Sara V. Fernandez

Sara V. Fernandez is a current graduate student at the MIT Media Lab in the Conformable Decoders group focusing on market-informed and human-inspired medical device development. Sara earned a MMSc. in Global Affairs as a Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, and holds a BSc. in Materials Science and Engineering from MIT with minors in Entrepreneurship & Innovation and Chinese. At MIT, Sara engaged in international student outreach, mentorship, DEI initiatives, and Varsity Tennis. As an undergraduate researcher in Conformable Decoders, she designed innovative medical technologies and materials systems, yielding high-impact publications.

Sara is drawn to exploring how flexible materials can be constructed and utilized in order to improve how one can experience and interact with the world. Her primary interest lies in how materials with different properties, capabilities, and configurations can best be employed for the purpose of improving the experience of people with long-lasting medical conditions or physical restrictions who are in constant need of monitoring or treatment. She is curious about creating simulated materials that mimic the structure and function of different tissues and is particularly interested in how biomaterials can be used in conjunction with mechanical components in order to interface with the human body in a more comfortable, user-serving way.