Samika Kumar

Graduate Student

Start Date:

Email: samika.kumar@nih.gov
Phone: (301) 496-8174

Samika Kumar received her BA in Cognitive Science from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2017. Afterward, she worked at Dr. Matthew Walker’s Center for Human Science, where she explored the potential of transcranial electrical brain stimulation to enhance sleep quality. Following research experiences in sleep and resting-state in four different labs, Samika grew interested in how information from different states of consciousness may lead to a more holistic understanding of mental health. In 2019, she began her PhD in Psychology with the National Institutes of Health Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program, in which she is co-supervised by Dr. Peter Bandettini and Dr. Tristan Bekinschtein at the University of Cambridge. She uses multimodal imaging (fMRI, EEG) and machine learning methods to study brain network dynamics and mechanisms in the transition from wakefulness to sleep. Her proposed project aims to show that task-dependent changes in the brain are modulated by an individual’s depth of drowsiness.