2026 Design by Biomedical Undergraduate Teams (DEBUT) Challenge
NIMHD funds the DEBUT Healthcare Technologies for Low-Resource Settings prize, which challenges the next generation of biomedical engineers to develop innovative solutions to unmet health care and clinical needs of populations in low-resource settings within the U.S. and U.S. territories.
Important Dates
- Challenge Launch: January 27, 2016
- Submission Deadline: January 27, 2026 to June 5, 2026, 11:59 PM EDT
- Judging Period: June 6, 2026 to August 18, 2026
- Winners Announced: August 25, 2026
- Award Ceremony: October 2026, Biomedical Engineering Society Conference, Orlando, Florida
2025 NIMHD Prize for Healthcare Technologies for Low-Resource Settings
Winner: Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Project Title: HemBrace
Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), or uncontrollable blood loss after giving birth, remains the leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide, particularly in low-resource settings where timely diagnosis and intervention are limited. HemBrace seeks to address this by providing a low-cost, reusable system that combines technology from medical devices to provide 1) real-time, quantitative blood loss monitoring (calibrated flow rate sensor system) and 2) automated uterine pressure application. This is meant to control the bleeding, reverse the shock, and stabilize patients to receive necessary, life-saving medical care. This device offers a scalable, non-invasive solution to reduce preventable and treatable maternal mortality in low-resource healthcare environments. For more information on HemBrace, see the team's video below.
Team Members: Dora John, Molly Matri, Megh Prajapati, Natalina Putrino, Nambita Sahai, Saahil Joshi, Arielle Schwarzberg, and Saaya Nair
Press release, Aug. 25, 2025: NIH announces 2025 DEBUT Challenge winners
All 2025 DEBUT Challenge Winners
2024 NIMHD Prize for Healthcare Technologies for Low-Resource Settings
Winner: Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Project Title: A Gold Nanoparticle Solution for Non-Invasive Lead-in-Saliva Testing (NanoLIST)
NanoLIST is a rapid and inexpensive test kit for detecting elevated lead concentrations in saliva. There are significant disparities where children from low socioeconomic status populations are at higher risk of lead exposure and related health effects. The NanoLIST kit is self-contained, ready-to-use, and designed to prevent any leakage, allowing for safe use and simple disposal without the assistance of a clinician.
Team Members: Ruchira Hariharan, Ariella Avigad, Francesca Azzarito, Viviana Esquivel, Sophia Hertel, Kendal Phinney, Nathan Palmuttam, Aiko Shibata
Press release, Aug. 26, 2024: NIH Prize Challenge Recognizes Undergraduate Biomedical Engineers for Innovative Medical Device Designs
All 2024 DEBUT Challenge winners
About DEBUT
The Design by Biomedical Undergraduate (DEBUT) Challenge is an annual contest that recognizes undergraduate excellence and teamwork in biomedical design and innovation. The challenge is open to teams of undergraduate students developing technology to address unmet needs in healthcare.
DEBUT is supported by NIH and VentureWell and is led by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB). NIMHD partners with NIBIB to support the DEBUT Healthcare Technologies for Low-Resource Settings prize, which is awarded to technology advancing health care for populations in low-resource settings in the United States.
Page updated April 1, 2026