Hannah Madan joins us to share a rollercoaster journey of co-founding Prima Mente— an AI-driven neuroscience company building foundations models for the brain. This episode is packed with thought-provoking insights, including:

— The biological hypothesis behind Prima Mente that "No one believed was true"
— How Hannah made it by doing "just enough", not by being a top student
— A baptism by fire— landing her first role as Chief of Staff and flying out for a YC launch party on her 25th birthday
— Prima Mente's "Ecosystem plays" and atypical competitive strategies
— Hannah's unique focus on the people she works with— deep personal understanding and fostering reflective behaviour 
— A decentralised vision for the future of healthcare

Connect with Hannah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahmadan/

Learn more: https://www.primamente.com/

Apply to be a guest: www.thehealthtechpodcast.com

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Get in touch with James: www.jamessomauroo.com

Chapters:
00:00:00 Welcome to the Health Tech Podcast
00:01:23 Uncovering Novel Biology in the Neurodegenerative Space
00:02:03 Primemente's Integrated Approach: Clinical Studies, Wet Lab, and Machine Learning
00:03:22 Early Life 
00:04:38 Undergraduate Studies
00:08:58 PhD Research: The Link Between Diet, Diabetes, and Bowel Cancer
00:12:23 Chief of Staff at Cambridge Cancer Genomics (CCG) and YC
00:15:10 CCG's Mission: Liquid Biopsies for Cancer Treatment Monitoring
00:19:05 The Road to Prima Mente
00:22:19 Establishing Team Culture: Communication, Self-Reflection, and Growth
00:27:13 Scientific Hypothesis: Cell-Free DNA and Epigenetics in Neurodegenerative Conditions
00:30:03 Technical Approach: Using Transformer Architecture and Foundation Models
00:33:47 The Pleiades Model and Diagnostic Accuracy
00:34:56 The Sandbox Study: Pushing for Earlier Diagnosis
00:37:47 Future Strategy: Focusing on Novel Clinically Actionable Targets

This week, James is joined by Dr. Declan Kelly, founder of Eolas Medical, a platform tackling one of healthcare’s most overlooked problems: knowledge management.

Eolas Medical helps clinicians access the right information instantly at the point of care. Used by NHS Trusts, clinical teams, and individual practitioners, the platform consolidates essential medical knowledge from trusted sources—guidelines, protocols, and internal documents—into one simple, intuitive system.

Connect with Declan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/declan-kelly-484bb7187/

Learn more: https://www.eolasmedical.com/

Apply to be a guest: www.thehealthtechpodcast.com

Subscribe to Healthtech Pigeon 🐦: www.healthtechpigeon.com

Get in touch with James: www.jamessomauroo.com

In this week’s episode, James is joined by Daniel Mansson, Chief Clinical Officer and founder of Flow Neuroscience. Flow Neuroscience is Europe and UK's only medically approved brain stimulation headset and therapy app home treatment for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).

Connect with Daniel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmanss/

Learn more: https://www.flowneuroscience.com/

Apply to be a guest: www.thehealthtechpodcast.com

Subscribe to Healthtech Pigeon 🐦: www.healthtechpigeon.com

Get in touch with James: www.jamessomauroo.com

In this week’s episode, James is joined by Dr. Sujitha Selvarajah, an NHS Obstetrics and Gynaecology doctor and founder of Hesta Health. Hesta Health is on a mission to redefine women’s health, not just as a medical issue, but as a driver of wellbeing, economic opportunity, and lifelong growth. Combining clinical excellence, cutting-edge technology, and compassionate care, Hesta Health is setting a new standard for how women are supported through every stage of life.

Connect with Sujitha: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drsujitha/

Learn more: https://www.hestahealth.com/

Apply to be a guest: www.thehealthtechpodcast.com

Subscribe to Healthtech Pigeon 🐦: www.healthtechpigeon.com

Get in touch with James: www.jamessomauroo.com

In this week’s episode, James is joined by Dan Jamieson, CEO and founder of Biorelate. Biorelate helps scientists solve the most difficult biomedical challenges of today. They achieve this by providing the most comprehensive knowledge graph in biopharma, enabling better knowledge review, target and biomarker discovery.

