Her unwavering devotion is not only illuminating the path for dyslexic children in India but she’s also single handedly revolutionizing the entire education sphere. Dr. Nandini Chatterjee Singh, known for establishing the first cognitive and neuroimaging laboratory in India, has recognized the pressing issue of dyslexia and took it upon herself to make a lasting impact.
After completing her Master’s and Ph.D. in Physics, Dr. Nandini Chatterjee embarked on her academic journey, which eventually led her to a postdoctoral fellowship at Ohio University, USA.
Here, she delved into the study of nonlinear systems, exploring various biological phenomena driven by nonlinear signals, such as heartbeats and brain signals.
However, her path took a transformative turn when she crossed paths with renowned Indian neuroscientist Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath during an annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.
Inspired by this encounter, Dr. Nandini Chatterjee returned to India in 2002 and joined the National Brain Research Centre (NBRC).
Her dedication to understanding dyslexia led her to conduct extensive experiments on school children in the Delhi-NCR region, shedding light on their reading capabilities.
This research spurred her to take action for at-risk dyslexic students, especially in smaller cities and rural areas.
Dr. Nandini Chatterjee’s groundbreaking work resulted in the development of DALI (Dyslexia Assessment for Languages of India), a pioneering assessment tool designed to screen and assess dyslexia in multiple Indian languages.
DALI is not a mere translation; it includes culture and age-appropriate screening tools, making it highly effective in addressing the diverse linguistic landscape of India.
She is currently on deputation to UNESCO’s Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) in New Delhi.
At MGIEP, she leads a team focused on creating curricula that nurture social and emotional skills in children. Her work aligns with the understanding that these skills are essential for coping with stress, and anxiety, and building resilience in young minds.
Since 2017, Dr. Nandini Chatterjee has used her expertise in neuroscience to design courses for social and emotional learning (SEL) using digital pedagogies.
Her innovative framework, EMC2 (Empathy, Mindfulness, Compassion, and Critical Inquiry), aims to cultivate SEL competencies in students. She employs digital games and dialogues to make learning engaging and effective, conducting cross-cultural research to assess their impact on school education systems.
Dr. Nandini Chatterjee Singh’s life story is one of relentless dedication to improving education and the well-being of children in India.
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