Shivi Kumar is a neuroscience, neurosurgery, global health, and policy researcher dedicated to advancing neurological healthcare access, translational medicine, and youth-driven advocacy. She currently serves as a Department of Neurosurgery research intern at Stanford Medicine, conducts neuro-oncology and therapeutic research in the Qian Lab at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania, and works with Harvard Medical School's Plastic Surgery Innovation Lab on angiogenesis modeling research in silico and in vitro. She has also conducted neuroscience research through collaborations connected to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Harvard–MIT HST ecosystem.
Her interdisciplinary work spans neuroscience, bioethics, public policy, and international law, with more than 18 scientific and policy publications focused on medicine, healthcare systems, and ethical innovation. Alongside her research, she serves as one of the youngest co-chairs across multiple United Nations–affiliated committees and has delivered interventions at United Nations Headquarters on global health, youth leadership, healthcare equity, and science policy.
Shivi is Founder of the Mind Matters Foundation, a global nonprofit focused on expanding neuroscience education, neurosurgical health awareness, healthcare accessibility, and clinical advocacy initiatives nationwide and internationally. Through MMF and related collaborations, she has helped support and engage communities reaching more than 120,000 individuals.
She also serves in leadership and advisory roles including congressional youth policy initiatives, the UNITY Advisory Board, Rotary research leadership initiatives, the American Heart Association advisory network, and the Girls Institute Board. Her work has been recognized through honors including the UNA-USA Young Leaders Award, the American Academy of Neurology Neuroscience Research Prize, and finalist distinctions at major international medical and neurosurgical conferences.
