The Yale Institute for Global Health (YIGH) is happy to introduce the Spring 2024 teams for the Sustainable Health Initiative (SHI) Venture Development Program. Throughout the semester, twelve teams will be mentored by SHI fellows Rod Bravo and Lucas Lu, collaborate with SHI mentors-in-residence, and learn from the broader Tsai CITY network in an effort to enhance and share their global health innovations.
Teams that participated in the spring program include:
MedCon (Medical Consumables)
Jeffrey Boateng (YSPH ‘24) is the founder of MedCon, a digital platform that aims to consolidate medical device suppliers in African countries in order to better patient care outcomes. In Ghana and other African countries, due to the limited number of suppliers and lack of a centralized purchasing system, hospitals and healthcare facilities face overpricing of medical goods, and are often unable to locate niche healthcare devices. This results in inefficiencies in healthcare delivery, increased costs for healthcare facilities, and potentially compromised patient care due to equipment shortages or delayed treatments.
Nurturing Community
Anjali Mangla (YC ‘24) is the founder of Nurturing Community, a community aimed to develop community-based digital interventions by combining multi-sectoral approaches to social determinants of health. Often, many community resources exist in an area but there is poor coordination among local actors to address the burden of chronic noncommunicable diseases among the most vulnerable community members. Nurturing Community utilizes health economic policy tools and local resources to analyze and implement tailored interventions to local contexts.
Ceramic Water Filters & the Hidden Hunger
Cheldina Jean (PhD ‘26) is proposing the use of Ceramic Water Filters (CWFs) to effectively provide safe and clean drinking water, which also has the potential to be a viable delivery foundation for essential minerals. Over two billion people today still lack access to safe drinking water and suffer from “hidden hunger” – a term used for micronutrient malnutrition. Both a lack of access to clean water and nutrients lead to chronic health outcomes and impact economic advancement. CWF fortified with micronutrients can serve as a consumer-focused, easy-to-implement and cost-effective measure to improve nutrition and access to drinking water globally.
Mudder AI
Nadia Ahmad (PhD ‘25) is the founder of Mudder AI, which models flood risk down to the neighborhood and household level by combining satellite imagery, climate data, and on-the-ground sensor networks to forecast flood risk. As we face intensifying climate impacts, existing flood prediction models lack the granularity and accuracy to truly empower local climate resilience. Mudder AI will work hand-in-hand with vulnerable communities to implement tailored resilience solutions, whether that's deploying flood barriers, creating emergency response plans, or relocating at-risk infrastructure.
Upkeep
Blake Robertson (YSPH ‘24), is the founder of Upkeep, a comprehensive resource database empowered with conversational AI to streamline support access for older adults and their family caregivers. Nine out of 10 adults want to age in their homes, causing a tremendous burden for their family caregivers, especially given how fragmented and difficult it is to locate resources for support. Upkeep will offer monthly plans where users will be given a personal care coordinator that will provide healthcare navigation, administrative task assistance, and weekly check-ins.
SciLink
Youssef Ibrahim (YC ‘25) is the founder of SciLink, an AI-driven, personalized research assistant tool that simplifies the literature review process and provides customized updates and insights in scientific research. Traditional literature review tools are time-consuming and lack personalization, leading researchers often struggling to stay up to date with developments in their fields.
Organ
Sohi Patel (YC ‘27), is the founder of Organ, a health tech startup developing a modular, biorobotic wearable that autoregulates health by continuously measuring biomarkers, vitals, and lifestyle factors reacting in real time, allowing for early detection and mitigation of issues like heart failure and hormonal imbalance before symptoms even show. The traditional approach to healthcare often addresses symptoms as they arise, although not all health issues are caught in time. The device can autonomously administer injections and pills, iteratively and accurately dose chemotherapy treatments, help those recovering from addiction to wean off drugs with high precision, and more.
Spinertia
Braeden Cullen (YC ‘27) is the founder of Spinertia, a pioneer in wearable technology that utilizes AI to generate a live, detailed model of the human spine for athletic trainers to visually analyze spinal movements and facilitate easier implementation of corrective actions in sports medicine. This innovative device precisely measures spinal curvature and converts this data through a proprietary algorithm into a real-time, accurate visualization of spinal movement. Spinertia is a tool for injury prevention and performance enhancement, offering unparalleled insights into spinal dynamics for long-term athletic development.
De-Stress
Arinze Agu (YSPH ‘25) is the founder of De-Stress, a personalized mental healthcare and productivity app that guides students and professionals to manage daily stressors with the help of an AI buddy. The idea of a "buddy" is to convey the mode of operation; a conversational and interactive friend that recognizes the "overwhelming situation" and offers to help right when you need it.
Pyari
Nikita Paudel and Ranjan Poudel (YC '25) are the founders of प्यारी (Pyari), a groundbreaking initiative and movement dedicated to breaking the silence around menstruation in Syangja, Nepal. The initiative aims to meet the immediate need for menstrual health and empower women economically and hygienically through community-based approaches involving health workers, tailors, and other community members. Pyari will deliver essential knowledge on menstrual health while equipping participants with the skills needed to create reusable pads. Pyari fosters sustainability and inclusivity while reshaping attitudes around menstrual and reproductive health.
SHED
Sooah Park (YC ‘27) is the founder of SHED. With the taboo and fear of judgment surrounding sexual topics, productive and comfortable conversations around sexual health are sorely lacking among youths. Additionally, schools often fail to balance progressive sex education with diverse cultural norms. To address this, Sooah is creating a subscription-based app that can be used by schools and individuals to teach core concepts, suggest culturally appropriate curricula, and offer a forum to ask and answer questions with youth of the same age.
Matcha Scrubs
MiChaela Barker (MBA/MPH ‘24) is the founder of Matcha Scrubs, where innovation meets inclusivity in healthcare attire. The satin-lined scrub caps are designed to protect diverse hairstyles like braids, afros, locs, and more, and feature a surgical glasses holder, alleviating pressure on ears during long shifts. MiChaela anticipates bringing Matcha Scrubs to market in the next year.