How to Leverage an Engineering Mindset for Healthcare Impact

Message from Sachi

Welcome to the first interview of 2025!

2025 has been an exciting (and busy) year so far, which is why it took me almost a month and a half to share this first interview.

I’m about to embark on module 5/6 for my MSc, which is about Ethics and Justice in Translational Health Sciences. I also soft launched a personal blog- you can check out my thesis on why healthcare needs social entrepreneurship!

Thank you for also all the love on the Paid Healthcare x Business Opportunities post - Kaneera did such a wonderful job with this!

And welcome to all the new subscribers, it makes me so happy to see messages like these:

This week, I invited one of my friends, Dunja Matić, to share her story with me. Dunja and I first connected a few months ago since I found out she’s also from Toronto and studied at Oxford! We hit it off, and I wanted to ask Dunja to share her inspiring journey with Invite Health.

What you’ll learn from Dunja:

• Her experience in MSc in Applied Digital Health programme at Oxford - as part of the first ever cohort of the programme!

• Her perspective on how engineering and healthcare align to “solve problems to improve lives” - and advice for students on similar paths

• Her portfolio of work + learning experiences, including working at KPMG, SickKids, neuro start-ups, and more!

Enjoy today’s read,

Sachi 💌 

How to Leverage an Engineering Mindset for Healthcare Impact: Interview with Dunja Matić

First off, tell us about your journey so far. Where do you work, what inspired you to pursue this, and what’s next? What else do you like to do outside of work?

Hi! My name is Dunja Matić (she/her), and I am currently working as a Research Analyst at the University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto in the Digital Compassion Research Lab (paid role). This lab explores how digital health tools can be designed and used to promote compassionate care, ensuring patients feel heard, valued, and supported in healthcare settings. I am really enjoying working in a hospital setting with an incredible team of researchers who are doing really impactful work!

My journey started with an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto through the Engineering Science (EngSci) program. The EngSci program is unique in that everyone in the program takes the same classes during the first two years (referred to as the “foundation years”) of study. That is, you do not specialize until your third year and once you do, the options for specialization differ from traditional engineering streams such as Chemical, Mechanical, or Industrial Engineering. Instead, you choose between specialities such as Aerospace Engineering, Biomedical Systems Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Energy Systems Engineering, Engineering Mathematics, Statistics & Finance, Engineering Physics, Machine Intelligence, and Robotics. Before even starting the program I knew I would choose the Biomedical Systems Engineering option and that’s exactly what I did.

I found my undergraduate (undergrad) degree to be extremely academically challenging but also very rich with opportunity. From extracurriculars to interesting work experiences, I am very fortunate to have been exposed to an array of hands-on experiences during my undergrad. I will delve into some of these opportunities further on in this newsletter, but I’ve outlined a quick overview of four of the work opportunities I had during undergrad below:

• Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (TRI) (unpaid role): The summer after my first year of undergrad, I took on a summer research placement at TRI in Toronto which was my first exposure to research in general and more specifically to neuroengineering research. This was my first ever internship and I was extremely fortunate to join a welcoming group of researchers who inspired me to keep pursuing research opportunities in this field!

• Neurovine (paid role): During the summer of my second year, I joined a startup, Neurovine, in Ottawa as a Biomedical Engineering Co-op student. Neurovine focuses on concussion recovery and specifically how wearable devices can help guide the concussion recovery process. This was a great opportunity for me to gain exposure to a startup environment all while doing really meaningful work with an amazing group!

• Engineering Science Research Opportunity Program (ESROP) - GLOBAL (paid role): The EngSci program offers an international summer research opportunity through their ESROP - GLOBAL program. I applied for this program during my third year and was fortunate to secure a spot in Bangkok, Thailand where I worked on a variety of health-related research projects. Unfortunately, I was not able to physically go to Thailand as the COVID-19 pandemic hit during this time but I still had several opportunities to virtually connect with students in Thailand and learn more about the Thai language and culture!

• Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) (paid role): Between my third and fourth year of studies, I took on a year-long co-op at the Mabbott Lab where I developed technical and research skills in a hospital setting. This was my first prolonged work opportunity where I completed projects from start to finish which was a very valuable experience. I got to work with an amazing group of people and am so grateful to have had this opportunity!

After my undergrad, I pursued a Master’s in Applied Digital Health at the University of Oxford, where I explored the intersection of technology, healthcare, and social sciences. I’ll dive into the program in more detail shortly, but for now I will say that my time at Oxford was incredible. Through this program, I developed a foundation in qualitative research, health policy, and user-centered design, which has shaped my approach to healthcare innovation. Beyond academics, studying at Oxford allowed me to collaborate with experts across disciplines and broaden my perspective on global healthcare challenges.

