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umarchatterjee.bsky.social
Uma R. Chatterjee, M.S., MHPS
@umarchatterjee.bsky.social
1.6K followers 1.8K following 89 posts
🧠Neuro PhD Stdt＋NIH TL1 Fellow studying #OCD & #psychedelics @Cahill-Lab.bsky.social 🍄 | Bridging #MentalHealth research🤝lived experience | SciComm＋Advocacy Podcast🎙️A Chat with Uma | #DisabledInSTEM | Lived Experience Council-One Mind🎗️| umarchatterjee.com
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umarchatterjee.bsky.social
This was truly one of my favorite A Chat with Uma episodes I’ve ever released!✨ I'm so grateful for how @theborislab.bsky.social shared not only his work, but his own story, with such honesty, generosity, + depth 🙌🏾🙏🏾

📖 Read below for full show notes + timestamps, and listen at the link above! ☝🏾
Podcast episode description text reads: “On episode 51 of A Chat with Uma, I sit down with Dr. Boris Heifets, MD, PhD—associate professor at Stanford, anesthesiologist, neuroscientist, & one of the most extraordinary scientists & clinicians who is truly revolutionizing mental health! He pushes the boundaries of how we approach consciousness, mental health, & pharmacology—asking questions most people are too afraid to traverse: Do we need to be awake for drugs to heal the brain? What exactly are ketamine, MDMA, & psilocybin doing when they flip a circuit? Could anesthesiology itself hold keys to psychiatry’s future? And yet what makes Boris remarkable isn’t only the science—it’s who he is. Over two hours, he shares not just his cutting-edge research but his story: moving from Moscow to the U.S., struggling with belonging, discovering MDMA & LSD in college, & how those experiences of connection still shape his lab’s vision today. We explore MDMA for OCD & autism, the limits of “magic bullet” thinking, why context & lifestyle matter more than a single intervention, & how anesthesiology lets him practice applied neuroscience in real time. If you want to understand where psychiatry is heading & hear from one of field’s foremost minds, this is an episode you cannot miss.” A bright green circular play button appears in the upper right corner. Subheading: “Topics Discussed (+ Timestamps):” A list of timestamps and segment titles follows: (00:00:00) Introduction & welcome to Dr. Boris Heifets, MD, PhD! (00:08:44) How Boris & I first met, & why I've admired him since! (00:11:00) Who Boris is beyond titles: curiosity, sci-fi imagination, & breaking boundaries (00:16:00) Childhood across Moscow, Denver, St. Louis, Philly → disconnection & search for belonging (00:17:30) College discoveries: MDMA & LSD → the shock of true connection (00:19:30) MDMA for autism spectrum: Alicia Danforth’s trial & showing connection for the first time (00:22:00) Psychedelics as tools, not cures → lifestyle & comorbidities vs. one-day interventions (00:27:00) How reductionistic models fail to capture what psychedelics actually do (00:31:00) Anesthesiology + psychiatry + neuroscience → how Boris integrates it all A bright green circular play button appears in the upper right corner. A continued list of timestamps and segment topics: (00:36:40) Applied neuroscience: giving drugs, flipping brain states in real time (00:43:00) Why mental health was always his focus & the bottlenecks of human communication (01:00:00) Translational bridge: MDMA, ketamine, psilocybin across mice & humans (01:12:00) What anesthesiology teaches psychiatry about states, context, & timing (01:25:00) Team science vs. lone-genius myth → collaboration, controversy, courage (01:36:00) What makes psychedelic medicine powerful: bending life trajectories, not instant cures (01:45:00) How to measure outcomes when the drug is just the beginning (01:55:00) Risks, hype, & how to ground the field in reality without losing hope (02:10:00) Closing reflections: radical curiosity, gratitude, & staying human in the science A bright green circular play button appears in the upper right corner.
August 25, 2025 at 11:07 PM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
🤯TRIPPING IN YOUR SLEEP: Psychedelics, The Placebo Effect, & How Human Connection Heals the Brain with Dr. Boris Heifets @theborislab.bsky.social💭 Ep. 51 of A Chat with Uma out now! 🌟

