Massachusetts Institute of Technology Archives

Megha Vemuri

Megha Vemuri received her BS in computation and cognition and in linguistics and philosophy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in May 2025. Her academic and research interests center on the neurobiology of language and its developmental foundations. She worked as an undergraduate research assistant in various neuroscience labs throughout her time in the university. Her early research spanned both assistive technology and interspecies communication. At the Senseable Intelligence Lab, she worked on Mumble Melody, a mobile application serving as a free, accessible alternative to assistive technology for people who stutter. Building on this interest in social connection, she co-led a novel study in interspecies communication, designing and analyzing a video-calling system for socially isolated parrots. The work received press coverage and an honorable mention at the 2023 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. In 2024, she conducted infant neuroimaging research in South Africa with the Neurodevelopment Group at the University of Cape Town, using EEG and portable MRI to identify early brain development biomarkers in low-resource settings. For the last two years, she has been working in the EvLab at MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research, on fMRI projects focused on multilingualism, heritage speakers, and language processing, many of which serve to diversify neurolinguistics data.

In her Fulbright-Nehru project, Megha is examining the neural signatures of individuals who acquired three or more languages at a young age. The fMRI study is being conducted at the National Brain Research Centre in Gurugram under Dr. Arpan Banerjee. Using fMRI methods adapted from the EvLab, the study is addressing a critical gap in neurolinguistics by examining an understudied population between bilinguals and polyglots. By collecting and analyzing brain imaging data from 80–90 participants, the project seeks to diversify language research by studying underrepresented profiles. The findings and materials will contribute to global cognitive science and support future language-related studies in South Asia, particularly in developmental contexts.

Gokul Sampath

Gokul Sampath is a doctoral student in the International Development Group in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His research broadly centers on understanding and overcoming barriers to safe and reliable water access to all in the developing world. Currently, Gokul’s work focuses on strategies to address exposure to dangerous drinking water contaminants in rural India, especially arsenic in groundwater.

Prior to joining MIT, Gokul worked as a senior research associate at Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), running randomized evaluations to measure the effectiveness of programs to reduce groundwater consumption in the drought-prone areas of western India. Gokul was a Fulbright-Nehru Student Researcher from 2014–2015 at A.N. College in Patna, Bihar. He completed his MA in Middle East, South Asian, and African studies at Columbia University, and his BS at the University of California, Davis.

Arsenic in groundwater is a major public health threat in eastern India. Lakhs of rural households are at elevated risk of cancer, stroke, and heart disease from exposure to arsenic in their primary drinking water source: the handpump tube wells on their home premises. Gokul’s Fulbright research is focusing on the social determinants of arsenic exposure in rural West Bengal. He is seeking to explain why households might choose an unsafe water source even when safe alternatives exist in their communities. By better understanding the constraints and norms that shape water-fetching decisions, he hopes to highlight ways to reduce arsenic exposure.

Lainie Beauchemin

Lainie Beauchemin earned a BS in biological engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where she researched the molecular underpinnings of schizophrenia and other neurological diseases through the Broad Institute. During her time at MIT, Lainie was co-president of a math mentorship program for underserved middle school girls in the Cambridge/Boston area, and worked in various roles for The Educational Justice Institute, including teaching Python to incarcerated women. She was also chair of the MIT Shakespeare ensemble as well as an actress, producer, and designer for multiple productions. Since her graduation, Lainie has been researching chronic lung diseases. She plans to pursue a PhD in biomedical engineering and hopes to work on expanding healthcare access globally.

Lainie’s Fulbright-Nehru project is focusing on broadening neurological diagnostic care in rural India, in conjunction with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and Project Prakash. She is assessing the need and feasibility of a system of mental and neurological health clinics in rural India in order to pave the way for more accessible healthcare in these specialties. She is also working with her collaborators to enable the establishment of clinics which are local and accessible to villagers in the state of Uttar Pradesh. At these clinics, patients would receive screening for neurological illnesses, their data could be sent to providers in New Delhi, and prescription medicine could be sent back to the clinics, all at no cost to the villagers. Before such a system can be devised, there is a wealth of preliminary feasibility research to be conducted concerning the areas of need, the obstacles facing the villagers, the regulatory logistics of dispensing prescription medication and treatment, and the sourcing of medical equipment and personnel.