Read, Watch, + Listen

Globally-Invited Public Speaker

11 solo presentations

Keynote addresses, invited science & research communication talks, lived experience advocacy

25 panel presentations

Science & research communication, lived experience advocacy, professional development

20 workshop presentations

Professional development, academic mentorship, community outreach, mental health peer support

33 podcast episodes

Science communication, lived experience advocacy, young adult cancer, mental + physical + chronic illness, disability justice, religious cults, & more

Check Out Media Features

Listen to full podcast episode

American Psychological Association (APA)’s Speaking of Psychology Podcast:
OCD Myths & Realities with Dean McKay, Ph.D & Uma Chatterjee

Have you heard people say, “I’m so OCD”? There are a lot of myths around obsessive compulsive disorder. In reality, it’s a multi-faceted mental health disorder that seriously affects people’s lives – but is also treatable with evidence-based therapies. Psychologist Dean McKay, PhD, and OCD advocate Uma Chatterjee talk about what obsessive compulsive disorder is, how it differs from the stereotypes, why it is so often misunderstood and misdiagnosed, and what effective treatments are available.

International OCD Foundation: OCD Awareness Week
Uma Chatterjee’s OCD Truth

Today, Uma is an IOCDF Advocate, neuroscientist, researcher, and science communicator living a full and purposeful life – but before an accurate OCD diagnosis and effective OCD treatment, Uma’s life looked completely different. At her worst, OCD made Uma join a religious cult, failed out of school with a 1.83 GPA, and confined her to her house without electricity or groceries. It took her 25 years to get a proper diagnosis and treatment, but today, she is flourishing in recovery due to the power of exposure and response prevention and community.

Biohaven: “What If…” Campaign
OCD Testimonial: Uma

Meet Uma, an OCD survivor & advocate sharing her journey with OCD in this “What if…” testimonial. Created by Biohaven, Ethan Smith, & Katie O’Dunne.

We are currently recruiting participants for our OCD clinical trial from the US, Canada, the United Kingdom (UK), Spain, and Italy. To learn more and to see if you qualify visit: https://ocdtrials.com/.

Biohaven: “What If…” Campaign
OCD Commercial

One of the commercials from the first-ever nationally-airing OCD awareness commercial campaign. Created by Biohaven & Ethan Smith.

Biohaven: “What If…” Campaign
OCD Commercial

One of the commercials from the first-ever nationally-airing OCD awareness commercial campaign. Created by Biohaven & Ethan Smith.

Watch Live & Recorded Events

IOCDF Town Hall: Life After ERP

Join IOCDF Advocates for a Town Hall, discussing all things related to ERP, OCD treatment, recovery, and survivorship!

Featuring IOCDF Advocates: Rev. Katie O’Dunne (host), Uma Chatterjee, and Alie Garza

OCD and the brain website

OCD and the Brain: Global Launch Event

Join UCL, OCD Action and the IOCDF for a special livestream launching the new digital hub: OCD and The Brain, designed for young people and their parents/caregivers! This live event brings together a global coalition of researchers, partners and community members to dive into all the features, research, resources and the heart behind the creation of this initiative along with a virtual tour of the new website and Q&A.

IOCDF Town Hall: Year In Review/Holiday Blues

Join IOCDF Advocates for a special Holiday Town Hall, discussing all things related to OCD recovery, coping with holiday stressors, and year in review for the IOCDF’s advocacy initiatives!

Featuring IOCDF Advocates: Ethan Smith (host), Uma Chatterjee, Kyle King, and Kyra Cheung

OCD Gamechangers:
OCD Awareness Week Advocate Event

Hosted by Chrissie Hodges
Featuring Uma R. Chatterjee, M.S., MHPS & 40+ OCD Advocates

Join us for this LIVE event to celebrate OCD Awareness Week with over 40 OCD advocates sharing the importance of community, collaboration, and messages of hope!

ABRCMS 2023 Professional Development Session:
Lessons From Disabled Scientists (excerpt)

Panelists: Uma R. Chatterjee, Callie Mahrer, & Alyssa Paparella

Over 25% of America’s population identifies as disabled, yet this population is not represented in the same proportion in STEM fields. To address this issue, conversations that center disabled advocates are required to move forward the field to raise awareness of barriers that current disabled students and scientists face.

IOCDF Live: OCD Awareness Week
Diversity Starts With Us

Featuring: Uma R. Chatterjee, M.S., MHPS, Alexandra Reynolds, Carolyn Rodriguez, M.D., Ph.D, & Jelani Daniel, LPC

Join a diverse group of BIPOC patients, advocates, and clinicians for a discussion about the additional stigmas and barriers that marginalized populations face in accessing treatment, receiving appropriate diagnosis & treatment, and finding community through their OCD recovery. This conversation will address common roadblocks faced by BIPOC patients due to their cultures, racial/ethnic backgrounds, faiths, and intersecting identities, and how these factors have shaped treatment, recovery, and community support. This event will help raise awareness, improve representation, and break the stigma – and above all, this event will provide an active call to action to have more people from diverse communities and allies join us in improving outcomes for marginalized populations and bridging the gap of inequality.