This ep is truly a dream come true (no pun intended)-a MUST listen! 🙌🏾 Tune in📲 creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/...
Split promotional graphic for the podcast "A Chat with Uma." The left side features a smiling man in glasses and a light purple blazer over a pink-and-blue checkered shirt, standing outdoors with blurred greenery behind him. A soft rainbow gradient overlays the image. The right side has a black background and includes the colorful brain-flower podcast logo at the top, followed by the text: "A Chat with Uma" by Uma R. Chatterjee, M.S., MHPS Large headline: "Tripping In Your Sleep:" Subheadline: "Psychedelics, The Placebo Effect, & How Human Connection Heals the Brain with Dr. Boris Heifets." Along the bottom are icons for Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Orange icon (possibly Overcast), Spotify, and RSS.
August 25, 2025 at 11:07 PM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
2) I’m honored to be selected as a mentee for the @acnporg.bsky.social Near-Peer Mentorship Program! 🎉

I’m deeply grateful to everyone in our field who has supported me as a scientist with lived experience! I wouldn’t be here without your belief in me & you challenging the stigma! 🙏🏾 #ACNP2026
August 12, 2025 at 7:58 PM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
THRILLED to share @acnporg.bsky.social news x2!

1) Our study group “Centering Lived Experience in Psychiatric Neuroscience Research” @ericjnestler.bsky.social @mayaschumer.bsky.social @deffinger.bsky.social @viscidula.bsky.social @noelvest.bsky.social @cahill-lab.bsky.social=ACCEPTED! 🤩 #ACNP2026
August 12, 2025 at 7:58 PM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
We also discuss disordered eating, working full time through undergrad, the cost of doing science while poor, navigating academia with chronic illness, and the unspoken labor of advocating for equity from within elite institutions.

Read through all topics covered below!👇🏾 6/
• Introduction & welcome to Dr. Ya’el Courtney • State intervention, bouncing between homes, & the decision to stay alive • Shoplifting for food & clothes; straight-A validation at school • Anorexia → bulimia → binge eating: control in chaos • Self-harm as dopamine; reading the DSM & misdiagnosing herself a “psychopath” • Forged transcripts, expulsions, confession, & landing at Kent State • Working 40 h/week while carrying a full course load & unpaid lab hours • Strep + mono, months of cognitive fog, & a commitment to protect sleep • Summer REUs, research productivity, & graduating debt-free • Seven grad school offers—strategy, letters, & the essay that changed everything • Choosing a PhD mentor who defended boundaries & a 50-hour work cap • PhD findings: choroid plexus secretory “balloons,” 5-HT2C signaling, & prenatal drug risk • LSD, psilocybin, & why pregnant or breastfeeding people should avoid them (for now) • COVID’s silver lining: new funding for post-viral brain research • Stanford postdoc: unraveling immune-triggered neurodegeneration in long COVID & Lyme • Making science accessible: “Let the Data Speak” • Closing reflections: turning survival skills into a blueprint for the next generation
July 1, 2025 at 10:51 PM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
🎓 FROM FOSTER CARE TO HARVARD NEUROSCIENTIST: The Choice to Live, Maternal #Psychedelics, & Post-Viral Chronic Illnesses with Dr. Ya’el Courtney @scienceyael.bsky.social
☄️ Ep. 46 of A Chat with Uma is out everywhere now! Truly a MUST listen🌟👏🏾

🎙️Tune in here 👉🏾 creators.spotify.com/pod/show/uma... 1/
Podcast cover for “A Chat with Uma.” On the left side is Dr. Ya’el Courtney, a smiling woman with long brown hair, a striped blue button-down shirt, and small hoop earrings. The background is a gradient of rainbow tones. On the right is the podcast branding, featuring a rainbow-colored brain and leaf logo above the title. The text reads: ⸻ Full Transcription of Text on the Image: A Chat with Uma By Uma R. Chatterjee, M.S., MHPS From Foster Care to Harvard Neuroscientist: The Choice to Live, Maternal Psychedelics, & Post-Viral Chronic Illnesses with Dr. Ya’el Courtney [Icons for Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, and RSS Feed appear at the bottom.]
July 1, 2025 at 10:51 PM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
My podcast, A Chat with Uma, has listeners in… 49 countries?! 🤯🌏

I can’t wrap my head around how far & wide our community lives.

