Ritam Chowdhury is an Indian writer, physician,

epidemiologist Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and risk factor, determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decision ...

and

biostatistician Biostatistics (also known as biometry) are the development and application of statistical methods to a wide range of topics in biology. It encompasses the design of biological experiments, the collection and analysis of data from those experimen ...

scientist of

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

descent. His work in the fields of applied

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...

health economics Health economics is a branch of economics concerned with issues related to efficiency, effectiveness, value and behavior in the production and consumption of health and healthcare. Health economics is important in determining how to improv ...

, and

outcomes research Outcomes research is a branch of public health research which studies the end results ( outcomes) of the structure and processes of the health care system on the health and well-being of patients and populations. According to one medical outcomes an ...

has contributed towards

evidence-based medicine Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients". The aim of EBM is to integrate the experience of the clinician, the values of t ...

guidelines for

oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

and

trauma Trauma most often refers to: *Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source *Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event *Traumatic inju ...

care. He is the Research Director of

Medical Associates for Research and Communication Medical Associates for Research and Communication (MARC) is a Non-Governmental Organisation that works globally with medical students and researchers with little to no background in research. Their primary goal is to help these researchers compl ...

(MARC). He also holds appointments as Visiting Instructor of

Epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...

and

Biostatistics Biostatistics (also known as biometry) are the development and application of statistical methods to a wide range of topics in biology. It encompasses the design of biological experiments, the collection and analysis of data from those experime ...

at the

Global Health Global health is the health of the populations in the worldwide context; it has been defined as "the area of study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide". Problem ...

Department of

Rollins School of Public Health The Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH) is the public health school of Emory University. Founded in 1990, Rollins has more than 1,100 students pursuing master's degrees ( MPH/MSPH) and over 150 students pursuing doctorate degrees ( PhD). Th ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and Statistical Consultant for the Instructional Computing Facility at

Harvard School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. The school grew out of the Harvard-MIT School for Health Officers, the nation's first ...

(HSPH),

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Early life

Chowdhury was born into a

family originally from

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

, India. He was born in New Delhi and later moved to Kolkata. In 1993, a few months after the infamous

Bombay riots In the Bombay riots in December 1992 and January 1993, an estimated 900 people died. The riots were mainly due to escalations of hostilities after large scale protests by Muslims in reaction to the 1992 Babri Masjid Demolition by Hindu Karsev ...

, his family moved to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Education

Chowdhury is an alumnus of St. Mary's School (ISC, 1997–1999), Mazagaon, Mumbai and D. G. Ruparel College of Arts, Science & Commerce (HSC, 1999–2001), Matunga, Mumbai. He graduated with a

MBBS Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

degree from

Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College and General Hospital is a full-fledged Government medical college located in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The college imparts the degree Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). It is recognised by t ...

Sion, Mumbai Sion ( /ˈsaːjən/; IAST: ''Śīv'' �iːʋ is a neighbourhood of Mumbai. In the 17th century the village formed the boundary between Mumbai and Salsette Island. The British named it marking the end of the city. The name remained even after Mu ...

at the

Maharashtra University of Health Sciences Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) is a higher education institution in Nashik, Maharashtra, India. History The university was established on 3 June 1998 by the state overnment of Maharashtrathrough an ordinance. The State Legisl ...

Nasik Nashik (, Marathi: aːʃik, also called as Nasik ) is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated on the banks of river Godavari, Nashik is the third largest city in Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune. Nashik ...

in 2005. He worked at Kalyan District Prison,

Thane Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven talukas ...

district thereafter as Medical Officer. He was awarded an MPH in Epidemiology from

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is the public health graduate school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. As the second independent, degree-granting institution for research in epi ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland in 2009, PhD in Epidemiology in 2013 from

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

and SM in Biostatistics from

in 2015.

Awards and honors

Chowdhury has received multiple awards in his relatively short career. * 1999 – Ebrahim M. Rowjee Scholarship * 1999 – Board Topper Mathematics – Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) * 2001 – Placed on the

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

State

Higher Secondary Certificate The Higher Secondary School Certificate is a secondary qualification in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Higher Secondary Education The Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education in Bangladesh recognises "Higher Secondary Education" unde ...

Board Examinations Merit List * 2002 – Distinction in

Anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

* 2002 – Distinction in

Biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

* 2002 – Distinction in

Physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

* 2002 – 2003 Sir Ratan Tata Scholarship * 2003 – Distinction in

Microbiology Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, prot ...

* 2003 – Distinction in

Pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

* 2003–2005 JRD Tata Scholarship * 2008 – 2009 Sir Ratan Tata Scholarship * 2008 – 2009 J. N. Tata Scholarship * 2009 – inducted into the

Delta Omega Delta Omega () is the honorary society for studies in public health, founded at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. History Delta Omega was founded in 1924 by two graduate students at the Johns Hopkins University B ...

Society, Alpha Chapter at

* 2020 - COVID19 Survivor

Scientific publications

Full list of publications.

Selected papers

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Literary work and hobbies

Chowdhury has also published 14 books under the pseudonym Thomas R. M. Webbe, crediting Chowdhury as the editor. His stories, based in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, notably feature the exploits of Rito and Gaja. This detective series has been very popular in India among children. In addition, he has written in other genres of fiction for children. Chowdhury recently made his poetry blog, Catharsis, public. He writes poetry under the pseudonym Ri Tam, three volumes of which have been published. Chowdhury is a polyglot and speaks 10 languages apart from English.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Ritam 1983 births 20th-century English poets 20th-century Indian medical doctors 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian male writers 21st-century Indian poets 21st-century Indian male writers Bengali writers Emory University faculty English-language poets from India Harvard Medical School faculty Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health alumni Biostatisticians Indian epidemiologists Indian male novelists Indian public health doctors Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health alumni Living people Rollins School of Public Health alumni St. Mary's School, Mumbai alumni Writers from Mumbai