My first job after graduating was in data science consulting at KPMG in Toronto, which was a great opportunity to gain a diverse set of skills, ranging from managing client relationships to using data to tell impactful stories and navigating the world of cloud architecture. I collaborated with a variety of other teams while I was at KPMG including their Health & Life Sciences team, which allowed me to expand my knowledge of the type of work being done across sectors. 

And that brings me to where I am today: UHN! As for what’s next, I’m still enjoying my exploration of the various opportunities that exist at the intersection of healthcare, research, and technology and am excited to see where they take me.

Outside of work, I love running, reading, and traveling! Running has been a big part of my life since the pandemic, and I completed my first half-marathon with friends in Oxford. I’m hopeful to complete a marathon in the near future! 

Can you talk about how you have navigated careers in healthcare from an engineering background?

What were some of the challenges you faced, and what were some of the advantages that you think engineering gave you to break into healthcare?

What drew you to healthcare / biomedical engineering as opposed to other streams of engineering? 

I’ve always been interested in healthcare and truthfully I’m not sure I remember a time that I wasn’t! Towards the end of high school, my plan was to study life sciences and apply to medical school afterwards. However, coming from a family of engineers and enjoying physics and math in high school, I learned about the intersection of engineering and healthcare, which led me to biomedical engineering.

I remember during highschool I attended a Girls in Engineering summer program at the University of Ottawa called Go ENG Girl, where I learned about different careers in engineering and what it meant to be an engineer. I really enjoyed the program because we had practical learning sessions (e.g., working with our hands to build items) and inspiring talks from women in the engineering field. This program was one of the factors that pushed me towards choosing to pursue engineering for my undergraduate studies as well as the fact that I really liked the idea of designing tools and technologies to improve patient outcomes.

Navigating a career in healthcare with an engineering background has been an ongoing learning process. Truthfully, I’ve never really seen engineering and healthcare as separate fields—they share a common goal: solving problems to improve lives. Additionally, my engineering work experiences in undergrad were all healthcare-focused, so I didn’t experience a major disconnect. However, I found finding my place within the intersection of healthcare and engineering to be tricky because there are so many opportunities in this field so it was hard to choose exactly where I wanted to sit! This is where I’ve found networking to learn about other people’s roles and trying out as many things as possible to be extremely helpful.

All that being said, my engineering background has instilled in me a problem-solving mindset which has given me a framework to structure my thinking. Engineering teaches you to approach challenges systematically, which is a skill that I think translates well into any field, including healthcare.

What advice do you have for students (especially high school + undergrads) who want to get their first internship position (whether in biomedical engineering or other aspects of healthcare), especially if they don’t have any experience yet? 

For students seeking their first internship without prior experience, the key is to demonstrate curiosity, initiative, and a willingness to learn. Start by identifying areas of interest—whether it's medical research, biomedical engineering, health policy, or clinical settings. Even if you’re not completely sure the area is for you, explore it if you can so that you can find out for sure! Then, talk to people. Networking is crucial. Reach out to friends, professors, professionals, and alumni in the field via LinkedIn, email, etc. Express your enthusiasm and ask for informational chats to learn more about potential opportunities. Many internships aren’t formally advertised, so being proactive in seeking out experiences can make a big difference! It can feel really intimidating to reach out to people, especially when you’re seeking your first opportunity, but starting those conversations and channels for communication goes a long way. Over the years, I’ve adapted my messages for reaching out to people and have learned a few tips that I’d love to share with you:

• In general, I find connecting with people over a call to be most effective for me! I am much better at expressing myself on a call so in my email/LinkedIn message I will usually ask the person at the very end of my message if they are open to scheduling a coffee chat. 

• LinkedIn

  • If you’re reaching out to someone on LinkedIn who you are not already connected with, the character limit for your message is really short so keep the message simple! In just 2-3 sentences, state who you are and why you are reaching out to this person. The conversation and any other details can flow from there once they get back to you! 

  • If you’re reaching out to someone who is already in your network, consider adding something unique to your message. What exactly about this person made you reach out to them? For example, if you attended a talk where you heard this person speak, you could bring that up as something that prompted you to reach out to them! I would suggest still keeping this message short because a long introductory message may be a lot to fully process!

• Email

  • In an email you typically have a lot more space to write a lot more content than in a LinkedIn message. While this can be advantageous, I think it’s still important to keep the introductory message short and to the point so the reader can quickly scan your email to understand what you are looking for! Include only what you need to: who you are, why you are reaching out to them, and what you are hoping to learn through connecting with them! 

