Welcome!

My name is Anu Kumar — researcher, science communicator, advocate, and plenty of other things. I created this blog after I graduated with my Bachelors in Neuroscience from the University of Tennessee to explore scientific ideas and principles through a more human perspective. While I’ve begun to see the world through the eyes of a researcher and problem-solver, I haven’t lost the inquisitive nature that inspired my journey into scientific research in the first place.

In all of us is the ability to ask “Why?”

Not just for lessons within a classroom, but also for questioning negative decisions made by political officials, for the longing you feel to contact a toxic friend or family member, for the comfort you feel after eating a delicious meal.

I’ve explored many avenues of science communication in the form of educational communication. However, I believe it’s important to weave these lessons into stories readers can experience for themselves. Neuroscience, I believe, is the tangled yet beautiful mess of so many fields that affect our lives daily. My degree was categorized as “interdisciplinary” at my university for a reason.

The corpus callosum connects the two hemispheres of the brain

It’s been debunked that a person is solely left-brained or right-brained, or that certain processes are strictly confined to one side of the brain or the other. I named this publication Corpus Callosum because of the connections that neuroscience is capable of making to every aspect of our lives. I’ll be publishing articles in three main categories

• Brain: Even though I’m not actively writing for a column or producing a podcast, I still can’t get enough of talking about (neuro)science. As I’m learning more about the research within my lab, I’ll also be taking that opportunity to write about it to whoever wants to read it. Expect articles about: fundamental topics of neuroscience, explaining current neuroscience research, and current science policy and implementation worldwide.
• Behavior: While my primary career interest is cellular and molecular neuroscience, I’m fascinated by its related fields: sociology, social psychology, and psychological anthropology. How often do we avoid tough conversations about things such as politics, religion, patriotism, gender, or an intersection of these topics and many more? Not a day goes by where I look at these issues through the lens of my neuroscience and psychology background, and I want to offer reading material that prompts the readers to think critically about the world around them. Expect articles about: the political climate in varying parts of the world, cultural differences and their historical context, and a deep dive into uncomfortable topics from a psychological lens.
• Culture: Do you realize that everyone around you has a life as complex and all-encompassing as your own? The word for this is called “sonder.” As a recent college graduate, newly employed scientist, and current expat living in Paris, there’s a lot of life happening as I keep up this publication. Graduating from college has given me more time to think about worldly events and various topics. These articles will be written in a similar style to that of my publication on HuffPost. Expect articles about: life in a research lab, language faux pas, and general musings with a sprinkle of neuroscience.

Thank you again for visiting!