College of Science Archives - Northeastern University College of Science

Emiko Tonachel, a biology major with philosophy minor, placed second in the 2026 COS Pitch Competition for Mucoadhesive hydrogel system for localized drug delivery in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. Learn more about the inspiration behind the research.

Tell us about your idea.

The mucoadhesive hydrogel system is a novel proposal for a two-fold therapy method for targeted drug delivery in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. The hydrogel functions as both a “gut band-aid” and also a deliverer of drugs directly to sites of IBD-caused gut lesions. It reduces systemic bodily exposure to doses of toxic drugs, and thus allows for high dosage ability in one singular capsule.

What inspired it, and how did it develop?

My friend has IBD, and as a result, I became exposed to the hardships that came with not only the disease symptoms themselves, but also the treatment methods that accompany them. The idea developed initially from the search for “instant energy” capsule fabrication methods which turned into the discovery of hydrogels. Seeing the potential of these hydrogels, I developed a separate idea shifting away from energy sourcing, and more toward direct treatment methods.

Now that you’ve won, what’s the plan? What milestone are you working toward next?

My next step is to reach out to the researchers who worked on the original model that I am building off of in my method. I want their feedback on the idea, and maybe their help in developing it. Being able to develop an idea like this is costly and complex, however, working towards being able to create it and test it in an animal model would be my next goal.

What impact do you hope this idea will have?

The impact that I hope this idea will have later down the line is to have it be not only a new treatment method for IBD patients, but a less painful and costly one. Treatments that currently exist for IBD, such as IV infusions, not only continue to perpetuate pain for patients, but are also one of their only options. I hope this idea expands the limited research into IBD, and works towards providing those patients with a higher quality of life.

Co-sponsored by the Science Connects to Innovation program and NextGen Lab, the COS Pitch Competition is an exciting opportunity for undergraduates in the College of Science to present their entrepreneurial research idea to a panel of judges for a chance to win prizes!

Soumya Raguraman, a behavioral neuroscience major with minors in business administration and public health, placed third in the 2026 COS Pitch Competition for LabMatch: The Undergraduate Research Matching Platform. Learn more about how this idea came about.

Tell us about your idea.

LabMatch is a platform designed to expand equitable access to undergraduate research by creating a transparent, structured system for connecting students and academic labs. Instead of relying on informal networks or cold emailing, LabMatch matches students with opportunities based on skills, interests, and fit. The platform helps students better understand available research roles and expectations, while enabling labs to efficiently identify candidates who align with their needs and capacity.

What inspired it, and how did it develop?

LabMatch was inspired by my own experience navigating research access as an undergraduate student without a roadmap. As the child of immigrants, I entered college without prior exposure to academia or an understanding of how to approach labs. I found myself sending dozens of cold emails without clear direction, while watching peers secure opportunities more easily because they understood unspoken academic norms or had existing connections.

Over time, as I became involved in neuroscience research, I began to see the system from both perspectives. Students were struggling to break into research, while labs were overwhelmed with unstructured outreach and limited capacity to respond. It became clear that the issue wasn’t a lack of interest, but a lack of structure.

LabMatch developed from that realization. I wanted to create a system that makes research access more transparent and intentional by matching students and labs based on skills and fit, rather than informal networks.

Now that you’ve won, what’s the plan? What milestone are you working toward next?

Winning this award is incredibly validating, and it allows me to move LabMatch from concept into execution. The next steps involve launching a pilot program with a small group of academic labs and students at Northeastern. I’m focused on refining the matching framework and building out the platform interface. A key milestone is collecting meaningful pilot data (understanding match quality, student outcomes, and lab satisfaction) so that LabMatch can be improved and scaled responsibly.

Longer term, my goal is to establish LabMatch as a sustainable system that universities can adopt to make research access more transparent and equitable for all students.

What impact do you hope this idea will have?

I hope LabMatch changes how students access research by making the process more transparent, structured, and equitable. Too often, opportunities in academia depend on informal networks or insider knowledge, which can unintentionally exclude students who are just as capable but less familiar with the system. I also hope it makes the process more efficient for labs by reducing unstructured outreach and helping them find students who are a strong fit.

