Shalini's journey to mental health began in a unique way. After a decade in the Indian film and advertisement industry and managing several brands in India and the Netherlands, she witnessed the mental health challenges faced by high-profile individuals and her family members. This experience prompted her to transition into mental health research, driven by the tragic loss of her close friends. Through this deeply personal journey, Shalini developed a nuanced understanding of the complexities of mental health and cultivated a profound empathy for the real human struggles that lie beneath the surface of societal glamour. This realization was a wake-up call that inspired her to change careers from an industry professional to a behavioural leadership coach before pursuing further studies at King's College London. She graduated with an MSc in mental health from King's College, and the rigorous program laid a solid foundation, deepening her understanding of mental health disorders and marking the beginning of her research career. Over the last three years, Shalini has had the privilege to work on various research projects with renowned experts in the field of mental health, allowing her to publish several papers.

As a PhD student, Shalini's research interests encompass understanding the transdiagnostic factors underlying mental disorders. This is motivated by numerous studies indicating that psychiatric disorders exhibit heterogeneous symptoms and trajectories and that current diagnostic classifications do not accurately reflect their underlying molecular and biological mechanisms and the variability and overlap of symptoms within and across diagnostic categories. To address these challenges, Shalini plans to leverage machine learning models to test, and potentially falsify any candidate transdiagnostic mechanisms that drive symptom dimensions. Looking ahead, she wants to research personalized medicine to establish a novel treatment approach tailored to individual patient profiles. Ultimately, Shalini's overarching goal is to bridge the gap between research findings and their clinical applications, thereby contributing to the overall development of mental health care industry.