Get to Know Aneri Pattani

While pursuing her bachelor’s degree in journalism at Northeastern University, Bloomberg Fellow Aneri Pattani found herself continuously drawn to public health communications. Following graduation, Pattani worked as an assistant producer at WNYC radio, where she published a series of stories focused on lead exposure in children and helped to produce a podcast on adults with autism. 

Later, Pattani moved to KFF Health news, a nonprofit news organization that provides in-depth coverage of health policy. In her role as a national correspondent, Pattani covers issues around opioid settlement spending, medical debt, and the mental health crisis in America – but has often found herself wanting to know more about the issues themselves.

That's where the Bloomberg Fellowship came in. 

In the MPH program, Pattani has had the opportunity to meet experts and practitioners from across the country who work closely on the topics she is reporting on. These relationships have allowed her to “look beyond the individual or clinical issue to see systems and environments,” pushing her to report on the systemic issues at the root of many of our nation's public health issues. 

Pattani has also had the opportunity to co-author a course with Holly Wilcox and Bill Eaton, professors at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, which teaches journalists how to responsibly cover the topic of suicide. She is also working on an Initiative-funded evaluation of responsible suicide reporting.

As Pattani continues to work to destigmatize issues around addiction, mental health, and suicide, she hopes that she can humanize public health for her audience. “If we can all see health policy through the lens of it affecting someone we care about, then we'll be more invested in ensuring it's written and carried out well. I want to play a role in making that happen.”