Congratulations to the Deans’ Health and Life Sciences Challenge Finalists
The Harvard i-lab is excited to announce the finalist teams for the inaugural Deans’ Health and Life Sciences Challenge.
Sponsored by deans from across the University and hosted by the Harvard Innovation Lab (i-lab), the Deans’ Health and Life Sciences Challenge recognizes that the delivery of affordable health to the global population is one of the world’s most pressing problems. The challenge invited Harvard students and postdoctoral fellows from across Harvard’s schools to develop entrepreneurial solutions that aid in the delivery of affordable health care and the development of new and effective therapies for global populations.
Finalists were selected from a pool of 54 applications by a judging panel that included Harvard faculty, alumni and industry experts. Finalist teams represent four Challenge focus categories:
In the Redesign of Health Delivery category:
- CareSolver focuses on improving the health and wellness of the elderly by helping family/informal caregivers provide better, more coordinated care to elderly relatives and loved ones living at home.
- TraumaLink is tackling the lack of a formal pre-hospital system in Bangladesh by connecting users to first-aid and ambulance services.
- Broadleaf HEA is integrating care for children with mental health needs into a model for comprehensive school health in rural India.
In the Changing Behavior category:
- Priming Pregnancy wants to prevent obesity before it starts. Research has shown that factors, such as blood glucose levels, are critical to healthy weight of the child in the future, this web application supports women in having the best pregnancy possible.
- Healthy Motives aims to address unhealthy behaviors by building an integrated web application that incorporates behavioral feedback, social support, and financial incentives to improve long‐term health behaviors.
- Sqweeki's mission is to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and significantly improve individual and public health by providing a simple, safe, and secure mobile application for individuals to share their sexual health information.
In the Computation and Data Analysis in Health category:
- Mobile Urban Sensors is developing a means of data collection, analysis and dissemination of urban environmental conditions which will in turn better inform public health decisions.
In the Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine category:
- MatriTarg Laboratories is characterizing the genetic changes in cells implicated in progressive diseases throughout the body to ultimately facilitate the identification of novel therapeutic targets.
The finalists will receive $5,000 to continue developing their projects and will present their ideas to the local and Harvard communities at Demo Day on May 22. The grand prize-winner and runners-up will be announced in late May, when they will take home a share of the $75,000 purse. Teams will also continue their residency at the i-lab, with dedicated workspace, mentoring, and access to expert resources throughout the summer.
