About Ashvin Handoo

My Story: The promise of scientific innovation has always fascinated me, but my drive to work in bioengineering is deeply personal. Watching my grandfather struggle with Alzheimer's disease exposed the limitations of current neurological treatments, particularly regarding global affordability and access. That experience made it clear that discovering a breakthrough is only half the effort. The other half is engineering a way to manufacture it efficiently so it can actually reach patients.

My technical journey began with hands-on biotechnology training at the North Montco Technical Career Center, where I learned foundational lab techniques like CRISPR and cell culture. Driven to dive deeper into the intersection of technology and medicine, I eventually transferred to the University of Pittsburgh (from Villanova) to immerse myself in its rigorous bioengineering and research environment. There, I joined the BIONIC Lab to investigate how neural implants interact with the brain. I developed Python and MATLAB pipelines, utilized machine learning tools like DeepLabCut, and processed complex multimodal data to understand how astrocytes respond to intracortical microstimulation. This research honed my ability to analyze biological systems quantitatively and solve complex technical problems.

My perspective on how to best impact patient health expanded significantly during my time in industry. During a year-long Manufacturing Science and Technology co-op at Kenvue, I transitioned from academic theory to larger-scale pharmaceutical operations. I led a blending Design of Experiments study, executed experimental batches, and used statistical tools like Minitab to identify optimal processing conditions. I experienced firsthand how critical process optimization and robust manufacturing are to a product's success.

I built on that foundation at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, where I joined the CAR-T Advanced Therapies group as a supply chain planning intern. I owned the weekly raw-material Vulnerability Report and built a Power BI dashboard to surface risk trends across the materials the therapy depends on, while supporting daily SAP execution across MRP, logistics, and scrapping to keep inventory healthy. I also developed inventory and demand-forecasting models from SAP and MRP data to inform safety stock decisions, and automated warehouse request and batch-tracking workflows using Power Automate and Excel to make material consumption traceable. Working on an individualized cell therapy made the stakes of operations concrete: when a product is manufactured for one specific patient, a supply gap is not an inventory problem but a treatment delayed. I have continued with the team part-time through the academic year.

These experiences — analyzing neurological signals in the BIONIC Lab, optimizing processes at Kenvue, and planning supply for advanced therapies at Johnson & Johnson — have fortified my career trajectory. Following my graduation, my goal is to enter a pharmaceutical leadership development program. I want to merge my biological background with my operational expertise to lead teams that develop, scale, and optimize the manufacturing of next-generation neurotherapeutics. By focusing on process robustness and operations, I aim to ensure that the treatments capable of fighting diseases like Alzheimer's can be produced reliably and affordably for the people who need them most.

Download my resume