Krithika Vasudevan Email & Phone Number

Hi! I'm Kay, and I like to write about science. During my graduate research, I studied animal behavior and how it is represented in the brain. I have over seven years of combined experience working in rodent behavior and over ten years of experience in general biological research. I did my Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience at Texas A&M University with a focus on thalamic projections to the hippocampus and how they affect context representations during fear learning. In this work, I found that the hippocampus and thalamic nucleus reuniens communicate with one another to exert contextual control over extinction, the behavioral basis for exposure therapy. I have mentored undergraduates in behavioral techniques during my doctoral program, and previously have extensive experience in educating students in scientific writing, rhetoric, bacterial culture, and basic wet lab skills such as aseptic technique and appropriate handling of machinery such as microcentrifuges and gel runners.In addition to research, I am also an experienced graphic designer and illustrator, and I like to bring as much creativity as I can to my work environment (the rat in my profile banner is a section of an illustration I did for a colleague). I have a wide range of creative skills, including web design and video game development. My games have won several awards in university-organized game jams, including Crowd Favorite, Best in Design, Best in Sound, Third Place, and First Place.I am a passionate advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and aim to promote an environment of equity and accountability in the workspace. I have organized several social and professional development events for LGBTQ+ students in STEM majors through the Texas A&M chapter of oSTEM, including independently organizing and hosting book club meetings with full study guides to accompany each meeting.