Achievements and Impact with Aashna Mahurkar
Aashna Mahurkar portrait. Photo sourced from LinkedIn.
Aashna Mahurkar, BS’26, bioengineering, explores her passion for service and interest in medical devices throughout her studies at Northeastern. Recently, Mahurkar and her team won first place in the Fall 2025 Capstone Cup for bioengineering.
Aashna Mahurkar is completing a bachelor’s in bioengineering, with a concentration in systems, synthetic, and computational bioengineering. As long as she can remember, Mahurkar has had an interest in the medical field, as well as building and creativity, claiming she was “obsessed with Legos growing up.” During her time in high school, she belonged to Destination Imagination, a STEAM program, where she explored innovation in myriad projects. Aside from STEM-related endeavors, Mahurkar was also a member of the Girl Scouts where she developed a passion for service. Combining her interest in STEM and her call to serve, she strives to have a “direct patient impact” and see tangible results in her work.
While considering colleges, Mahurkar was drawn to biomedical engineering because she thought, “it combined healthcare, innovation, and creativity all together.” She decided to include a concentration in computation because she believes, “it’s a very data driven world nowadays,” and by her estimation that requires a solid background in computation principles. Mahurkar chose Northeastern because she saw the vast opportunities for research and extracurricular experiences. A big factor in her decision was the experiential learning programs at Northeastern, like co-op and the study abroad programs. Also, being from Massachusetts, she liked the idea of being on Northeastern’s urban campus in Boston while still close to home.
Co-op and extracurriculars
Mahurkar has completed two co-ops during her undergraduate studies at Northeastern. She highlights her time at Olympus Surgical Technologies, where she was an R&D Engineering co-op, allowing her to explore the world of medical and surgical devices. Mahurkar was able to do hands-on work at Olympus, contributing to FDA investigations and device testing, which gave her “insight into devices moving from product development to market to post-market sustainability.” She also cites her first co-op, delving into biopharma at Alkermes where she worked in the quality systems division, as an invaluable experience in regulatory practices that will serve her pursuit of future opportunities working in the field.
Another impactful experience for Mahurkar was her work with ViTAL, Northeastern’s Health Innovation Core. Here, she was introduced to ViTAL Ventures Consulting (VVC), the club’s pro-bono healthcare consulting section that works with early-stage startups. She joined as an Associate Consultant, to meet her interest in collaborating with real clients in the field. This past fall, Mahurkar became an Engagement Manager, and was able to lead her own consulting team. Their work included market research and advice, compiling that into deliverables, and presenting go-to-market strategies to clients. Her team would identify and analyze key competitors, industry trends, and clinician insights; to help her clients market their new devices before release. Mahurkar believes that skills she acquired in her engineering studies, such as data analysis, as well as interpersonal and teamwork communication, have made her a much better consultant.
Capstone success
Mahurkar (far right), her team, and Dr. Fuller (center) posing with their Capstone Trophy. Photo sourced from LinkedIn.
Mahurkar and her capstone team recently won the Fall 2025 Bioengineering Capstone Cup. Her team’s project called “Smart Stethoscope for Ghana,” involved working with the Ghana Bioinnovation Initiative (4GBI). They were tasked with addressing the challenge of rising cardiovascular disease in Ghana combined with limited resources among rural clinics and limited access to urban hospitals for patients to get the healthcare they need. Under the guidance of their advisor Dr. Marc Fuller and in a course co-led by Assistant Teaching Professor Daniel Grindle, Mahurkar and her team created a low-cost smart stethoscope for rural clinics. The device flags abnormal heart sounds and transmits them to cardiologists in urban areas, enabling remote consultations for patients who cannot travel.
For the project, students are randomly organized into teams and Mahurkar’s group split into three sub-teams by focus: hardware, software, and the algorithm to be embedded in the software. Mahurkar explains that she had little signal processing experience before joining Northeastern, but this project pushed her to reach out to faculty and, as she puts it, “become an expert in what you do” for capstone. This project solidified her passion for global health impact and user-centered design in the medical device field.
Mahurkar appreciates both the Cornerstone of Engineering and Capstone Design classes she took at the beginning and end of her bioengineering studies, respectively. She believes that these classes have helped her come full circle in her studies, as the capstone helps one apply “everything that you’ve learned holistically into building some sort of product or research.”
Lessons and future
Mahurkar expects to graduate with her bachelor’s in bioengineering this year. Reflecting on the necessity of collaboration among engineers, she values the lessons learned on cross-functional teamwork. According to Mahurkar, “I think you are writing your own narrative when you’re in Northeastern,” describing the open-minded nature of academics at Northeastern.
Additionally, she finds that “advocating for yourself” was a particularly valuable skill she learned from her time here. She confesses that she was very shy before coming to Northeastern, but being able to step out of her comfort zone was transformative for her professional and personal development. “You’re your own best advocate,” Mahurkar explains, as she describes the importance of self-advocacy in co-ops, research, and projects. Moving forward, Mahurkar will continue to advocate for her passions in her job search, hoping to manifest that user-centered impact throughout her career.