I lived in isolation & shame for SO long from severe #MentalIllness & unimaginably painful circumstances—where my truth was deeply uncomfortable+intolerable to most. 1/
A podcast analytics screenshot for A Chat with Uma showing the geographic location of listeners under the “Audience” tab. The view is set to “All platforms.” The top five countries are listed with their respective percentages: United States (77.1%), Canada (6%), United Kingdom (4.2%), Australia (2.6%), and Sweden (1.6%). At the bottom, there’s a red-circled link labeled “Show all (49),” indicating the podcast has listeners in 49 countries.
May 31, 2025 at 5:15 PM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
In Part 2, @mayaschumer.bsky.social walks us through her PhD & postdoc research on #BipolarDisorder, including:

🧠 The largest bipolar fMRI meta-analysis ever published at the time
🧠 3 independent risk-cohort replications
🧠 Analyzing first-episode mania datasets

Full show notes below ⬇️ #SciComm
episode 41 of A Chat with Uma, we pick up right where we left off with Dr. Maya Schumer-a psychiatric neuroscientist who studies bipolar disorder, the very illness she lives with. In Part 2, Maya walks us through her PhD and Postdoc research thus far: the largest functional-MRI meta-analysis ever published at the time, 3 independent risk-cohort replications, and analyzing first-episode mania datasets. We dig into the honest reality of doing cutting-edge science while your brain is the very object of study-managing chronic suicidality, navigating disclosure, unlearning internalized (& reinforced) stigma, and redefining resilience beyond survival. Dr. Maya Schumer is a psychiatric neuroscientist & postdoctoral researcher who studies—& has lived experience with-Bipolar Disorder. Maya received her PhD in neuroscience from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 2023 mentored by Dr. Mary Phillips, where she used task-based functional neuroimaging & coordinate-based meta-analysis to identify reproducible & replicable neural network markers of bipolar disorder risk. Currently, Maya is a postdoctoral fellow at McLean Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Mentored by Dr. Dost Öngür, Maya examines resting-state functional connectivity patterns & neural network dynamics across different stages & mood states in bipolar disorder, with an overall goal to model its dynamic nature. Topics Discussed (+ Timestamps): (00:00:00) Welcome back to Maya! Quick recap of Part 1 & why you need it for context! LISTEN HERE (00:09:20) How Maya survived a PhD while in hell: mentors, support, and scope-control (00:11:00) fMR| 101-bold signals, task vs. resting state, and default-mode rumination (00:14:58) The heterogeneity problem: why three decades of bipolar imaging rarely replicate (00:17:30) Building a 205-study meta-analysis & finding new network players in the neurobiology of bipolar disorder (00:24:46) The shocking shortage of mania/mixed-state scans-and why it matters for biomarkers (00:26:56) Young-adult risk cohorts & the 169-item Mood Spectrum Self-Report (00:29:54) Replicating mania- vs. depression-specific connectivity across three datasets (00:33:00) Maya's postdoc research: first-episode mania, mixed states, & siblings at risk (00:41:36) Discovering a stigma-smashing research environment at McLean (00:44:24) From patient to Pl: lining up K-award goals while battling urgency & perfectionism (00:59:00) Compliance vs. acceptance: managing stability without pathologizing every human feeling (01:05:50) Internalized ableism, masking mania, & the myth of "functional" bipolar (01:14:06) Time lost to our illnesses, managing the standards of academia, & recalibrating worth (01:20:00) When the work keeps you alive but the workload can kill you (01:38:00) How our illnesses are simultaneously sensationalized AND stigmatized (01:44:50) Final reflections: will to live, redefining resilience, & building a new future for our field
May 30, 2025 at 11:55 PM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
🧠 MAPPING THE BIPOLAR BRAIN: Emerging Biomarkers, New Brain Regions, & Lived Experience in Research w/ Dr. @mayaschumer.bsky.social (pt. 2) ☯️

Ep. 41 of A Chat with Uma is out now! Listen here👉🏾 creators.spotify.com/pod/show/uma...

