My first name is spelled phonetically: 'Pra-tik-sha'. The 'i' is short. My last name is roughly pronounced 'Tah-kr' with a hard 't'.

I have alopecia areata, an autoimmune condition that causes hair loss. I'm generally happy to try to answer questions about it, but I might point you here for more factual information, or here or here for some lovely firsthand accounts of what it's like to grow up with alopecia. You can also watch this very adorable informative video.

I was previously an undergraduate at MIT, where I worked on a report about diversity in the EECS program.