We are a team of engineers, doctors, educators, business strategists, and designers deeply invested in increasing equity in healthcare. We believe that the impact of any innovation crucially depends on how many people have access to it. Collectively, we work on curating innovative solutions, implementing them to the market, and bringing them to those who need them. We are intentional about growing responsible leaders who act as catalysts of our mission, committed to the greater common good throughout their career journeys.

Meet The Executive Team

  • Shriya Srinivasan, PhD

    FOUNDER/ PRESIDENT

    Shriya Srinivasan is an assistant professor at the John A. Paulson Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. She is the founder and director of the Biohybrid Organs and Neuroprosthetics (BIONIC) Lab where engineers, neuroscientists, roboticists, surgeons, and rehabilitation experts solve challenges in neural control and rehabilitation.

    She previously directed MIT Hacking Medicine and has engaged in numerous global health efforts. Shriya was named as one of MIT Technology review's 35 innovators under 35.

    Shriya is also a professional Bharathanatyam artist, co-founder of Anubhava Dance Company, and has performed widely in the USA and India.

  • Janani Ramesh, M.Ed

    DIRECTOR

    Janani Ramesh is a masters of education graduate of USC’s Rossier School of Education. Her degree specializes in curriculum design for medical education, systems of care reform, and health equity.

    Janani is also founder/director of CAREspaces, the first end-to-end system of care for gender-based violence solutions within the Indian performing arts niche, offering trans-national peer support, legal aid, and healthcare resources to hundreds of survivors worldwide.

    She continues to mentor innovation teams and develops curriculum that seeks to challenge the norms of health equity & systems of care all over the world.

  • Rajib Mondal, M.Sc, cd. MD

    iSAVE CLINICAL TRIAL LEAD

    Rajib is a PhD student in the Harvard-MIT Division for Health-Sciences and Technology in the bioelectronics laboratory. He is an electrical engineer with a degree from RWTH Aachen University, Germany, and went to medical school at University of Duesseldorf where he has worked in general surgery and anesthesiology.

Meet Our Board Members

The foundation of our organization is guided by visionary leadership and support by some of the most eminent minds in the industry

  • Robert Langer, ScD - Institute Professor, MIT

    Robert Langer is a legendary biomedical engineer and entrepreneur. He has written more than 1,500 articles and has over 1,360 pending or issued patents. He has conducted groundbreaking work in drug delivery and biomaterials.

  • Shivang Dave, PhD - Ceo, PlenOptika

    Shivang, a bioengineer and nanotechnologist, has been passionately involved with global health throughout his career. He has co-developed commercial strategies to numerous technologies, including drug-eluting intraocular lenses to reduce post-surgery infection burden in developing countries such as India

  • Giovanni Traverso, MB, BChir, PhD - Assistant Professor, MIT

    Giovanni leads a medical device lab focused on novel technologies for drug delivery and sensing throughout the GI tract. He is a practicing clinician with numerous medical device and therapeutic startup companies.

Project Prana Alumni

  • Khalil Ramadi, PhD

    FOUNDER/ RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

    Khalil is an MIT Postdoctoral researcher. His work includes neuro-engineering, medical devices, and drug delivery to the brain. He has previously engaged with multiple healthcare startup efforts and is a guest instructor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He has been named a TED junior fellow, MIT Sandbox Innovation Fellow, and a Koch Convergence Scholar.

  • Paige Wyler

    LEGAL AND FINANCE

    Paige brings experience in strategic finance, product development, and new business strategy for fast-growing businesses in e-commerce and technology. Most recently, she led a product development team to create digital resources for farmers transitioning to sustainable practices. She is currently pursuing a dual degree in Operations Research and an MBA at MIT Sloan.

  • Sushmitha Ravikumar

    PARTNERSHIPS AND BUSINESS STRATEGY

    Sushmitha is an MBA 2022 candidate at MIT Sloan and has experience in consulting, operations, process engineering, and product management. Recently, she consulted a Peruvian healthcare company in a digital transformation strategy and developed a 2050 net-zero roadmap for a global chemicals company. In her spare time, she pursues Indian classical music as a vocalist and violinist and enjoys running and crafting.

  • Bryan Ranger, PhD

    CLINICAL RESEARCH

    Bryan is an Assistant Professor of Engineering at Boston College where he does research in biomedical devices and global health. Throughout his career, he has worked on global health initiatives in Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, India, at the WHO, USAID, and most recently the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

  • Freddy Nguyen, MD, PhD

    Freddy has extensive experience developing and translating biomedical optical technologies from the bench into the clinics. He has deep experience in healthcare entrepreneurship and innovation as co-director of MIT Hacking Medicine, MIT COVID-19 Challenge, and MIT Hacking Racism Challenge. He has a long track record in community building and establishing collaborations and alliances in the research, medical, and physician-scientist communities at the local, regional, national, and international levels.

  • Sita Vakkalanka

    PARTNERSHIPS

    Sita is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison . She is majoring in Molecular & Cell Biology and earning a certificate in Global Health with plans to pursue a medical career. Sita joined Project Prana to become involved in solving important problems in global healthcare. In addition to school, she spends her time pursuing South Indian classical vocal music and dance.

  • Aisvarya Chandrasekar

    SYSTEM DESIGN

    Aisvarya is a graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in Electrical Engineering. After her graduation, she joined AIG to work as a data analyst and moonlights as a graphic designer and illustrator for several non-profits organizations.

  • Grace Armstrong

    MARKETING & FUNDING

    Grace will earn a BS from MIT in mechanical engineering with a concentration in medical devices and biomechanics. She is an undergraduate researcher with MIT’s Biomechatronics Group and is an intern with Orange Grove Bio Venture Capital Firm. She is passionate about innovative and accessible medical technology.

  • Rachel Chae

    SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT

    Rachel will earn a BS from MIT in electrical engineering and computer science. She is an undergraduate researcher at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine and a co-director of MIT Hacking Medicine. Rachel’s research interests include biomedical optics, machine learning, and image processing. She is passionate about applying innovative technology to tackle current issues in healthcare.

  • Paramesh Karandikar

    Paramesh Karandikar

    REGULATORY AFFAIRS

    Paramesh is a second year MD student in the UMass Medical School Class of 2024 and currently involved in biotechnology research in the Cambridge area. After graduating in 2019 with a BSc in Chemistry from NYU, he researched polymeric drug delivery methods at the MIT Langer Lab before beginning his medical education. He is interested in biotechnology and translational research, particularly in the neural context.

  • Kushal Sreenuprasad

    PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND OUTREACH

    Kushal is a Systems Engineer at Siemens Healthineers with a Master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in Biomedical Engineering focused on Medical devices and Imaging. Throughout his academic journey, he has exhibited a keen interest in cardiac instrumentation, channeled towards developing affordable and efficient healthcare technology. At Hopkins, he pursued research on developing contrast-free UTE MRI sequences for rapid cardiac imaging and MRI conditional cardiac ablation catheters to treat arrhythmias. He is an ardent believer in healthcare being a fundamental right and aspires to make an impact on global cardiovascular health. Outside of work, Kushal is a dancer pursuing Bollywood dance and loves to cook and travel.