Dr. Turja Chakrabarti founded Pratit International to address the health inequities he encountered in his hometown Kolkata, but knew afflicted communities across the world. What began as a first step with his uncle Dr. Aloke Chakrabarti, a local general practitioner, has now grown into a grassroots movement towards health equity. Since 2007, he has led multiple teams of medical providers to Kolkata to facilitate bidirectional partnerships and projects aimed toward improving healthcare access in vulnerable communities. He has developed and tailored the mobile clinic program which provides much needed primary care services to thousands of patients every year. He works closely with each of Pratit’s physicians to ensure that best practices in primary care are followed in our clinics. He has also innovated Pratit’s community health worker program that goes above and beyond to ensure primary care follow up and door to door public health.

Turja drives Pratit’s mission forward by leveraging partnerships through an inter-institutional consortium that now includes Johns Hopkins, Eastern Virginia Medical School and Medica Superspecialty Hospital Kolkata. He has presented on the topic “Bridging the Global Healthcare Gap” at the United States Consulate General, Kolkata. His research on “Recognizing Barriers to Care for Cardiovascular Disease Patients in Urban Indian Slums” has been presented at the American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians.

Turja earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania with a major in Health and Societies and a concentration in Global Health. Subsequently, he attended Georgetown University where he earned his Masters of Sciences in Physiology and Biophysics. He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from Eastern Virginia Medical School. He is currently a senior resident physician in Internal Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and travels frequently to Kolkata to manage the operations of Pratit International.

Dr. Ritwik Bhatia brings over a decade of field experience managing the operations of Pratit International. His pioneering efforts since his undergraduate years at the University of Pennsylvania have led to a viable organization committed to sustainable healthcare and development. Moreover, he has worked to incorporate a diverse faculty board of advisors from various institutions that consult on the mission and vision of Pratit International. Ritwik has led multiple delegations to Pratit’s project sites in Kolkata, where he has played a critical role in forging relationships with local organizations, health care providers, and civic institutions. In his current role as Vice President, Ritwik guides the organization in building sustainability initiatives, social impact marketing, and developing partnerships with NGOs, corporate sponsors, and academia.

Ritwik holds a B.A in Biological Basis of Behavior from the University of Pennsylvania. He worked as a Post-Baccalaureate Researcher at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Ritwik earned his Doctor of Medicine degree at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He is currently a Resident Physician in Neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine from where he continues his leadership with Pratit International.

Ankit helped establish Pratit International with Turja as classmates in high school. Although Pratit started as a simple fundraising effort in response to Cyclone driven devastation, the organization has evolved into a federally recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit with the mission of driving lasting change for the people who need it most in our world. Ankit helped establish the groundwork for what Pratit is today by forging relationships with university partners, corporate sponsors, and the local South Asian community in Virginia. Today, he serves as the Chief Financial Officer for the organization.

Ankit earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Syracuse University with majors in Economics and International Relations. Post-undergrad, he joined Teach For America and taught high school mathematics in Revere, MA while earning his Masters of Education degree from Boston University. Ankit currently works in Sales & Marketing at Google as Senior Partner Manager.

Pallabi traces her origins to Kolkata and accordingly has a deep rooted passion to promote the mission and vision of Pratit. She brings extensive experience in international relations after having worked in multiple government agencies. Her role in Pratit involves strategically coordinating partnerships across the globe in order to bring best practices in international development to tangible implementation at the grassroots level. She routinely organizes visits of international delegations to Kolkata to partner with Pratit’s local team. She works closely with multiple US academic medical centers and Kolkata based hospitals and companies. Her work has ensured a meaningful and collaborative effort between Pratit International and its global partners.

Pallabi earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University where she studied labor relations. She went on to pursue her Master of Sciences degree in Development & Communication from the London School of Economics.

Kalyan Tripathy has managed critical components Pratit’s health programs since the organization’s founding. His efforts have helped refine Pratit International’s outpatient clinics and primary care outreach. Kalyan has worked tirelessly with local community organizations and health providers in planning and implementing regular clinics. Moreover, he has been integral in designing an effective patient follow-up system as well as a patient history database. These programs have proven essential in ensuring that all of our patients receive care that goes beyond simple one-time examinations to a comprehensive circuit of treatment.

A Kolkata native, Kalyan brings key local knowledge, which ensures that Pratit’s programs remain culturally sensitive and tailored to fit community needs. Prior to his position on the board, Kalyan served as the managing director of Pratit International’s branch at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, he works to ensure that our most critically and chronically ill patients receive advanced treatment options such as surgical procedures and essential medicines. Kalyan graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Neuroscience. Subsequently, he worked as a Research Specialist at the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. Today, Kalyan is a candidate for the combined M.D/PhD degrees at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine.