By Mattison Hansen
Jessica Jin, a University of North Florida health administration graduate student, recently earned second place in the Transformative Intelligence Track at the 2025 MIT Hacking Medicine GrandHack, one of the world’s leading healthcare innovation events held annually in Boston, Massachusetts.

Jin was among 500 global participants from institutions including Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital who worked in interdisciplinary teams to develop a tech-driven solution supporting caregivers.
Jin’s team project aimed to reduce emergency department visits and give peace of mind to adult children caring for aging parents with dementia. Their concept for a tailored app integrates with FDA-cleared, contactless radar-based remote sensing technology to detect early signs of preventable issues, such as UTIs, without the need for cameras or wearables.
“I went into GrandHack not knowing what to expect,” said Jin. “But I knew God would guide me, and I wanted to work on something meaningful. As an only child caring for my aging parents, who recently immigrated to the U.S. and are learning English, I strive to honor them while balancing their needs with my own. I know how isolating and complex this journey can be, and I wanted to build something that could truly make a difference.”
Jin credits the Leadership Institute at the UNF Brooks College of Health (BCH), as well as the Blackstone LaunchPad at the Coggin College of Business for encouraging and supporting her participation.
A first-generation college student and daughter of Chinese immigrants, Jin came to the U.S. at the age of 16 by herself and earned her bachelor’s degree from Stony Brook University in New York. Her academic journey has taken her from exploring information systems and applied math to working in IT and management consulting, with each experience fueling her passion for human-centered, tech-forward healthcare solutions.
“I think healthcare is one of the few fields where people still genuinely want to help each other,” Jin said. “My goal is to create something, whether it’s a product or service, that centers people first. Technology is powerful, but nothing can replace the human touch.”
At UNF, she served as a graduate assistant, a distant learning coach and a Telescope Health intern, where she applied what she’s learned in the classroom to real-world healthcare challenges. Jin has thrived through hands-on learning experiences and meaningful mentorship from UNF BCH faculty members like Drs. Kay Thiemann, Rob Haley, Jasper Xu, Mei Zhao and Zhigang (Shay) Xie. Martin Luytjes, associate director of Blackstone LaunchPad, also played a key role in encouraging Jin to embrace new opportunities with confidence and believe in her potential.
Beyond academics, Jin is actively engaged in campus life, participating in UNF’s tennis and wetland clubs and representing the University at national conferences such as Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Congress.
“In five years, I want to be designing solutions that truly put people first,” Jin said. “Innovation isn’t just about technology, it’s about empathy. That’s what drives me.”