Advisors, Coaches, and Clinical Partners

Harvard Medical School HealthTech Fellowship

Geographically, Harvard triangulates between thriving startup culture in Kendall Square, the epicenter of venture capital in Boston and booming bioscience business in Waltham and Weston, perfectly positioning fellows for an invaluable 10-month experience. It also means some of the world’s top innovators are right here in our own backyard. Meet the team, advisors, coaches, and clinical partners who help support this program.

The team

Paola Abello

Paola Abello
Program Director
Director of Innovation, Harvard Medical School^Therapeutics Initiative
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Nancy Tam headshot

Nancy Tam
Assistant Director of Innovation, Harvard Medical School^Therapeutics Initiative
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Marilu Santacruz

Marilu Santacruz
Program Manager of Innovation, Harvard Medical School^Therapeutics Initiative
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Advisors

Imran Eba

Imran Eba
Program Advisor
Partner, Action Potential Venture Capital
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Vanessa Gurie

Vanessa Gurie
Program Advisor
Head of Digital Urology APAC, Boston Scientific
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Zach Malchano

Zach Malchano
Program Advisor & Coach
Founder and CEO, Gap Junction Labs
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Benjamin Pless

Benjamin Pless
Program Advisor
CEO, Pivotal Design Labs
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Aaron Sandoski

Aaron Sandoski
Program Advisor
Managing Director, Norwich Ventures
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Chris Stivers

Chris Stivers
Program Advisor
Vice President of Operations, inQB8 Medical Technologies
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Conor Walsh

Conor Walsh, Ph.D.
Program Advisor
Paul A. Maeder Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 

Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
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Krishna Yeshwant

Krishna Yeshwant, MD 
Program Advisor
Managing Partner, Google Ventures
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Coaches

Annie Garofalo headshot

Annie Garofalo
Team Development Leader
Founder and CEO, Confidante
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Zach Malchano

Zach Malchano
Program Advisor & Coach
Founder and CEO, Gap Junction Labs
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Racquel Redwood headshot

Racquel Redwood
Coach
Staff Human Factors Engineer, Johnson & Johnson
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Clinical Partners

Each year, the HealthTech Fellows begin their 10-month journey at the problem-finding phase by conducting observations and identifying hundreds of unmet healthcare needs at a clinical partner site hosted at a Harvard-affiliated hospital. For six weeks of this clinical immersion, the team works alongside world-class physicians, generates a list of unfiltered needs, and finds opportunities to build creative collaborations to advance healthcare innovation within the clinical setting.

2025-2026

CASI

Center for Aging & Serious Illness at Massachusetts General Hospital
Clinical Partners: Christine Ritchie, MD & Caroline Meehan, MD

2024-2025

MGH

Department of Neurosurgery at Massachusetts General Hospital
Clinical Partner: Mark Richardson, MD, PhD

2022-2023

Mass Eye and Ear

Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at Mass Eye and Ear
Clinical Partner: Mark Varvares, MD

2021-2022

Brigham and Women's Hospital

Department of Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Clinical Partners: Elizabeth Mittendorf, MD, PhD, and Gerard Doherty, MD

2020-2021

Mass General Hospital

Corrigan Minehan Heart Center at Massachusetts General Hospital
Clinical Partner: Thor Sundt, MD