Growing up, Valencia Koomson wasn't supposed to be the one playing with the electronic set - that was her brother's Christmas present. She played with it anyway, and now she runs a lab at Tufts University focused on designing precision biosensors. She's turned that expertise toward addressing a long-overlooked problem in medical technology: pulse oximeters that work less reliably for patients with darker skin.

In this episode, she explains what it actually takes to engineer a more inclusive pulse oximeter and she shares how she's navigating the complexities of commercialising a new medical device.

You'll learn:

- Why pulse oximeters tend to be less accurate on patients with darker skin tones

- The engineering principles Koomson is using to redesign the device from the ground up

- How she thinks about bridging the gap between lab innovation and real-world impact

---

*** Help us shape the future of Made For Us! Take our 4-minute listener survey for the chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card and get instant access to our curated reading list of every book ever recommended on the show: https://forms.gle/pNyrCooa23oYsaVk7

---

About Valencia Koomson

Valencia Koomson holds the position of Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Tufts University with a secondary appointment at the Department of Computer Science and Tisch College of Civic Life. She is the founding director of the Advanced Integrated Circuits & Systems Lab at Tufts with a research focus on medical device innovation, global health technology, and health equity advocacy. Dr. Koomson completed B.S. and M.Eng. degrees in electrical engineering and computer science at MIT. She was awarded the George C. Marshall scholarship to pursue post-graduate studies at the University of Cambridge where she received the M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering. Dr. Koomson has authored over 60 publications, book chapters, and patents. She was awarded the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Visiting Professorship at MIT in 2021.

Follow Valencia Koomson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/profkoomson/

Learn more about the Advanced Integrated Circuits and Systems Lab at Tufts: https://engineering.tufts.edu/ece/koomson

---

Other episodes you might like:

The pulse oximeter problem: a trusted medical device comes under the spotlight

How to design a fairer healthcare system

---

Connect with Made for Us

- Show notes and transcripts: https://made-for-us.captivate.fm/

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/madeforuspodcast

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madeforuspodcast

- Newsletter: https://madeforuspodcast.beehiiv.com/

At age 17, Hugh Herr was an elite rock climber whose life was defined by the vertical world, until a mountain climbing accident fundamentally changed his trajectory.

Today, as Professor at the MIT Media Lab and co-director of the K. Lisa Yang Center for Bionics, his work focuses on creating bionic limbs that move and feel like natural limbs. His innovations include computer controlled artificial knees, powered ankle-foot prostheses and exoskeletons, earning him the title "Leader of the Bionic Age."

In this conversation, he shares the personal story behind his mission to design transformative and human-centred technology, and the global challenge of making prosthetics accessible to all.

You'll learn:

- What the next frontier of human augmentation looks like

- Major innovations from Hugh Herr's lab at MIT, including a groundbreaking new surgical technique

- The roadmap for creating a future with equitable, global access to advanced prosthetic technology

---

*** Help us shape the future of Made For Us! Take our 4-minute listener survey for the chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card and get instant access to our curated reading list of every book ever recommended on the show: https://forms.gle/pNyrCooa23oYsaVk7

---

About Hugh Herr

Hugh Herr is Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT Media Lab, and co-leads the Yang Center for Bionics at MIT. He is creating bionic limbs that emulate the function of natural limbs. TIME Magazine coined him the "Leader of the Bionic Age" because of his revolutionary work in the emerging field of Biomechatronics - technology that marries human physiology with electromechanics.

Follow Hugh Herrr on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugh-herr-023697b/

Follow Hugh Herr on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hugh.herr/

Learn more about the Biomechatronics Group at MIT: https://www.media.mit.edu/groups/biomechatronics/overview/

Learn more about the K. Lisa Yang Center for Bionics: https://yangtan.mit.edu/k-lisa-yang-center-for-bionics/

---

Connect with Made for Us

- Show notes and transcripts: https://made-for-us.captivate.fm/

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/madeforuspodcast

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madeforuspodcast/

- Newsletter: https://madeforuspodcast.beehiiv.com/

*** Help shape the next season of Made For Us! Please share your feedback in our 4-minute listener survey for the chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card and get instant access to our curated reading list of every book ever recommended on the show: https://forms.gle/pNyrCooa23oYsaVk7

---

In this episode:

While working as a civil rights lawyer in the Obama administration, Regina “Gina” Kline kept seeing the same pattern: talented individuals with disabilities being denied access to the tools they needed to compete in the global economy.