#BipolarDisorder #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth #Neuroscience #SciComm
May 30, 2025 at 11:55 PM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
In Pt. 1, @mayaschumer.bsky.social shares her full experience across 3 decades:
☯️ Growing up w/ a father with Bipolar 1
☯️Her own journey from Bipolar 2 → 1
☯️ Hospitalizations
☯️ Lithium
☯️ Chronic s#icidality
☯️ #MetabolicPsychiatry
☯️ IV k3tam!ne
☯️ TMS
☯️ Redefining “stability”
Read full topics below ⬇️
(00:14:00) Artist → neuroscientist plot-twist (00:17:46) Creativity, bipolar, & the Kaye Redfield Jamison spark (00:20:26) How & why we met on X/Twitter, defying the norms of academia, & building a movement together (00:26:30) Ableism in research spaces & how we fight back (00:31:34) Childhood in bipolar's shadow: therapy at three & "casserole syndrome" (00:38:42) Stigma lessons, dignity, & mourning a living ghost (00:43:02) College crash: color-coding moods → diagnosis at 20 (00:46:30) Types | & Il, mixed states, spectrum-& living every corner of it (00:53:00) Compliance # acceptance: owning the illness vs. just taking meds (01:05:52) Losing sleep, losing friendships, & the 24/7 second job of self-monitoring (01:17:46) Seasonal mood whiplash & March-mania defenses (01:22:54) Keto, & lithium 2.0 (01:34:12) Daily IV ketamine, accelerated TMS, & pluralism (01:44:30) A brutally honest convo about chronic suicidality (01:52:00) Redefining stability, building lived-experience science
May 20, 2025 at 12:46 AM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
On Ep. 40 of A Chat with Uma, I talk to Dr. @mayaschumer.bsky.social —a psychiatric neuroscientist who studies & lives with #bipolardisorder. Maya earned her PhD in neurosci at Pitt Med & is now a postdoc at @mcleanhospital.bsky.social @harvardmed.bsky.social modeling the dynamic nature of BD. 1/
On episode 40 of A Chat with Uma, I sit down with my o friend Dr. Maya Schumer-a psychiatric neuroscientist who studies bipolar disorder, the very illness she lives with. She shares her full experience across 3 decades: growing up with a father with bipolar 1 disorder, how her own bipolar 2 diagnosis morphed into bipolar 1, several hospitalizations, her relationship with lithium, chronic suicidality, metabolic psychiatry, IV ketamine, TMS, & redefining "stability." If you've ever struggled with chronic suicidality, felt the weight of stigma in academia, or questioned what makes life worth holding onto-this conversation is for you. Maya's story is one of survival, honesty, & the power of turning pain into purpose. Dr. Maya Schumer is a psychiatric neuroscientist & postdoctoral researcher who studies—& has lived experience with-Bipolar Disorder. Maya received her PhD in neuroscience from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 2023, where she used task-based functional neuroimaging & coordinate-based meta-analysis to identify reproducible & replicable neural network markers of bipolar disorder risk. Currently, Maya is a postdoctoral fellow at McLean Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Mentored by Dr. Dost Öngür, Maya examines resting-state functional connectivity patterns & neural network dynamics across different stages & mood states in bipolar disorder, with an overall goal to model its dynamic nature. Maya's passion for research is informed by her own lived experience. In her role as a researcher with lived experience, she aims to address & dismantle the stigma surrounding serious mental illnesses (SMIs), make academia & research environments more inclusive & accommodating for those with disabilities; & advocate for meaningful co-production between individuals with lived experience & scientists.
May 20, 2025 at 12:46 AM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
🧠 WHY IS MY BRAIN TRYING TO K!LL ME?: Living With Bipolar 1 Disorder & Chronic S#icidality with Dr. @mayaschumer.bsky.social (pt. 1) ☯️
Ep. 40 of A Chat with Uma out now! Listen here 👉🏾 creators.spotify.com/pod/show/uma...