Made of Millions:
Why Is There Such A Lack of BIPOC Representation In The OCD Space?

Hosts: Uma R. Chatterjee, M.S., MHPS & Esther Fernandez

Join Esther Fernandez of Made of Millions & OCD Advocate, Uma Chatterjee, for a honest & open conversation about diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and representation of BIPOC folks in the OCD space.

IOCDF Live
Community Conversations

Host: Uma R. Chatterjee, M.S., MHPS

Join Uma live as she hosts a candid and wide-ranging conversation on all things OCD, including: lived experience, current treatment, relapse, being an OCD researcher, current OCD genetic studies, psychedelic research, and more.

IOCDF Diversity Roundtable
Suicide Prevention

Panelists: Dr. Darlene Davis Goodwine, Uma R. Chatterjee, Krista Reed, & Erika McCoy

The Diversity Roundtable is an open discussion for members of the OCD and related disorder to talk about representation, access to treatment, stigma, and much more.

IOCDF Live
Community Conversations

Hosts: Tom Smalley & Uma R. Chatterjee, M.S., MHPS

Join Tom & Uma live as they host a candid discussion about all things OCD and beyond.

Stupid Cancer: CancerCon 2023
Psychedelics & Cancer: Exploring the Research for Potential Mental Health Treatment

Research on psychedelics as mental health treatments is at an all-time high. Currently, various psychedelics and psychoplastogens, including psilocybin, MDMA, LSD, DMT, and ketamine, are being studied across a wide variety of disciplines for several clinical indications, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, chronic pain, and most notably, cancer and cancer-adjacent conditions. This informative session will synthesize the current literature and findings on psychedelics as therapeutics for AYA cancer and cancer-related mental health conditions.

IOCDF Town Hall
Grieving: Time Lost to OCD

Join Host Katie O’Dunne as she welcomes an all-star panel to discuss Grieving: Time Lost to OCD.

Featuring: Uma R. Chatterjee, Ethan Smith, Katie O’Dunne, Alegra Kastens, Kimberley Quinlan, & Chris Trondsen.

Breaking Convention 2023
Psychedelics, PTSD, & Comorbid OCD: Considering the implications of comorbid OCD in the psychedelic-assisted treatments of PTSD

This talk will orient the audience to the comorbid nature of dynamically-related PTSD and OCD diagnoses, assess current psychological and pharmacological treatments of comorbid PTSD and OCD, and discuss the potential biological and pharmacological mechanisms of psychedelics that impact PTSD and OCD as comorbid conditions. This talk also evaluates the current paradigm of psychedelic-assisted therapy for PTSD in consideration of comorbid OCD through the comprehensive and multidisciplinary analysis of current trials across neurobiology, psychology, neuropharmacology, clinical trial/research design, and phenomenology. Finally, this talk discusses several directions for further investigations into this topic across a wide range of relevant disciplines, and closes with numerous recommendations to implement for addressing this critical comorbidity.

Aspiring Scientists Coalition with Dr. Ben Rein
Uma R. Chatterjee: A non-traditional path to neuroscience, advocacy, and psychedelic research

In this meeting we talked with M.S student Uma R. Chatterjee about ”A non-traditional path to neuroscience, advocacy, and psychedelic research”.

IOCDF Town Hall
Starting 2023 Off On The Right Foot

Join IOCDF Advocates for a special New Years’ Town Hall.

Featuring: Uma R. Chatterjee, Katie O’Dunne, Ethan Smith, & Kalista Dwyer

PsychedelX 2022
MDMA & OCD: Exploring effects of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD on comorbid OCD

This is the winning talk of PsychedelX 2022! Congratulations to Uma! Uma R. Chatterjee – MDMA & OCD: Exploring effects of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD on comorbid OCD

Day 1 – Natural Sciences category of PsychedelX 2022, hosted by the Intercollegiate Psychedelics Network.

Stupid Cancer: CancerCon 2021
Muddling Through the Medical System: The Importance of Patient Self Advocacy

When entering the complicated medical system for cancer treatment, many AYAs face obstacles like delayed diagnosis or age discrimination. It can be difficult to advocate for yourself to medical professionals, but it’s critical that AYAs take an active and collaborative role in their treatment. This panel presentation will provide the patient and professional perspective on how patients can best navigate the medical system in the face of health disparities.

Speakers: Dante’ Morehead, MPH, Uma Chatterjee and Becky Hughes