In this episode, she shares how that realisation led her to found Enable Ventures, the first venture capital firm dedicated to closing the disability wealth gap by investing in companies at the nexus of technology and disability.

We discuss:

1. How Enable Ventures invests in disability-led innovation
2. The “original sin” behind the disability wealth gap
3. How the "ADA generation" is building the technology they need to compete

---

About Regina Kline

Regina “Gina” Kline is the Founder and Managing Partner of Enable Ventures, the first impact venture fund dedicated to closing the disability wealth gap by investing in early-stage companies working at the nexus of technology and disability.

Investor, entrepreneur, civil rights lawyer, and thought leader, Gina has dedicated 15 years of her career to building the future of work by advancing the rights and interests of people with disabilities as innovators, entrepreneurs, workers, and consumers. Gina previously served in the Obama Administration and litigated landmark ADA cases and is nationally recognized for her legal and policy work in advancing the rights of people with disabilities. Gina is also the founder of SmartJob, an impact consultant and early-stage scout for the disability tech sector.

Follow Regina Kline on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/regina-gina-kline-b042054

Learn more about Enable Ventures: www.enableventures.vc

---

If you enjoyed this episode, why not share it with someone who'd appreciate it. Send questions for our guests or any feedback to: [email protected]

Other episodes you might like:

Be My Eyes: the app powering a global volunteer movement for accessibility

---

Connect with Made for Us

1. Show notes and transcripts: https://made-for-us.captivate.fm/
2. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/madeforuspodcast
3. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madeforuspodcast/
4. Newsletter: https://madeforuspodcast.beehiiv.com/

This week, we’re bringing you a crossover episode from Beyond 6 Seconds podcast, which features conversations with neurodivergent people from around the world.

Award-winning host Carolyn Kiel speaks with neurodivergent entrepreneurs, creators, and advocates about their lives, identities, and issues that are important to them.

In this episode, Carolyn's guest is Tiffany Hammond, author of the New York Times bestselling children’s book, A Day with No Words. The book tells the story of a Black mother and her nonspeaking autistic son who use a tablet to communicate with each other and the world around them.

We’ll be back with a new episode of Made For Us next week. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy discovering Beyond 6 Seconds and be sure to give them a follow wherever you get your podcasts.

---

Learn more about Beyond 6 Seconds

Podlink: https://pod.link/1336740192

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/35483102/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beyond6seconds/

Learn more about Tiffany and her work: ADayWithNoWords.com

Learn more about World Autism Awareness Day: https://www.un.org/en/observances/autism-day

---

Connect with Made for Us

1. Show notes and transcripts: https://made-for-us.captivate.fm/
2. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/madeforuspodcast
3. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madeforuspodcast/
4. Newsletter: https://madeforuspodcast.beehiiv.com/

A flaw in one of medicine's most trusted devices - the pulse oximeter - was first documented in the 1990s, then largely forgotten. It took the COVID-19 pandemic to bring it back to the forefront.

Michael Sjoding, a pulmonologist and associate professor of medicine at the University of Michigan, was treating critically ill patients during the pandemic when he noticed something that didn't add up: pulse oximeter readings were overestimating blood oxygen levels compared with arterial blood gas tests. The discrepancy wasn't random. Black patients were significantly more likely to receive inaccurate readings than White patients.

In this episode, we talk about the impact of the study Dr. Sjoding and his colleagues published in the New England Journal of Medicine, what it reveals about the design of medical devices - and why he believes this is a problem that can be solved.

We discuss:

1. Why pulse oximeters can produce less accurate readings in patients with darker skin - and what that means for clinical decision-making
2. What the pulse oximeter problem reveals about inclusive design in medicine
3. Why Dr. Sjoding believes his study gained traction where earlier research did not

About Michael Sjoding

Dr. Michael Sjoding is an Associate Professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care at the University of Michigan. His research focuses on developing new computational tools to support diagnosis and identify optimal treatment for patients with lung disease. He also studies how to effectively deploy these tools to support clinical decisions at the bedside.

