Rishita Rokariya
Class of 2028
Hometown: Tampa, FL
Major: Pre-Health Professions
Rishita is pursuing a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in Spanish. She is originally from Tampa, Florida, and has conducted research with the USF Taneja College of Pharmacy, where she wrote a medical textbook chapter examining the disease burden of neurocognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, anxiety and depression. She also works in the Afonin Lab at UNC Charlotte, studying nucleic acid nanoparticles (NANPs) for therapeutic drug delivery. Rishita has presented her research at the State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium (SNCURCS) and the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR). She has a strong interest in public health and completed an internship with the Mecklenburg County Public Health Department working with the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Team. Outside of academics, Rishita is a member of UNC Charlotte’s premier competitive Bollywood dance team and serves as the President of Hindu Youth for Unity Virtues and Action (YUVA) at Charlotte. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new cafés and hiking.