Amiti Varma

Amiti is a health systems and policy researcher who leads and oversees the Centre’s portfolio on education & training. Trained as a psychologist with a deep interest in development and health systems, her work focuses on data synthesis and policy and programmatic analysis on suicide prevention, mental health, and youth mental health. She previously led the team for the Being Initiative in India and was a member of the formative team of the Keshav Desiraju IMHO. She has provided technical support to state governments and non-governmental bodies through consultations, data synthesis, and capacity building, and also co-led the development of the Integrated Mental Health & Suicide Prevention Strategy for the state of Sikkim, released in 2025. 

Amiti holds a liberal arts degree from Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts and a masters degree in Psychology from Montfort College, Bengaluru. Prior to working at the Centre, she held research roles at the Institute of Public Health Bengaluru, Amnesty International India, and the Yale School of Public Health. Outside of work, Amiti enjoys long walks and/or spending time with her dogs. Based out of Bangalore, she dreams of living in a coastal or rural setting someday. 

Professional interests: Health policy, health equity, access to rights-based services