Read the NEJM study on racial bias in pulse oximetry measurement: https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMc2029240

---

Other episodes you might like:

How to design a fairer healthcare system

---

Connect with Made for Us

1. Show notes and transcripts: https://made-for-us.captivate.fm/
2. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/madeforuspodcast
3. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madeforuspodcast/
4. Newsletter: https://madeforuspodcast.beehiiv.com/

*** Help shape the next season of Made For Us! Please share your feedback in our 4-minute listener survey for the chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card and get instant access to our curated reading list of every book ever recommended on the show: https://forms.gle/pNyrCooa23oYsaVk7

---

In this episode:

What happens when AI doesn’t understand you?

For millions of people across Africa, speaking a language that AI doesn’t recognise can be a barrier to accessing services like healthcare and participating in the digital economy.

Pelonomi Moiloa is CEO of Lelapa AI, a research and product lab building language AI for a continent with 2,000+ languages. Named one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in AI in 2023, Pelonomi unpacks the technical and linguistic challenges she and her team are up against - from the data collection hurdles unique to oral cultures, to the compute constraints on the African continent.

In this episode, we discuss:

1. Why mainstream AI struggles with African languages
2. The creative approaches Lelapa AI is pioneering since scraping the internet or the archives isn't an option
3. What Pelonomi really thinks about being called one of the most influential people in AI

About Pelonomi Moiloa

Pelonomi Moiloa is CEO of Lelapa AI, a socially-grounded research and product lab driving AI for Africans by Africans. A biomedical and electrical engineer by training, Pelonomi has spent almost a decade deriving insights from data to address complex problems.

Learn more about Lelapa AI: https://lelapa.ai

Follow Lelapa AI on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lelapa-ai/

Follow Pelonomi Moiloa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pelonomi-moiloa

---

Love what you heard? Leave us a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It makes our day (and helps others find the show).

Other episodes you might like:

What's in a name? When your device thinks you're a typo

---

Connect with Made for Us

1. Show notes and transcripts: https://made-for-us.captivate.fm/
2. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/madeforuspodcast
3. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madeforuspodcast/
4. Newsletter: https://madeforuspodcast.beehiiv.com/

*** Help us shape the future of Made For Us! Take our 4-minute listener survey for the chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card and get instant access to our curated reading list of every book ever recommended on the show: https://forms.gle/pNyrCooa23oYsaVk7

---

In this episode:

Ethan Pierce couldn't read when he finished third grade, but years later went on to win a full scholarship to Harvard. Recognising that not all students have the support he had, he founded Adaptive Reader, an AI-powered platform that adapts classic literature and other books to different reading levels and languages.

In this episode, Ethan talks about building a product around the learners the education system leaves behind, why your first startup idea is probably wrong (and why that's a good thing), and how listening to teachers changed everything he thought he knew about edtech design.

We discuss:

1. How Ethan's own struggles with reading in school inspired Adaptive Reader’s mission
2. Why 130 user research interviews convinced him that print was a non-negotiable equity need
3. How Adaptive Reader designs for learners across neurological differences, physical disabilities, and languages

About Ethan Pierce

Ethan Pierce is the Founder and CEO of Adaptive Reader, an AI-powered accessibility platform that makes any text accessible to any reader—across languages, reading levels, and formats. A former struggling reader who went on to earn a full scholarship to Harvard, Ethan is passionate about using technology to break down barriers to literacy and learning.

Adaptive Reader has been recognized globally for advancing accessibility and inclusive learning, winning the Harvard President’s Innovation Challenge and the MIT Solve E Ink Prize.

