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.
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!