#BipolarDisorder #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth #Neuroscience #LivedExperience 1/
A podcast promotional graphic for “A Chat with Uma” by Uma R. Chatterjee, M.S., MHPS. The left side features a woman with shoulder-length brown hair holding a sign for a Reddit AMA. The sign says “WORLD BIPOLAR DAY - ASK ME ANYTHING - MAYA SCHUMER.” The right side has a black background with a colorful brain logo and text: A CHAT WITH UMA By Uma R. Chatterjee, M.S., MHPS Why Is My Brain Trying To Kill Me? Living With Bipolar I Disorder & Chronic Suicidality with Dr. Maya Schumer Podcast icons for Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, and RSS are at the bottom. Transcription: Left side (sign held by Dr. Maya Schumer): “WORLD BIPOLAR DAY ASK ME ANYTHING MAYA SCHUMER” Text above the sign: “BIGGEST BIPOLAR DISORDER Q&A STARTS MARCH 19, 2025 ON” followed by the Reddit logo Text below the sign: “R/IAMA REDDIT × CREST.BD U/CRE” Right side (podcast title): A CHAT WITH UMA By Uma R. Chatterjee, M.S., MHPS Why Is My Brain Trying To Kill Me? Living With Bipolar I Disorder & Chronic Suicidality with Dr. Maya Schumer (Streaming platform icons along the bottom: Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, and RSS)
May 20, 2025 at 12:46 AM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
I’m ecstatic to share that I’ve joined the One Mind Lived Experience Council! 🧠🎗️

This position affords me the privilege to TRULY harness my intersectional experiences as a mental health neuroscience researcher, advocate, science communicator, & most importantly, survivor w/ lived experience! 1/
A digital graphic features the One Mind logo at the top, consisting of a yellow Möbius strip with a white triangle inside it. Below the logo, bold black text reads “ONE MIND™.” Below the logo, a LinkedIn post states: “Started New Position at One Mind” “Today — One Mind” Below this, the post reads: “I’m ecstatic to share that I’m starting a new position as a One Mind Lived Experience Council (OMLEC) Member at One Mind!” “I’m ecstatic to share that I’m starting a new position as a One Mind Lived Experience Council (OMLEC) Member at One Mind! I am incredibly honored, grateful, and thrilled to join the One Mind Lived Experience Council, a pioneering initiative bringing together a group of exceptional individuals who have successfully navigated severe mental health conditions such as schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder—and now, obsessive-compulsive disorder! These members are not only leaders in their professional fields but also champions of mental health advocacy, bringing a wealth of personal and professional insights to support One Mind Accelerator startups, One Mind At Work members, and the Rising Star Awards research programs, as well as advocating to representatives and policymakers. The primary goal of the One Mind Lived Experience Council is to provide invaluable lived experience-based insights and professional expertise to help One Mind initiatives thrive. By leveraging their unique perspectives and extensive networks, council members guide them in developing products, services, workplaces, research programs, and policies that genuinely address the needs of those living with mental health conditions. They also help startups access key leaders in advocacy and science, as well as broader lived experience communities, ensuring that innovations, workplaces, research programs, and policies are both impactful and inclusive. I am beyond honored to join such an impactful, interdisciplinary, and inspirational team of individuals at One Mind who embody all of the values that inspire my work in the mental health field. I’m grateful for the opportunity to raise further awareness for and develop critical resources for mental illness at large, and especially for globally underrepresented and underserved conditions like OCD. In my view, lived experience representation means little if it’s siloed away from all the systems it’s meant to inform—lived experience perspectives must be actively integrated into all disciplines that support the mental health field, and One Mind is pioneering this effort. It’s a privilege to have the opportunity within OMLEC to TRULY harness my intersectional experiences as a mental health neuroscience researcher, advocate, science communicator, & most importantly, survivor with lived experience. I’m endlessly grateful to the OMLEC & One Mind for giving me this opportunity & welcoming me with open arms. I cannot wait for everything to come! 🙏🏽
March 13, 2025 at 10:26 PM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
All I could think about at yesterday’s #StandUpForScience2025 march was… the fact that I should not be here, alive, today.

There are so many biological illnesses that should have killed me. 1/
Uma, a smiling woman stands in front of the Wisconsin State Capitol holding a handmade sign that reads: “MENTAL ILLNESS. CANCER SURVIVOR. SCIENCE IS WHY I AM ALIVE TODAY” She is wearing a black coat and standing among other attendees at a rally. Above her, a large printed sign with a blue Statue of Liberty and bold red and white text promotes the “Stand Up for Science 2025” rally. Other people in the background are holding signs and engaging in the event.
March 8, 2025 at 6:09 PM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
⬆️ Promo clip, pt. 2 🫶🏾
February 15, 2025 at 8:34 PM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
🎙️Ep. 28 of A Chat with Uma — 🚀 I’M BACK! Where I’ve Been, & Where We’re Going From Here ☀️

⚡️Full episode available EVERYWHERE now! Subscribe, rate, review, & share the podcast to support me + the show 🫶🏾

Tune in 👉🏾 creators.spotify.com/pod/show/uma...

