public health environments, from working at Boston's largest safety net hospital to collaborating on maternal health projects in Argentina, Nepal, and India.

PKG Center for Social Impact

An MIT program that provides students with experiential learning opportunities in public health and social impact, including internships, fellowships, and funding for social enterprise projects.

Boston Medical Center

The largest safety net hospital in New England, where Dasari interned and gained experience in clinical care and understanding healthcare disparities.

PuntoSalud

A social enterprise co-founded by Dasari that developed an AI-powered chatbot to bridge health information gaps in rural Argentina.

MIT D-Lab

An MIT program that supports students in conducting needs assessments and developing solutions for global development challenges, including Dasari's work on maternal and neonatal health in Nepal.

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What they’re saying

“What was really incredible about IAP Health is that I did it so early in not only my academic career, but just in the beginning of when I was actually formulating a lot of my career aspirations, [and] it really immersed me into what public health looks like.”

— Srihitha Dasari, MIT Senior

“When you think about how medicine is delivered, it can feel very systematic - like there are boxes you have to check. But working in that clinic showed me … you can modify the experience to truly care for the whole person.”

— Srihitha Dasari, MIT Senior

“I didn't envision myself doing public health when I entered college. But looking back, public health is the through line of everything I've done.”

— Srihitha Dasari, MIT Senior

“I came in thinking I would practice medicine one-on-one. Now I want to increase my impact in the health care field. I see that as clinical medicine intersected with public health, relieving health disparities for a wider population.”

— Srihitha Dasari, MIT Senior

“The path I've taken in health care as an undergrad student has given me both a sense of purpose and fulfillment as I prepare to leave MIT. It's shown me that meaningful impact can begin long before medical school, and that I want to carry forward the values these experiences instilled in me.”

— Srihitha Dasari, MIT Senior

What’s next

As Dasari prepares to leave MIT for a year in clinical research, she plans to continue applying the systems-level perspective and commitment to social impact that she developed through her varied public health experiences.

The takeaway

Dasari's story demonstrates how experiential learning opportunities can broaden students' perspectives and ambitions beyond traditional career paths. By engaging with public health challenges at the community level, she has developed a holistic understanding of healthcare that combines clinical care with public health approaches to address systemic disparities.