Andre Bancu won first place in the 2026 COS Pitch Competition for The Role of Transient Bioelectric Disruption in Heritable Chromatin State Changes in Dugesia japonica. Learn more about his research idea and the impact he hopes to make.

Tell us about your idea.

Planaria are tiny, freshwater flatworms that exhibit the remarkable ability of regeneration. The process of regeneration in planaria is well researched, but one rather understudied field is bioelectric signaling. When bioelectric signaling is transiently disrupted, these planaria stochastically produce two heads instead of a head and a tail during regeneration. Even more intriguing, this phenomenon is transgenerational.

I aim to investigate why bioelectric disruptions produce the two-headed phenotype, and I hypothesize that this is caused by epigenetic repression of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway. To investigate this, I plan to examine epigenetic modifications in bioelectrically disrupted planaria, as well as transgenerational expression of canonical Wnt target genes.

What inspired it, and how did it develop?

In high school, I had an amazing biology teacher, Ms. Kerri Scott. She helped me conduct my first research project on antimicrobial resistance, and since then I’ve fallen in love with research in biology.

This semester, I took Tissue Regeneration as my Biological Inquiries class with Professor Timothy Duerr, and I found the concept of regeneration utterly fascinating. Early in the semester, I knew I wanted to start a research project, so I hopped on my computer and started digging. One research paper led to another, and I ran into the notorious double-headed planaria.

After a couple weeks of educating myself on bioelectric signaling and other related fields, I began theorizing, and here I am now. What started as curiosity about a weird-looking worm became a genuine hypothesis.

Now that you’ve won, what’s the plan? What milestone are you working toward next?

The next step is actually doing the experiment itself, which I hope to do over in the Wet Lab Makerspace during the summer. With the money from the Pitch Competition and a PEAK Award I applied for this semester, I have a good chance of entirely funding the experiment. No matter the results of the research, my main goal is to teach people about my findings and help show others this crazy and amazing world of biology that we live in. Alongside this, I plan to continue my research journey at Northeastern, specifically in regenerative biology.

What impact do you hope this idea will have?

Much remains unknown in the field of bioelectric signaling, and this is exactly why I decided to pursue this research. I mean, you have these experiments where you disrupt bioelectric signals, and these worms grow two heads. That’s pretty insane, isn’t it? So, we know that these disruptions cause a heritable physiological change, and now we have to ask, what could be causing it?

If my research supports that bioelectric signaling is able to manipulate the epigenome, this could provide a plausible mechanism for how bioelectric signaling affects regenerative patterning in planaria.

Now, one caveat is that planaria are simpler in anatomy compared to vertebrates, and the question then becomes whether this bioelectric mechanism has been evolutionarily passed down to other organisms. Similar mechanisms have been seen in the frog species Xenopus, which implies that this may be conserved across organisms.

If all of these factors are supported, bioelectric signaling may be a critical factor in correct regenerative patterning in vertebrates, which may one day apply to us once we unlock regenerative medicine in humans.

Join us for the Science Connects to Innovation Pitch Competition from the College of Science! COS undergraduate students will present their entrepreneurial or research pitch to a panel of judges for chance to win prize money!

Students who would like to present need to register and submit their abstract by February 27. Pitches are accepted on a rolling basis.

Everyone is welcome to attend and watch the presentation.

Come listen to student and faculty experiences with getting involved in research, building your resume, cold emailing, and much more!

During this two-day virtual event you’ll have the opportunity to dive into the graduate student experience at Northeastern Univeristy.

Chat with staff and learn how you’re supported from application through graduation
Hear from alumni and current students about their experience
Sit with enrollment manager in virtual personalized one-on-one meetings
Join live College of Science overview, program-specific, and student support sessions
Learn about our top-ranked co-op and internship programs
Receive guidance from our Office of Global Service team to help international students successfully obtain their visa.

And more! The program is flexible, so you pick and choose what you’d like participate, live or on-demand.

Curious about earning your master’s degree in just one additional year? Join us for a virtual information session on the College of Science PlusOne programs. We’ll walk through the advantages of the PlusOne program, who’s eligible, how to apply, and answer any questions you may have. Please reach out to [email protected] with any questions prior to the event.

Join the College of Science Graduate Admissions team for a live Q&A to answer your questions about the academic programs and any other questions you may have to help prepare you for the application process.