On the note of connecting with people, I think that finding mentors is one of the most important steps in navigating your career journey. This could be a friend’s parent, a professor, a professional you met at a networking event - regardless, find people whose careers you admire and reach out to them.

One of the best things you can do is also to take proactive steps to gain relevant skills. This could be done through choosing specific courses at your school or joining a club that hosts practical workshops! A personal project with friends can also help build your knowledge and be fun. It doesn’t have to be something transformative, just something you find fun. 

Once you get to the application stage, tailor your application materials to highlight transferable skills from coursework, group projects, or extracurricular activities. Even if you don’t have direct healthcare experience, skills like problem-solving, teamwork, data analysis, or programming can be valuable in many healthcare roles.

Finally, persistence is key. Applying to multiple positions and being open to different entry points can help you get your foot in the door. Once you gain that initial experience, it becomes easier to pivot toward more specialized roles.

Can you tell us about your experience doing the Masters in Applied Digital Health at Oxford?. Can you talk about what the application process/timeline was like, what the program format was like, and some highlights from the course? Did you apply to any other grad schools? What inspired you to pursue this? 

My time at Oxford was amazing! I was part of the first-ever cohort of the MSc in Applied Digital Health at Oxford at St Cross College. The University of Oxford has 43 colleges in total and every student belongs to a college. You can think of colleges sort of as a student’s home base! What college you belong to is for the most part irrespective of the program you are studying. For example, all 16 students in the Digital Health program in my year (myself included) were spread across six or so colleges!

Being part of the first cohort of students in the Applied Digital Health program made my experience quite unique! In fact, because I was part of the first cohort, my application timeline differed quite a bit from the standard timeline as it was posted later than usual and therefore, due later than usual. I will share my timeline below but please read the course website for the most up to date timelines! My timeline was as follows:

• Applications due December–January

• Interviews in February–March

• Offers released in March–April

The application included:

• A personal statement (750-1000 words)

• Academic transcripts

• Three letters of recommendation, of which two must be academic (e.g., professors)

• Responses to a question form that makes up your resume/CV

• Examples of written work (e.g., essays, paper publications, etc.)

The interview was short (~15-30 minutes) with two professors from the course. It was focused on my motivations for studying the program and future aspirations following the program.

The program was structured into three semesters:

1. First two semesters: The first two semesters were course-based. Each semester had four courses that ran in 2 week sprints (1 week of all day lectures, followed by 1 week of practical sessions and preparation for submitting the course assessment). At the end of each course there was an assessment, which varied in nature. Some assessments were reports, others were essays, and some were programming exercises!

2. Final semester: The third and final semester included a dissertation, which is essentially a lengthy research project. We had ~10 weeks to complete our dissertation. The selection of dissertation topics was done in one of two ways: (1) you can propose your own topic or (2) you can rank your choices from a list of already established topics and then you get matched to a project based on your experiences and skill set. I went with the latter option and was fortunate to match to my top choice project which was comparing the performance of statistical and machine learning models in predicting the risk of cancer in patients with heart disease - an intensive and super interesting project! 

I really enjoyed my time at Oxford and wish it was longer! Studying abroad was a very unique opportunity and I am extremely grateful for my time there. One of my favourite parts of the program was that I was the Student Representative for our course which meant that each semester I met with the professors of the course to share feedback from our class that helped shape the course for the following year’s class. I enjoyed this opportunity because it meant that I had the chance to interact with everyone from my program more regularly and directly contribute to shaping the future of the program! Another great aspect of the course was that everyone in the class was organized into course mentorship groups. Four professors in the course were each assigned to a group of four students and we met each semester (or more) to discuss our progress in the course, ask questions, and voice concerns. I found this to be really thoughtful and a great way to get to know some of my classmates even better!

In terms of the general graduate school application process, I was quite nervous applying to grad schools and remember applying to multiple schools, including:

• The University of Ottawa’s MSc in Health Systems

• The University of Toronto’s MSc in Health Systems Research with an emphasis in Health Informatics at the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation

• The University of California, Berkeley and University of California San Francisco's joint Master of Translational Medicine

• The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Technology and Policy Program

Ultimately, I chose Oxford because:

1. The program was specific to digital health, a field I hadn’t explored deeply in undergrad but was very curious about.

2. The opportunity to live and study abroad in England was something I felt I couldn’t pass up.

Oxford was an incredible experience—the people, the academic environment, and the city itself made it unforgettable. I met some of the most intelligent and wonderful people during my time in Oxford and I am so grateful for the amazing friends I made during my time there!

