Rhitu Chatterjee

Rhitu Chatterjee is a health correspondent with NPR, with a focus on mental health. In addition to reporting on the latest developments in psychology and psychiatry, she explores the underlying causes of mental health disorders—the complex web of biological, socio-economic, and cultural factors that influence how mental health problems manifest themselves in different groups—and how our society deals with the mentally ill. Chatterjee has a particular interest in mental health problems faced by the most vulnerable, especially pregnant women and children, as well as racial minorities and undocumented immigrants. She has reported on chronic stress from racism's devastating impact on pregnancy outcomes in black women, the factors that put adolescents and youth on a path to school shootings, and what some schools are doing to keep them off that path. Chatterjee has covered the rising rates of methamphetamine and opioid use by pregnant women, and how some cities are helping these women stay off the drugs, have healthy pregnancies, and raise their babies on their own. She has also written about the widespread levels of loneliness and lack of social connection in America and its consequences on people's physical health. Before starting at NPR's health desk in 2018, Chatterjee was an editor for NPR's The Salt, where she edited stories about food, culture, nutrition, and agriculture. In that role, she also produced a short online food video series called “Hot Pot: A Dish, A Memory”. The series was produced in collaboration with NPR's Goats & Soda blog. Prior to that, Chatterjee reported on current affairs from New Delhi for PRI's The World, and covered science and health news for Science Magazine. She has covered the legacy of the Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984, the world's largest industrial disaster. She has reported on a mysterious epidemic of chronic kidney disease in Sri Lanka and India. While in New Delhi, she also covered women's issues. Her reporting went beyond the breaking news headlines about sexual violence to document the underlying social pressures faced by Indian girls and women. Throughout her career, Chatterjee has reported on everything from basic scientific discoveries to issues at the intersection of science, society, and culture. She has won two reporting grants from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and was awarded a certificate of merit by the Gabriel Awards in 2014. Chatterjee has mentored student fellows by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, as well as young journalists for the Society of Environmental Journalists’ mentorship program. She has also taught science writing at the Santa Fe Science Writing Workshop.