2025 H2A HARVARD COHORT
Students in our 2025 cohort of social entrepreneurs are tackling public and planetary health with ambitious ventures that draw from multiple disciplines. We have strong representation from Harvard College, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences & Graduate School of Design. Our cohort also includes students earning advanced degrees at Harvard in arts & sciences, business, education, government, law, and medicine. Some of our Harvard venture teams have also pulled in teammates from Georgetown University School of Medicine, the University of North Carolina, Stanford University, Tsinghua University, and recent graduates from the University of California and Yale.
Nilufar Kayhaniis, the daughter of Afghan refugees, aims to address health inequities affecting displaced and marginalized communities. She co-founded Afghan Clinic to promote the agency and health of Afghan people through the development of novel public health methods and the creation of research centered on the underserved Afghan refugee community.
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This startup is a health education initiative by and for Afghans that is also focused on heightening Afghan representation in the fields of medicine and public health. Nilufar is a graduate student at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She is joined by a team that includes co-founder, Nazineen Kandahari, a surgical resident at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The team also includes Harvard Medical School graduate Anisha Chandy and University of California graduate Fareha Moulana Zada.
Harvard College students have teamed up with undergraduate and medical students across the country to engage young trainees in health disparities research, connect them with expert mentors and policy advisors, and advocate for actionable policy changes with Health Disparities Think Tank (HDTT). They are steadily building a platform for youth to leverage their voices against health disparities through a direct research-to-policy pipeline.
This is a robust team with a faculty advisor, Efron Flores of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. It has a dozen students out of Harvard College, including senior Khushi Kohli (director of research-maternal & child health). Six Harvard College juniors: Brandon Campbell (director of research-diabetes & obesity), Alice Feng (director of research-cancer), Madeleine Hung (director of finance), Daniel Kim (director of research-HIV/AIDS), Tieri Rigamoto (director of operations), and Stephanie Wang (executive director). And five Harvard College sophomores: David An (director of research-respiratory health), Luke Chen (codirector of policy), Sonya Kulkarni (codirector of policy), Aneesh Mazumer (director of research-rare diseases); Jessica Zhuo (director of outreach).
In addition, the HDTT team includes four juniors from Stanford University, Juliet Horenziak (director of publications), Sebastian Pintea (director of research-environmental health), Cheryl Tolomeo (director of publications), and Krista Wong (director of research-cardiovascular health). And it includes a Harvard College graduate who is now doing graduate work in global affairs and public policy at Tsinghua University, Minjue Wu (co-director of policy). Finally, it also includes Georgetown University School of Medicine student Anissa Kurani (co-managing editor).
Harvard College junior Eshan Vishwakarma, a pediatric cancer survivor, is developing Pathway, a hybrid care platform set on improving the lives of pediatric and adult cancer survivors. Combining wearable technology, care continuity systems, and AI-driven health outcome modeling, Pathway aims to deliver personalized, continuous support to the over 18.1 million U.S. cancer survivors.
Drawing from his own experiences, Eshan aims to bridge gaps in post-treatment care, with Pathway’s first product being dedicated to enhancing long-term follow-up care specifically for pediatric survivors. Through H2A, Eshan hopes to connect with a community of builders and healthcare advisors pioneering in the wearable and digital health sector.
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health student Sabrina Ebengho, also a research assistant in the Department of Global Health and Population, founded SAMI+ (Santa Maternelle and Infantile) to address maternal and neonatal mortality in her homeland, the Democratic Republic of Congo.
SAMI+ introduces AI-powered handheld ultrasounds in rural and remote areas, enabling local community health technicians to provide life-saving diagnostics and prenatal education. Working closely with community partners, SAMI+ bridges the gap between healthcare and technology to empower women with access to early care and knowledge, ensuring that no mother or newborn is left behind.
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences student Phyllis Mugadza (founder and CEO) and recent Yale graduate Anya Razmi (COO) are developing holistic period care solutions through data-driven menstrual research and innovation.
Sprxng envisions a world where menstrual products not only meet hygiene needs but empower users, reduce stigma, and contribute to public and planetary health. Through thoughtful design and sustainable innovation, this venture offers products to reshape societal perceptions and provide a sustainable choice for menstruators globally.
Their first product, the Ori Disc, is a reusable menstrual disc that features an integrated, non-chemical therapy for menstrual pain relief. Unlike traditional menstrual cups and discs, Ori incorporates an origami-inspired, pre-creased design that simplifies insertion, making it as easy to use as a tampon. The Ori disc introduces a groundbreaking approach to menstrual pain management by incorporating a chemical-free therapy for menstrual cramps directly into its design, helping to reduce school and work absenteeism caused by menstrual discomfort. With a lifespan of up to two years, the Ori disc significantly reduces the environmental footprint, consuming less water than reusable cloth pads and generating 16 times less carbon impact compared to single-use products.
