Meet Our Team

Sanjog Misra is the Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His research focuses on the use of machine learning, deep learning and structural econometric methods to study consumer and firm decisions. In particular, his research involves building data-driven models aimed at understanding how consumers make choices and investigating firm decisions pertaining to pricing, targeting and salesforce management issues. More broadly, Professor Misra is interested in the development of scalable algorithms, calibrated on large-scale data, and the implementation of such algorithms in real world decision environments.

Professor Misra’s research has been published in the Econometrica, The Journal of Marketing Research, The Journal of Political Economy, Marketing Science, Quantitative Marketing and Economics, the Journal of Law and Economics, among others. He has served as the co-editor of Quantitative Marketing and Economics and as area editor at Management Science, the Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, Marketing Science, Quantitative Marketing and Economics, the International Journal of Research in Marketing and the Journal of Marketing Research.

Misra is actively involved in partnering with firms in his research and has worked as an advisor to a number of companies such as Transunion, Oath, Verizon, Eli Lilly, Adventis, Mercer Consulting, Sprint, MGM, Bausch & Lomb, Xerox Corporation and Ziprecruiter with the aim of helping them design efficient, analytics-based, management systems that result in better decisions. He currently serves as an advisor to startups in the marketing technology, measurement and AI space. At Booth Professor Misra teaches courses on Algorithmic Marketing. These courses bring his practical and research expertise in the algorithmic marketing domain into the classroom. He is hopeful that these classes will get students ready for the next evolution of marketing that he believes is already underway.

Dr. Urmila Chatterjee is the Executive Director at DPIC. Till recently, Urmila was also the Research Director at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago in India (EPIC India). Prior to joining the University of Chicago Trust in India, Urmila was Senior Economist at the World Bank, where for over a decade she delivered high-quality knowledge products, led policy dialogue, and implemented complex lending projects in South Asia on a wide array of topics such as human development, firm growth, fiscal policies, data systems, water pollution, sanitation, and climate adaptation. Urmila has a strong record of managing large teams, working with diverse stakeholders and mentoring junior colleagues. She is an effective communicator and has published her work in leading policy journals, highly visible reports and newspapers.

Prior to joining the World Bank, Urmila worked at the Indian Institute of Management and the Citigroup. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master’s degree in Economics from University of Mumbai; she is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Aparupa Jena is an Operations Associate at DPIC, where he oversees the organization’s operations, administration, human resources, and leadership support. With over eight years of experience in the social development sector, he has played a key role in streamlining processes, implementing strategic policies, and enhancing operational efficiency. His expertise lies in streamlining office administration, ensuring compliance, and fostering a productive work environment to support DPIC’s mission.

Aparupa holds an MBA from AAID University, Allahabad, and a Bachelor’s degree in Science (Botany) from Utkal University, Odisha. He has also earned certifications in Human Resource Behaviour from the Centre for Development Co-operation, Arusha, Tanzania.

Yashaswi Mohanty is a Senior Data Scientist at DPIC. He works primarily with large administrative datasets to generate quick analytical insights for government stakeholders and academics. Yashaswi’s research interests are broadly in data science, statistics and econometrics. He is currently working on projects related to strengthening data systems and analytics in environmental regulation, skilling and governance. Yashaswi holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago and a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematical Statistics and Economics from Colby College. In between, he worked as a Research Associate at Yale University.

Sakshi Sharma is a Junior Data Scientist at DPIC. Sakshi enjoys applying data science for social good and contributing to research that creates real impact, while also being actively involved in various volunteering initiatives. Proficient in Python, SQL and Machine Learning, she hopes to leverage data science to inform and impact decision making in public policy. Sakshi has a Master’s degree in Data Science from the University of Paris and a Bachelors of Technology in Engineering from Himachal Pradesh Technical University.

Ghazal Hashmi is a Data Analyst at DPIC, where she leverages data science, geospatial analytics, and statistical modelling to generate actionable insights. Prior to joining DPIC, she worked with J-PAL South Asia and the Asian Development Research Institute, contributing to projects on climate-health analytics, green budgeting, and sustainable agriculture. Ghazal holds a master’s in environmental engineering from the National Institute of Technology Patna and a Postgraduate Diploma in Data Science in Health and Climate Change from the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi.

Milinda Mishra is a Research Associate at DPIC and supports end-to-end policy research through literature review, field coordination, data analysis, stakeholder engagement, and the preparation of research outputs for dissemination. Prior to joining DPIC, she worked as a Project Scientist at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Bhubaneswar, serving as an evidence synthesis expert on WHO-funded project in urban health and worked in the National Health Mission (NHM) funded, Odisha Health Repository Project.

She holds a master’s degree in international development from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a bachelor’s degree in Sustainable Development from XIM University.

Megha Kumari Das is a Communications Intern at DPIC. She is a communications enthusiast driven by curiosity and design thinking, holding a Master’s degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from the School of Mass Communication at KIIT. Her responsibilities include creating communication materials, assisting with content and documentation, and strengthening information dissemination through well-structured assets. Megha previously worked as a Strategic Communication Intern at Actionaid Association, Bhubaneswar.