This grad helps runs the Amazon of the medical device world
““Even though I’m not the doctor or the nurse at the bedside, I’m still a part of the process, ultimately helping that person feel better and sometimes saving their life,” said Northeastern graduate Katie Karmelek.
In the medical device industry, time is often of the essence.
A critical component shortage could delay a project for weeks if not months, an all too common occurrence for many device startups. Ask Northeastern graduate Katie Karmelek.
A mechanical engineer in the health care industry, Karmelek experienced this firsthand early in her career while working in research and development.
“I’d have maybe up to 10 projects going at the time, innovating, developing and prototyping medical devices for a wide range of companies,” she said. “I was always having a hard time getting the parts I needed to innovate fast enough. I was even going to Home Depot to buy tubing because that’s what we could get to make a catheter prototype.”
That’s why in 2017, Karmelek co-founded Chamfr, a digital marketplace pegged as the Amazon for research and development engineers in the medical technology field. The company’s pitch was to offer an online store where medical device makers could go to purchase important components needed to make their products.
Today, the company has customers in 50 countries and partners with more than 100 suppliers to offer everything from medical balloons and catheters to batteries and electrodes, according to the company’s website.
For these efforts, Karmelek, who now focuses on product development engineering at Chamfr, has been named a Women Who Empower Innovator Award Fellow.
The honor, according to Northeastern University’s Women Who Empower Initiative, recognizes women “who have demonstrated extraordinary vision, impact and leadership.” And as part of the fellowship, Karmelek will participate in a nine-month program that will give her access to mentorship opportunities and workshops.
Karmelek described the recognition as a full circle moment. She credited Northeastern for leading her down this career path. Karmelek received her bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Northeastern in 2006 and went on to obtain her master’s in the same subject in 2008.
It was actually her first co-op at Aspect Medical Systems, a brain monitoring device company, where she really fell in love with medical devices, she said.
The company, which in 2009 was acquired by a larger medical firm called Covidien, created a sensor device that measured the electronic activity of a patient’s brain to determine the right amount of anesthesia they should be administered during surgery. At that co-op, Karmelek worked directly with the product development team to help improve the instrument’s capabilities.
“I’ve even seen the device on either ‘ER’ or ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ once while I was watching TV, and I was like, ‘Oh, I worked on that product,’” she said.
Subsequent co-ops at NMT Medical, a now defunct medical device supplier focused on the cardiovascular system and Boston Scientific, a biotechnology company based in Marlborough Massachusetts, were also critical for her development, she said.
During those co-ops, she got hands-on time with medical devices designed to fill holes in people’s hearts and helped create a loop system that allowed doctors to reposition and remove stents, tiny tubs placed inside blocked or narrow passages in the body, after they are already surgically placed.
The practical know-how Karmelek gained during these co-ops helped shape her career, giving her critical insights into how to develop and prototype a device and eventually take it to market, she said.
Editor’s Picks
“These experiences helped me discover my passion for developing medical devices that improve patients’ lives,” she said.
One of Karmelek’ greatest skills as an engineering executive at Chamfr is her ability to connect and communicate with both people who are technically inclined and those who are not, said Steve Maxon, vice president of growth at Chamfr.
“There’s a lot of really good engineers out there, but she has a unique combination of having really strong technical skills and excellent communication and collaboration skills,” he said.
It’s those combination of skills that make her the perfect person to serve as a public representative for the company during shows and events, he added.
Maxon highlighted the fact that in June, Karmelek moderated a discussion held during one of the company’s medical processing conferences in Quincy, Massachusetts, focused on catheter development and manufacturing And during a conference last year held at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, she served as the official master of ceremonies.
“That’s how versatile she is,” Maxon said. “She can be in front of a highly technical group and talk about technology, but on the other hand, she can run a show and keep things in order.”
Karmelek plays a similar role as a board member of Northeastern University’s Galante Engineering Business Program, a graduate certificate program designed for students who have obtained their bachelor’s in engineering and are interested in sharpening their business and leadership management skills.
As a board member, Karmelek regularly comes back to campus to share her story and offer advice to students and graduates, who have careers in the health care industry or related engineering fields.
In December, Karmelek will host an event at the Egan Research Center, a multidisciplinary facility on the Boston campus, where she will speak about her career path, explained Hailey Bloch, a coordinator for the program.
“Within the Galente program, we have a lot of students who are getting their masters in bioengineering and mechanical engineering, and they are very interested in medical devices,” Bloch said. “That pairs nicely with Katie’s business and experience.”
Karmelek said having the opportunity to engage with fellow Huskies and offer advice has been extremely rewarding. It’s a way for her to give back to a community that has done so much for her, she explained.
She also just loves talking about the work she does and its positive – sometimes life-changing — impact.
“Even though I’m not the doctor or the nurse at the bedside, I’m still a part of the process, ultimately helping that person feel better and sometimes saving their life,” she said.