LEXI
A multidisciplinary team of Harvard students, all from immigrant backgrounds, Lexi aims to reduce the language barriers that create disparities within the American healthcare system. Lexi includes graduate students from business, design engineering, law, and public health who have joined forces to develop an AI-powered medical interpretation service that will bridge language barriers faced by approximately 30 million U.S. patients.
The team is deeply motivated by the lived experiences of their own parents and grandparents and intends to serve immigrants facing language barriers to improve clinical communication and patient outcomes, reduce hospital costs, and advance health equity.
Nearly all team members are current students who will graduate from Harvard University in 2025. Many are earning a Master in Design Engineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences & Graduate School of Design, including Luke Fiorante, Jim Hansen, Linh Pham, Daniel Rodriguez, and Siddharth UR. Meanwhile, Linda Fei is earning a Master of Science in Epidemiology from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Jen Li is earning a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. Finally, Jared Gafee will graduate from Harvard Law School in 2026.
Co-founder Andrew Steen, a former U.S. Army Ranger who is now earning advanced degrees from Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School, and co-founder Kevin Hu, who is earning a Master in Design Engineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences & Graduate School of Design, are building a company that streamlines access to trusted substance abuse treatment.
In the weeks following their acceptance into our early-stage accelerator, Andrew and Kevin received a huge vote of confidence from Harvard Business School, where Laptis won its prestigious Harvard-wide pitch competition, Shark Tank.
The startup aims to empower lawyers, clinicians, and peer advocates to better serve clients battling substance abuse. Their AI Co-pilot tool helps reduce the time it takes to find treatment from weeks to minutes. By connecting the dots between treatment seekers and treatment providers, Laptis saves time and costs for hospitals, treatment centers, and health plans, while ultimately improving patient outcomes.
SPEKTROSKIN
Harvard Medical School student Kamila Muyasarah and Harvard Graduate School of Education student Aktsa Efendy are developing a low-cost, smartphone-integrated device designed for skin cancer detection in low-resource regions, aiming to make advanced diagnostics accessible and affordable for underserved communities.
Their device combines low-cost LED lights and affordable polarized lenses to enable deeper skin visualization to enable healthcare providers to detect critical indicators of skin cancer with greater accuracy. Traditional biopsy-based melanoma diagnosis can take up to eight weeks in resource-limited settings. Their device, integrated with smartphone technology, delivers results within two to three days. While conventional procedures cost between $2,500 and $5,000, their device is priced at under $350 and is a solution that improves early skin cancer detection, reduces unnecessary biopsies, and provides accurate diagnoses while also being sustainable. This venture aims to democratize healthcare and improve outcomes in regions with limited access to advanced diagnostics.
For Seacycle, Harvard Business School student Hande Ilhan, also a Cheng fellow, teamed up with Harvard Kennedy School student Javad Mushtaq, also enrolled in the MIT Climate and Energy Ventures course.
With scientists, Hande and Javad are launching an impact-driven startup that transforms seashells and other food waste materials into fully biodegradable bioplastics. Through a zero-waste polymer extraction process, SeaCycle produces sustainable materials for the plastics industry, addressing the global challenges of plastic pollution and food waste, while also reducing carbon emissions.
SeaCycle is deeply committed to creating a positive environmental impact through sustainable solutions. They are excited to work with H2A due to our long-term focus on our cohorts, which will be crucial for a lab-born, tough climate-tech startup like SeaCycle that must navigate unique challenges to scale its solutions and make the world greener.
A multidisciplinary team of students are developing Zest Health, a health-tech platform that improves access to at-home STI diagnostics, encouraging sexually active adults to get tested confidentially and easily, and share their testing status confidentially with partners. They aim to make sexual health accessible like other aspects of personal health.
The team includes Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health student Caitlin Norris-Grey, Harvard Business School student Ellinor Wänerfjord, and Harvard Graduate School of Design students Darren Chin and Akhil Dayal.
This health-tech solution includes two components: a digital interface and a partnership model with university health clinics and laboratories. The interface uses a CDC-based algorithm to recommend only necessary STI tests for each user and enables individuals to order at-home test kits, track their status, and access results and educational resources in a private setting. Users can share results with partners, promoting open communication.
Zest’s solution also involves collaboration with university health clinics and labs to ensure seamless triage. This approach streamlines testing and reduces the administrative burden on healthcare providers. Inspired by Sexual Health London (SHL), which distributed over 2 million kits and identified 12,000 infections, Zest is built on a similar model. SHL achieved a 99% treatment rate for positive tests and 98% user satisfaction, demonstrating the effectiveness of at-home testing in improving access and engagement.