19-year-old Ph.D.: UC Davis biomedical engineering grad plans to work in AI

A 19-year-old man will receive a doctorate in biomedical engineering this quarter from the University of California, Davis.

Tanishq Mathew Abraham of Sacramento said he will graduate with his Ph.D. on June 15. He received an undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering from UC Davis in 2018 at age 14, according to Julia Ann Easley, a spokeswoman for the university.

Easley said Abraham’s focus is artificial intelligence in medicine and using generative AI in microscope viewing and the causes and effects of diseases.

“I think we are now in the AI revolution, and I want to continue to be a part of it,” Abraham said.

He graduated from high school at 10 and was home-schooled by his parents. His mother, Dr. Taji Abraham, is a veterinarian researcher and his father, Bijou Abraham, is a software engineer. Prior to that, he began taking part-time college courses at American River College at 7 years old.

‘Incredible’ achievement

“Any time an individual completes their doctoral degree, it is an exceptional accomplishment,” said Jean-Pierre Delplanque, vice provost and dean of graduate studies at UC Davis. “And for Tanishq, to have already reached this milestone at such a young age is incredible.

“I know he will continue to accomplish great things in his life, and I cannot wait to see the transformative impact he will have on our world.”

He said his doctoral dissertation explored how medical professionals diagnose diseases and advanced algorithms that may enable doctors to make more accurate and timely diagnoses.

“It should speed up the workflow,” he said.

It runs in the family

Abraham’s sister, Tiara, 17, graduated from UC Davis last year with a degree in music, and is now a second-year student in a music graduate program at Indiana University. She will be singing the national anthem at Abraham’s commencement at University Credit Union Center next week.

Also in attendance at the ceremony will be Abraham’s grandmother, Dr. Thankam Mathew, 90, who received a Ph.D. in the 1960s and became a veterinarian.

Abraham also founded Medical AI Research Center in February 2023. The organization is made up of collaborators from Stanford and Princeton universities, among others, that is working on developing generative AIs for medicine, according to Abraham. Last month, the center published a paper on MindEye, a technology that constructs images from brain activity.

He rang the bell at the Graduate Center at Walker Hall on Tuesday morning. The UC Davis tradition, which was re-established in February 2022 after the pandemic shut it down, celebrates the students’ completion of their master’s or doctoral degrees.