This program develops Yale students' interest in innovation to solve global health challenges through collaboration, creative methods, and business approaches.
exposed salmon
Ellie Park, photo editor
Through the Sustainable Health Initiative Venture Development Program, undergraduate and graduate students alike are finding new ways to start their own global health innovations.
The Venture Development Program, based at the Yale Global Health Institute's Sustainable Health Initiative (SHI), helps undergraduate and graduate students turn health startups into reality. The program works with TSAI cities to support the development of innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing health problems. This spring, 12 teams will participate.
“Starting a company from nothing can be very scary and daunting, especially as a student,” says Rod Bravo, a SHI Venture Development Program fellow who helps guide each team. “The sense of belonging and structure we have built here allows us to adequately support the creation of global health ventures.”
SHI was founded in 2019 by former School of Public Health Dean Sten Vermund to create a space that combines global medical activities with the university's innovation ecosystem.
The initiative quickly partnered with Indian companies and incubators. After identifying several entrepreneurs with potential for global healthcare ventures, SHI sent them to India, said Thérèse Chahine, SHI's School of Business Lecturer and Advisor in Social Entrepreneurship. The project was expanded in cooperation with an incubator.
Then the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic occurred. SHI held a mini-speaker series and continued to provide mini-grants for student projects. As the pandemic continues, SHI leaders decided to take the program in a new direction.
“We started thinking about how we could foster global health innovation without necessarily traveling,” said Fatema Basrai, managing director of SHI. “So we began to focus more on the Yale community, specifically student-led global health innovation.”
In the fall of 2023, SHI developed a new cohort system. When students apply to the program with a potential startup idea, they are paired with one of her two student fellows, who provide guidance and advice to each team.
This program also has other benefits. They host a lecture series where people from global healthcare startups share their experiences. We also have resident mentors like Emily Sheldon, co-founder of the African Health Innovation Center, who provide additional advice to students.
“I think this cohort model has been helpful and successful,” Basrai told the News. “We've gotten good feedback from students that they really enjoy coming together in person, learning from the speakers, and getting the time to get to know each other.”
Bravo said students will participate in the program with startups at various stages of evolution. Some students are still developing business plans for their projects, while others have already created prototypes and are ready to obtain additional funding.
“I think part of the responsibility of the university is to develop those seeds into people who can become entrepreneurs,” Bravo said.
Braeden Cullen ’27 is co-founder of Spinertia, a startup that uses AI to visualize live spinal movement for athletic trainers and medical professionals, and is also participating in the program. For him, the startup's diversity of expertise created a collaborative environment.
“Biotech ventures in particular are really hard to get off the ground,” Karen says. “There is a very high knowledge barrier that prevents many people from learning deeply. SHI has made it more accessible.”
SHI has access to faculty and resources at the School of Public Health and the Institute for Global Health. We also work with Yale Ventures and InnovateHealth to help provide intellectual property protection and pitch competitions.
But for Basrai, TSAI City has been crucial to the development of the venture development program, helping participants learn how to pitch their ideas and build financial models.
“SHI innovators can benefit from the entire ecosystem, where they receive seed grants from InnovateHealth and participate in TSAI's accelerator workshops,” Chahine told the News. “And they might partner with faculty and get advice from YaleVenture. Each builds on the other.”
Still, SHI's venture is beyond the development stage. Many continue to have a real impact on society. For example, “Upkeep,” developed by Blake Robertson SPH ’24, is a comprehensive database that uses AI to provide a better health experience for older adults. Since then, he has interviewed senior living communities and communicated with state Medicaid offices to obtain resources and improve the product's effectiveness.
MiChaela Barker, SOM ’24 SPH ’24, developed “Matcha Scrubs,” a line of satin-lined scrub caps designed for people with a variety of hairstyles, to promote diversity in the medical profession. did. Sooah Park '27 created SHED, an app that uses videos and interactive exercises to provide culturally conscious sex education. Clara Guo SOM '24 MED '24 “Lucid. Care” is a behavioral health screening and monitoring platform.
“Many of the founders coming out of SHI are considering the needs of their local and global communities,” Bravo said. “It's all shaped by what people in this community need. Whether it's patients or seniors, the list goes on and on.”
The program is looking to the future, and Bravo said he hopes it will expand to year-round eligibility. Chahine, the SOM lecturer, also hopes the program will support more ventures according to lived experience.
“We want to start helping people who don't have the academic expertise, the networks, the funding, the research that people at Yale have,” Chahine said. “Why not think about using Yale to impact other parts of the world, so that Yale students can actually impact people around the world?” Masu.”
Applications for Fall 2024 students in the SHI Venture Development Program will open next semester.