What other types of experiential learning opportunities do you think were the most pivotal in getting you to where you are today?

Experiential learning has been a huge part of my journey, and some of the most pivotal experiences came from research, extracurriculars, and hands-on internships. These opportunities not only shaped my skills but also helped me explore different aspects of healthcare, engineering, and digital health. I’ve highlighted a few of these experiences below and am more than happy to chat further about any one of them if you are interested (please feel free to reach out!):

• Remote Internship in Thailand (paid): One of my most unique experiences was a remote biomedical engineering research internship with King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) in Bangkok, Thailand during the pandemic. I applied for this opportunity through the Engineering Science Research Opportunity Program (ESROP), which I described earlier. During my internship, I worked with a team of students from the University of Toronto on two projects:

1. For the first project (my main project) my goal was to help the KMUTT team to automate their existing processes for a research project, which examined the effects of variants on mRNA splicing. To briefly describe what this means, we can think about the Central Dogma of Biology, which refers to how genetic information flows from DNA to RNA to proteins. When DNA gets transcribed to RNA there is an intermediate step where pre-mRNA is transformed into mature mRNA through a process called RNA splicing. During this process, genetic alterations, known as variants, may occur which can cause disruptions. My goal was to automate the identification of splice sites and variant locations using the programming language R.

2. For the second project I worked in a team of four students and we focused on detecting COVID-19 in chest x-rays using machine learning techniques.We created a machine learning algorithm for this task and wrote a conference paper, which you can read here.   

Although I was not physically located in Thailand for this research opportunity, I had so much fun connecting with students and researchers at KMUTT who taught me bits and pieces of Thai language and culture! If your school has any international opportunities, I would highly recommend looking into them!

• Year-long Co-op at the Mabbott Lab at SickKids (paid): Between my third and fourth year of undergraduate studies I took on a year-long co-op as a Biomedical Engineering Research Student at the Mabbott Lab at SickKids, which was an incredible opportunity! I landed this position by cold emailing the Mabbott Lab and asking if they were open to taking on a co-op student. It was intimidating to reach out to them out of the blue but I am so glad that I did! During my time at SickKids I worked on a few major projects. One of them was focused on improving the functionality of one of the lab’s neuroimaging data processing pipelines using the programming language MATLAB and another was to conduct an independent research project using neuroimaging data. I learned so much during this experience and it was the first time that I gained confidence in my technical and research skills, which opened so many doors for me!

• Biomedical Engineering Club Executive (volunteer club role): At the end of my third year, I joined the University of Toronto’s Club for Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering (CUBE). As part of this student-led club, I helped organize networking events, panels, and workshops for students interested in biomedical engineering careers. This role strengthened my leadership, communication, and event planning skills while exposing me to various career paths within healthcare. I joined initially as an Academic Co-Director and returned the following year as Co-President!

Extracurriculars are a great way to gain practical skills and network. I didn’t start engaging in extracurriculars seriously until my third year, which is something I regret! In my first and second years of study I felt too overwhelmed with school, but looking back I think that joining a club would have been a great way for me to take a break from studying and connect with my fellow classmates while exploring my interests.

• Microgravity Research Project (volunteer research experience): Between my third and fourth year of studies I also took part in a research project with a team of students. This opportunity came about when one of my dear friends and undergraduate classmates learned about an opportunity called the Canadian Reduced Gravity Experiment Design Challenge (CAN-RGX), where teams of students can propose science experiments to be conducted in a microgravity environment on board the National Research Council of Canada’s Falcon 20 plane. Our team’s proposal was successful and we were awarded the CAN-RGX project opportunity! So, we spent the next year designing our research project which focused on investigating the effects of microgravity on human telomeres! I learned so much during this project, both in terms of research and project management. Something unique and extremely valuable that I learned during this experience was how to secure funding for a research project. To build our experiment, we needed various materials which could be quite costly. To ensure we were able to do so, our team met with members and departments at our university and also reached out to companies that manufactured the materials we needed in order to present our work to them and gauge the possibility for funding or in-kind support - I did not know that this was something that could realistically be done prior to working on this project! 

Overall, this was an incredible opportunity to work with researchers and subject matter experts who guided our experiment from start to finish. We even presented our work at the International Astronautical Congress in 2021 and 2022! 

• Undergraduate Thesis: As part of the Engineering Science program, each student must complete an undergraduate thesis. This was a huge step in leading me to my master’s degree. I chose to focus my undergraduate thesis on a topic I hadn’t had much exposure to through my studies in order to broaden my knowledge - digital health and wearable technologies. I researched the role of innovation ecosystems for wearable medical devices to understand what barriers and success factors influence the adoption of these technologies. As part of my work, I interviewed several individuals connected to the wearable technology ecosystem, which was my first exposure to qualitative research. I also presented my thesis work in Scotland at the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference in Glasgow, Scotland in 2022, which was an incredible opportunity to practice my research presentation skills.