#MentalHealthMatters #Recovery #RealOCD #SciComm
February 15, 2025 at 8:34 PM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
🎙️ More info about A Chat With Uma, my #mentalhealth #SciComm & #advocacy podcast, & its next season shared below!👇🏾

And if YOU would like to be a guest on the show to share your research, lived experience, advocacy project, or other expertise with a global+wide-ranging audience—please reach out! 🤩🙌🏾
umarchatterjee W Drumroll... The next season of @AChatWithUma launches in ONE week!!! % • On @AChatWithUma, we explore our true human experiences in their fullest forms. I harness my uniquely intersecting roles as a mental health neuroscientist AND lived experience advocate to bridge the gap between research & lived experience. The podcast brings together the world's leading mental health researchers, clinicians, experts, & lived experience advocates to create a space of inclusive + accessible science communication, growth, empowerment, curiosity, vulnerability, and shared humanity! Threaded with my own unfiltered, raw, & honest journey through mental illness recovery, healing, & life lessons, because... I'm always walking the walk, right alongside you. ❤️ I cannot thank you all for supporting @AChatWithUma since the very beginning. Because of you, the podcast has already reached THOUSANDS of humans in 42 countries around the WORLD! You're the reason that l've been able to bring on the guests of my dreams & share conversations straight from their hearts AND share solos straight from the heart. And I've been absolutely shocked by how much the podcast has blown up during its break... all because of YOU. THANK YOU for co-creating this space of honesty, curiosity, growth, & acceptance with me. And thank you for letting me show up exactly as I am, in MY fullest form, past the boundaries & constraints of what my "roles" are "supposed" to allow. Because of you, we are opening a new chapter of @AChatWithUma together with the most incredible guests, conversations, topics-on ALL things mental health, neuroscience, psychology, p$ych3d3l!c$, advocacy, lived experience, recovery... we're going there x 10000! The next season launches in 1 WEEK on Monday February 10th! Until then, catch up with all previous episodes - link in bio, available on all podcast platforms! What do YOU want to hear next on @AChatWithUma? Leave all your requests below-topics, guests, questions, AMA, let's goooo!
February 3, 2025 at 5:39 PM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
🌟Season 2 of my podcast, A Chat With Uma, launches NEXT WEEK! 🚀🧠

Here, I harness my uniquely intersecting roles as both a #mentalhealth neuroscientist AND advocate to bridge the gap between research & lived experience 🌈 #SciComm

🎙️Subscribe & catch up here 👉🏾 creators.spotify.com/pod/show/uma...
February 3, 2025 at 5:39 PM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
So excited to share that I’m earning a PhD minor in Life Sciences Communication alongside my Neuroscience PhD! Grateful to receive formal #SciComm training to expand my existing initiatives & support of my mission to bridge the gap between #MentalHealth research & lived experience communities! 🧠🎙️🌏🎗️
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON W MyGradPortal Chatterjee, Uma Campus ID: EmplID: NetID: Enrolled Programs Program Name Neuroscience PHD Life Sciences Communication GMIN Type Major Minor UNIVERSITY of WISCONSIN-MADISON Life Sciences Communication College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Q Search MENU E Home / Academic Programs / Ph.D. Minor Ph.D. Minor The Ph.D. minor in Life Sciences Communication allows students enrolled in Ph.D. programs from the biological and physical sciences, as well as interested students from other social science and humanities departments, to supplement their existing Ph.D. course work with a transcriptable minor in Life Sciences Communication. A Ph.D. minor in Life Sciences Communication is particularly valuable for graduate students in the natural and physical sciences who are interested in the ethical, legal, and social implications of emerging technologies, or who want to build an intellectual foundation for a future career in policy or various mission agencies (e.g., American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) policy fellowships) dealing with public understanding and communication of science. Many students from these fields routinely take classes in our department, and a Ph.D. minor allows them to get formal recognition for their doctoral-level work in this area.
January 12, 2025 at 7:16 PM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
I’m grateful to begin 2025 as President at OCD Wisconsin!

