Alia Dastagir has worked at USA TODAY for nearly eight years, beginning on the audience team where she helped drive innovative storytelling and presentation. She transitioned to a full-time reporter role covering cultural issues on topics ranging from sexism and racism to media ethics and mental health. Prior to joining USA TODAY in 2011, Alia worked for Pew Charitable Trusts and DCist. She has a master’s in journalism from Syracuse University. Read some of Alia’s stories on mental health during this fellowship year:

• Thousands of messages show what it really means to help someone who is suicidal (USA TODAY | September 17, 2020)
• The lifesaving lesson suicidal people can teach a world in a pandemic (USA TODAY | May 27, 2020)
• ‘Isolation is a big trigger’: Feelings of suicide are amplified amid a pandemic (USA TODAY | March 23, 2020)
  How to find a therapist if you’re suicidal (USA TODAY | March 9, 2020)
• We tell suicidal people to go to therapy. So why are therapists rarely trained in suicide? (USA TODAY | February 27, 2020)
• More and more Americans are dying by suicide. What are we missing? (USA TODAY | January 30, 2020)