Each of these experiences played a key role in my career development. They taught me valuable skills, broadened my perspective on healthcare and beyond, and helped me refine my interests. My biggest takeaway? Be open to opportunities, apply for things even if you feel underqualified, and don’t be afraid to reach out to people whose work inspires you!

Where can students go if they want to learn more about your experiences?

Please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn! I’m always happy to chat and share my experiences. If anything, I am certain that I have a lot to learn from you!

Is there any final advice or resources that you would like to share with Invite Health readers?

My final words of advice (which I am still learning myself!) can be summed up as follows:

• Be open to new opportunities. Your career path might not be linear, and that’s okay! Every experience teaches you something valuable.

• Seek out mentors. Find people whose careers you admire and reach out to them.

• Don’t be afraid. Whether it’s applying to your first job or joining a club or applying for grad school, try not to worry so much about the what ifs. There may be bumps along the road but each step will bring you closer to understanding what you want in your career!  

Wishing you all the best in your journey and please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d ever like to chat!

Jobs, Opportunities & Resources 💻️ 

Most of these resources are reposted on Invite Health’s LinkedIn page.

• Research Assistant | Outside In Lab | LinkedIn

• MLSE Student Internships

• ECOSOC Youth Forum - Youth Participation Application

• 2025 Summer Intern - Quality | Roche | LinkedIn

• Investing in Our Diversity Scholarship Program (IIODS) | Toronto Community Housing

• Summer Student Research Program - William Osler Health System 

• Paid Evaluation Internships

• Summer Student Program – MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions 

• ECOSOC Youth Forum in New York City - Youth Participation Application

• The Next Neuroscientist Paid Summer Studentship

• Communication and Engagement Associate at UHN

• Research Associate at McGill University

• Grants & Funding Opportunities for Community Initiatives | Federation of Black Canadians

• Research Assistant – CART | University of British Columbia

• Research Coordinator, BORN Ontario

About Invite Health 💌 

I started Invite Health for my younger self who was trying to figure out what to do with my health sci degree that wasn’t a career in medicine.

Today, I’d say this quote is the primary reason I continue to build Invite Health:

The mission of Invite Health is to close this talent-opportunity gap for students in the life and health sciences.

Since 2022, we’re the leading resource for students figuring out what to do with a life sci / health sci degree. I interview students pursuing diverse careers in healthcare, and how they got there - no gatekeeping here. Every newsletter is rich with resources and insights.

Our main channel is this newsletter, and I occasionally share resources on social media (LinkedIn and Instagram).

You can read more about why I built Invite Health here

How to get the most out of Invite Health 🫶

1. Connect with the interviewees: At the end of every newsletter, the interviewees leave their contact information for you to contact them. In your message, mention that you learned about their journey through Invite Health, and that you’re curious to learn more!

2. Share the word: Share Invite Health with your friends and networks. Start a conversation about something you learned- an opportunity, a piece of advice, or a recommendation that an interviewee made.

3. Bet on yourself: Apply to the opportunities that are shared in the newsletters. You have nothing to lose, and so much to gain. Circling back to point #1 - always reach out to the interviewees if you want advice!

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How I Built Invite Health - BTS 🌼 

I’m building a series where I share strategies on how I built Invite Health. In two years, I’ve grown Invite Health organically to 1,500+ subscribers (meaning, I’ve spent $0), building it sustainably as a solo student founder throughout undergrad and Master’s.

Repost & Recycle Your Content

One thing I notice is that resource creators (mostly students) make an incredible database, list, or excel sheet - but only share it once.

I often re-share lots of old Invite Health interviews in my LinkedIn posts - because the lessons are timeless and the stories are still relevant. That way, (tying in with my previous strategy), I can also make consistent posts without burning out.

These are some examples of posts I’ve made:

• 10 Invite Health interviews in 2024

• Most popular Invite Health interviews from 2024

• Paid summer programs in research, policy, or tech for Canadian undergrads

Free Links & Resources 🫰 

• Applying to Grad Schools Notion Guide by Sachi

• 15 Paid Summer Research Programs in Canada

• 25 Paid Summer Programs for Life Science & Health Science Students in Canada

• Paid Summer Programs in Research, Policy, Tech, etc.

• Paid Healthcare x Business Opportunities for Students

• How to Write a Cold Email

• How to Secure Research Funding

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