I’m honored to hold this position after serving as a board member (10/23-6/24) & Vice President (6/24-12/24)! Excited for everything to come in the next year + beyond alongside our phenomenal board members 💚🎗️

Learn more 👉🏾 ocdwisconsin.org
The image text reads: Started position as President of OCD Wisconsin Today — OCD Wisconsin It includes a partial logo of trees within a circular border.
January 2, 2025 at 2:04 AM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
👑 Honored to be in Reinvented Magazine’s 2025 #PrincessesWithPowertools calendar!✨ Every purchase helps provide free calendars to schools, libraries, & youth organizations, breaking barriers & showing young girls that they belong in STEM!👩🏾‍🔬

Grab your copy 📆 www.reinventedmagazine.com/princesses-w...
A vibrant image of Uma R. Chatterjee smiling in a lab setting. Uma wears a mint green hoodie, purple gloves, and a red hair scarf, with colorful butterfly clips in her hair. She holds a pipette in one hand and a test tube in the other, surrounded by scientific equipment. The background features a whimsical illustration of a racetrack and racecar, symbolizing Vanellope von Schweetz. Overlay text reads “Uma R. Chatterjee, M.S., MHPS” and “Neuroscientist and Mental Health Advocate.” Uma R. Chatterjee, M.S., MHPS is an award-winning neuroscientist, science communicator, & mental health advocate. Uma earned her M.S. in Neuroscience from the UTexas-Dallas, & is currently a Neuroscience Ph.D. student & NIH TL1 Predoctoral Fellow studying the neurobiology of OCD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Uma’s neurobiology research, MHPS practice, & advocacy are all informed by her lived experience with lifelong mental illness (OCD, PTSD, depression, anxiety, bulimia), cancer, chronic illnesses, and disabilities. While science often sees Uma’s lived experiences as a glitch, her embracing lived experience is truly her superpower that drives her science. Her work as a scientist stands for the active inclusion and representation of fellow scientists with illnesses and disabilities in research. Her survivorship serves as the bedrock of her advocacy, carried out through her work as a globally-invited public speaker, science communicator, and podcast host of ‘A Chat with Uma. Full calendar image from Reinvented Magazine, announcing the 2025 Princesses with Powertools calendar. It features multiple participants dressed as iconic princesses with STEM tools, including Uma in her lab attire as Vanellope von Schweetz in the top row, center. The central tile reads “Princesses with Powertools 2025” in bold, colorful text.
December 22, 2024 at 11:08 PM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
AMAZING #ACNP2024 talk by Dr. Jiyeong Kim on “Large Language Models Outperform Mental & Medical Health Care Professionals in Identifying #OCD”! 👏🏾🧠

Fully packed out room for @crodriguezmdphd.bsky.social’s session, “Harnessing Generative AI for Advancing Mental Health Diagnosis & Care” 🤩🙌🏾
Jiyeong at podium with slide in background. Carolyn at table next to podium.
December 9, 2024 at 11:22 PM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
Landed in Phoenix last night 🌵 and immediately ran into the one & only @connorhaggarty.bsky.social at the airport! 🎉 What a great way to start off #ACNP2024 ☺️
Connor and Uma sitting in an Uber, smiling!
December 8, 2024 at 2:40 PM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
Finally en route to #ACNP2024! ✈️🌵See everyone tomorrow in Phoenix for Day 1, cannot wait!!! 🤗🧠 @acnporg.bsky.social
Uma smiling brightly and giving a thumbs-up gesture while seated on an airplane. She is wearing a black puffer jacket and a black shirt. The image has a retro Polaroid-style filter with light flares and a “Polaroid SLR680” label at the bottom.
December 8, 2024 at 12:39 AM
umarchatterjee.bsky.social
Hi #ACNP2024 🤗 I’m Uma—2nd yr Neuro PhD student in Mike Cahill’s lab @ UW-Madison! I study the pathophysiology of #OCD & #psychedelics 🧠

I’m passionate about bridging the gap between mental health research＋lived experience via scicomm＋advocacy!🎗️ Can’t wait to learn from＋meet y’all @ my 2nd ACNP! 🤩
Uma, a smiling individual wearing a white lab coat and blue gloves - posing in a science laboratory, holding up a peace sign. The background features shelves stocked with lab supplies, a pink plush elephant for OCD awareness, and a string of Uma’s photos displayed with clothespins on her lab bench.
December 6, 2024 at 10:48 PM