Learn more about Adaptive Reader: https://adaptivereader.com/

Follow Ethan Pierce on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanpierce13/

Follow Adaptive Reader on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/adaptive-reader/

---

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Send questions for our guests or any feedback to: [email protected]

Other episodes you might like:

Speechify CEO Cliff Weitzman on building the 'voice of the internet'

---

Connect with Made for Us

1. Show notes and transcripts: https://made-for-us.captivate.fm/
2. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/madeforuspodcast
3. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madeforuspodcast/
4. Newsletter: https://madeforuspodcast.beehiiv.com/

*** Help us shape the future of Made For Us! Take our 4-minute listener survey for the chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card and get instant access to our curated reading list of every book ever recommended on the show: https://forms.gle/pNyrCooa23oYsaVk7

---

In this episode:

What does the world look like when women control more wealth than ever before? In part two of our conversation with Sylvia Kwan, CEO and chief investment officer of Ellevest, we discuss the “feminization of wealth” and why many companies are unprepared for this shift.

Kwan makes the case that financial power isn't just for the wealthy: every woman with capital, no matter how small the sum, has the power to create change.

Catch up on part 1 here:

The women finance forgot: Ellevest CEO Sylvia Kwan on closing the gender wealth gap

In this episode:

1. How the Great Wealth Transfer is driving the feminization of wealth
2. Why women invest differently and what that means for society
3. How Ellevest is preparing for a “seismic shift” in spending and investment

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to leave a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Send questions for our guests or any feedback to: [email protected]

You might also like:

Where is the female crash test dummy?

---

About Sylvia Kwan

Sylvia Kwan is the CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Ellevest, a women-founded and women-led financial services firm dedicated to closing the gender wealth gap. Prior to Ellevest, she founded SimplySmart Asset Management and held senior portfolio management positions at Financial Engines and Charles Schwab. A Chartered Financial Analyst with more than 30 years of industry experience, Sylvia serves on the Board of Exit 182, the investment committee that oversees the endowment of Grinnell College.

Learn more about Ellevest: https://www.ellevest.com/

Sylvia’s Monthly Market Insight (Sept. 2025): https://www.ellevest.com/magazine/2025-september-market-insights

Follow Ellevest on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ellevest/

Follow Ellevest on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellevest

---

Connect with Made for Us

1. Show notes and transcripts: https://made-for-us.captivate.fm/
2. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/madeforuspodcast
3. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madeforuspodcast/
4. Newsletter: https://madeforuspodcast.beehiiv.com/

Ellevest CEO Sylvia Kwan has a striking statistic she uses to explain why the company was founded: in a survey of asset managers by BNY Mellon Investment Management, 86% said their default customer is a man.

In this episode, the first of a two-part conversation, Sylvia Kwan shares why Ellevest is on a mission to close the gender investing gap and why it may be just as important as the gender pay gap.

We discuss:

1. Why the gender investing gap exists and how it contributes to the wealth gap
2. What Ellevest discovered about women’s attitudes towards risk
3. Sylvia's surprising route to becoming chief investment officer and then CEO
4. How Ellevest is breaking down the barriers that keep women from investing

---

About Sylvia Kwan

Sylvia Kwan is the CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Ellevest, a women-founded and women-led financial services firm dedicated to closing the gender wealth gap. Prior to Ellevest, she founded SimplySmart Asset Management and held senior portfolio management positions at Financial Engines and Charles Schwab. A Chartered Financial Analyst with more than 30 years of industry experience, Sylvia serves on the Board of Exit 182, the investment committee that oversees the endowment of Grinnell College.

Learn more about Ellevest: https://www.ellevest.com/

Follow Ellevest on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ellevest/

Follow Ellevest on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellevest

---

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to leave a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Send questions for our guests or any feedback to: [email protected]

Other episodes you might like:

Where is the female crash test dummy?

AI vs the feedback gap

---

Connect with Made for Us

1. Show notes and transcripts: https://made-for-us.captivate.fm/
2. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/madeforuspodcast
3. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madeforuspodcast/
4. Newsletter: https://madeforuspodcast.beehiiv.com/

Made For Us is back for Season 3 - and we’re talking about ambition. Hear from founders building AI for underserved languages and designing inclusive medical devices, and investors closing wealth gaps.

Listen to the trailer and subscribe to get notified of new episodes.

---

Connect with Made for Us

1. Show notes and transcripts: https://made-for-us.captivate.fm/
2. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/madeforuspodcast
3. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madeforuspodcast/
4. Newsletter: https://madeforuspodcast.beehiiv.com/