This fall marked the launch of the SHI Venture Development Program in partnership with Tsai CITY. Throughout the semester, seven teams were mentored by SHI fellows Rod Bravo and Lucas Lu, collaborated with SHI mentors-in-residence, and learned from the broader Tsai CITY network in an effort to enhance and share their global health innovations. Applications for the next SHI cohort are now open through January 22, 2024.
Find out more about the participating teams below:
Wisteria
Johannes Sieberer (YSEAS ‘28) is a second year Mechanical Engineering student working in orthopedics & rehabilitation and co-founder of Wisteria, a product that could revolutionize the IUD insertion procedure using cutting-edge soft robotics technology to ultimately increase access, comfort, and desirability of the most effective form of birth control on the market. Johannes expects to develop a working prototype in the next year.
indeHealth
Tsikata Apenyo (MBA ’24) founded indeHealth. Motivated by personal experiences and a profound appreciation of the challenges students encounter in accessing care, indeHealth serves as an intermediary between students and colleges, helping students seek professional medical help when needed, while alleviating the burden on university health centers. Tsikata hopes to bring indeHealth to market in the next year.
Healthcare Company X
Miguel Agreda (MBA/MPH ‘25) is an SOM/YSPH student and founder of Healthcare Company X, an information platform capable of facilitating knowledge and resource sharing between health care organizations and allied partners. By 2025, Miguel hopes to have a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), which is an early form of product with features for pilot customers.
Lucid.Care
Clara Guo (MD/MBA ’24) and Aleks Galaszewicz (MBA ’24) co-founded Lucid.Care, a behavioral health diagnostic and monitoring platform. Since founding, they have completed a 3-month patient pilot and are currently working on a mobile app to scale with financing from Yale's Henry F. McCance Entrepreneurial Award and Pear VC. Clara and Aleks plan to launch Lucid.Care within the next few months and establish external partnerships in the next year.
Period Equity Movement
Gabi Wiggill (MPH ‘25) is a first year MPH student working on addressing equitable access to period products within and outside the United States. She founded the Period Equity Movement, which aims to ensure that individuals who menstruate have the products they need. Gabi is now working to expand similar projects to other U.S. universities and hopes to forge a collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education. She is also exploring the possibility of founding a non-profit organization to undertake this work in her home country ofSouth Africa.
Y2K Psilocybin Services
Yale College juniors Sydney Morrison (YC ’25), Adriana Abad Castro (YC ‘25), Alika Ting (YC ‘25), and first-year PhD student Eduardo Castro Muñoz (YC ‘29) created Y2K Psilocybin Services to provide culturally-affirming, pharmaceutical agent-assisted psychotherapeutic care. Together, the Y2K team aspires to become one of the most affordable, and most culturally respectful service centers.
Matcha Scrubs
MiChaela Barker (MBA/MPH ‘24) is a 3rd year SOM/YSPH student and 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.