2026 — Present
Northeastern University · Boston, MA
B.S. Biomedical Engineering + Biochemistry · Pre-Medical Track
Current GPA: 4.0.
Biomedical Engineering · Pre-Medical · Northeastern University
I'm James Mathai — a Northeastern biomedical engineering student on the pre-medical track. Most of what I work on, in and out of class, circles back to the same core principle: making medical care actually reach the patients it's meant to serve.
This site keeps a working record of what I've built, written, and where I've been along the way.
01 — About
I came into engineering through a few different doors. In high school, I spent a summer in a selective biomedical engineering program at Olin College, where I ran my first PCRs, learned to use CAD software in earnest, and prototyped prosthetic devices. Around the same time, I was competing nationally in Original Oratory and running a small non-profit selling laser-cut coasters to fund education work in Kerala.
My first year of college was at Northeastern's London campus before I transferred back to the main Boston campus. Studying comparative healthcare systems alongside the engineering core gave me a different lens on the same questions I'd already been chasing, and I've kept that lens since.
That mix still shapes what I take on. I'm building hardware like the Dementia Progression Tracker, writing about AI ethics in clinical practice, and pulling lessons from the speaking and service work I've kept up for years. Different mediums, same instinct underneath: pick a real problem, then make something that actually moves it.
02 — Education
B.S. Biomedical Engineering + Biochemistry · Pre-Medical Track
Current GPA: 4.0.
First year of the Global Program
Coursework included Comparative Healthcare Systems, Innovation & Enterprise, Calculus III, Physics II, Organic Chemistry I, and Cornerstone of Engineering II.
Cumulative GPA: 4.42 · Top 5% of class
National Merit Commended Student · National Honor Society · AP Scholar with Distinction (10+ AP courses).
03 — Research & Projects
Current Endeavor · Active Build
2026 — Present
A web-based 3D reaction-mechanism viewer I'm building from scratch for organic chemistry students. OrgoViz lets users step through each state of a mechanism — arrows, lone pairs, geometry — in interactive 3D, across three modes: Learn (curated walkthroughs), Custom (any SMILES substrate + any reaction), and Predict (rules-based outcome prediction from substrate + conditions).
Toolkit
Cornerstone of Engineering II · Final Project
Spring 2026
A portable cognitive-monitoring device for early-onset dementia patients. Three integrated tests — reaction speed, memory-sequence, sound association — run on a Raspberry Pi Pico W inside a custom 3D-printed enclosure. Scores are averaged across rounds and pushed over Wi-Fi to an Airtable backend; a 7-day cognitive trend chart is automatically emailed to the patient's clinician, enabling continuous at-home monitoring with no manual reporting.
Built for clinical deployment as a low-cost alternative to in-clinic cognitive assessments. Future iterations are targeted at a PCB-based redesign for portability, an in-app Wi-Fi configuration layer for non-technical users, and hospital-grade privacy frameworks that link patient sessions to QR-coded wristbands for secure, reusable deployment across patients in a clinical setting.
Independent Project · Quantitative Analytics
2026 — Active
A multi-tab Python dashboard I built for personal market analysis — combining indicator heatmaps across hundreds of tickers, a parameterized signal-aggregation engine, an LLM-summarized news brief, and direct TradingView MCP integration for chart automation.
Strategy logic kept private — this entry showcases the engineering stack.
Innovation & Enterprise · Final Pitch
Spring 2026 · Marketing Chair
Co-founded a 5-person venture concept turning foot traffic in urban nightlife venues into clean energy. Our piezoelectric floor panel design would generate 0.38 kWh/hour each, offsetting an average venue's electricity costs in just over a year. Aligned to UN SDG 12 (Sustainable Consumption & Production). Won Most Profitable Investment in the cohort pitch.
Theoretical product — concept, 3D model, financial forecasting, and pitch deck only; not physically prototyped.
Independent Research · Working Paper
2026
A working paper auditing how AI is reshaping clinical practice — framed around medicine's four ethical pillars (autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice) and six concrete failure modes (hallucinations, privacy, bias, patient-clinician relationship, liability, skill atrophy). Evaluates current FDA SaMD and EU AI Act frameworks against each.
TEDx Speaker · Selected Talk
TEDxNortheasternU London · March 2026
A talk on the completion moment — the instant our minds decide we've seen enough of someone and let the label stand as a verdict. Argues that, in an era of algorithmic feeds and AI summaries, refusing premature certainty about each other may be the most radical thing we can do.
"In a world addicted to AI summaries and sharpened headlines, perhaps our most radical, our most humane, act is to avoid treating each other as one."
Publication · Inaugural Issue
Forensics Journal · Inaugural Edition
One of my Original Oratory speeches was selected for the inaugural issue of this forensics journal — published in both print and digital editions.
Read the digital edition ↗Summer Research Program
Summer 2024
Spent a summer in a selective biomedical engineering program at Olin. Worked through CRISPR gene-editing methods, gene sequencing pipelines, and the engineering behind total artificial hearts. Hands-on, this meant running PCRs and prototyping prosthetic devices end-to-end.
National Medical Competition · With Partner
2024 – 2025
Researched Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Disease — a genetic disorder affecting the lungs and liver — with a partner and presented our findings at this independent national medical competition, competing without affiliation to any school program.
04 — Recognition
National Speech & Debate Association · 2024–2025
3rd Nationally
1st in New Jersey
7× National Qualifier
9× Tournament Champion · 2021–2025
20+ Top-3 Finishes · Local circuit
Premier Distinction
Tournament results
TEDx Speaker
The Crisis of Completion · selected talk
Most Profitable Investment
Innovation & Enterprise · Groove-Grid venture
Congress of Future Medical Leaders
School Delegate
4th Degree Black Belt
2× Gold — President's Cup Championship
National Merit Commended
College Board · 2024
Presidential Service Award
Gold · Silver · Bronze · Federal recognition
Selected Oratories
05 — Former Positions
Founder & CEO
June 2023 — July 2025
A non-profit I founded that sold laser-cut coasters with 100% of proceeds funding education initiatives for underprivileged communities in Kerala, India. I handled the design, manufacturing, fulfillment, and donor outreach end-to-end.
Treasurer & Marketing Chair
June 2023 — June 2025
Helped organize local service programs, raised funds for shelter donations, and contributed to research on the underlying causes of homelessness in the community.
Communications Lead
June 2023 — June 2025
Led awareness campaigns and authored articles on the deaf-blind community to support fundraising and donor outreach.
Speech Mentor
Sept 2022 — June 2025
Coached younger competitors on speech-writing, delivery, and tournament prep. Also co-led youth speech camp programming with the high school coaches.
Instructor
June 2022 — July 2025
Taught junior students through a structured curriculum and ran feedback cycles with students and their families.
Co-Host & Organizer
June 2023 — Present
Co-hosted two Mental Health Conferences and organized fellowship events for Orthodox youth across the tri-state area.
06 — Contact
Always glad to talk biomedical engineering, pre-medical paths, or interesting research and design problems.