Connect with Mark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-jamieson-8498a33a/

Learn more: https://biorelate.com/

Apply to be a guest: www.thehealthtechpodcast.com

Subscribe to Healthtech Pigeon 🐦: www.healthtechpigeon.com

Get in touch with James: www.jamessomauroo.com

In this week’s episode, James is joined by Professor Mark Kendall, biomedical engineer, inventor, scientist, entrepreneur and business-builder with more than 25 years of experience. Mark is now CEO and Founder of WearOptimo. With a vision to shift the focus of healthcare to early identification and intervention, WearOptimo’s sensors track real-time data from the body’s biomarkers to detect conditions ranging from dehydration to heart attacks.

Connect with Mark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-af-kendall/

Learn more: https://wearoptimo.com/

Apply to be a guest: www.thehealthtechpodcast.com

Subscribe to Healthtech Pigeon 🐦: www.healthtechpigeon.com

Get in touch with James: www.jamessomauroo.com

In this episode, James is joined by Dr. Sonia Szamocki - former A&E doctor, BCG consultant, and now founder & CEO of 32Co - to explore how healthcare can finally unlock the full potential of its clinical workforce. Sonia shares her journey from frontline medicine to building a platform that helps generalists deliver specialist-level care, starting with dentistry and now expanding into sleep medicine.

Together, they dig into:

• Why modern treatments fail without the right flow of information
• How 32Co builds trust between generalists and specialists
• The hidden emotional and structural barriers to clinician adoption
• Why AI isn’t the whole answer - and where the human connection still matters

Chapters
00:00 Sonia's Journey: From Medicine to Entrepreneurship
02:59 The Role of Technology in Healthcare
05:56 Building a MedTech Solution for Patient Care
08:56 Challenges in Healthcare Adoption
12:03 Creating Access to Specialist Care
14:56 The Importance of Human Connection in Healthcare
18:08 Expanding into Sleep Health
20:50 The Complexity of Healthcare Structures
23:58 Trust and Information Flow in Healthcare
32:47 Building Trust in Healthcare
35:51 Innovations in Sleep Apnea Treatment
41:10 Bridging Gaps in Healthcare
46:01 The Role of AI in Healthcare
01:00:40 Entrepreneurship Journey and Insights

In this week’s episode, James is joined by Tomasz George, co-founder and CEO of Freyr Health. Freyr Health believe everyone should own, control, and benefit from their medical data. Their platform unlocks the value of fragmented health records, enabling individuals and organisations to securely manage, share, and monetise health data on their own terms. By bridging the gap between global health systems and personal data ownership, they are building a new health economy that rewards patients, accelerates research, and drives better outcomes for all.

Connect with Tomasz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomaszgeorge/

Learn more:https://www.freyrhealth.com/

Apply to be a guest: www.thehealthtechpodcast.com

Subscribe to Healthtech Pigeon 🐦: www.healthtechpigeon.com

Get in touch with James: www.jamessomauroo.com

In this week’s episode, James is joined by Steve Roest, co-founder and CEO of PocDoc. PocDocis is on a mission to transform how we detect and prevent chronic diseases—bringing diagnostics out of the lab and into the hands of the public. By combining proprietary smartphone-based blood testing with their digital health platform, PocDoc enables anyone to screen for conditions like cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and chronic kidney disease—all with just a fingerprick of blood.

Connect with Steve: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveroest/

Learn more: https://pocdoc.co/

Apply to be a guest: www.thehealthtechpodcast.com

Subscribe to Healthtech Pigeon 🐦: www.healthtechpigeon.com

Get in touch with James: www.jamessomauroo.com

In this week’s episode, James is joined by Rachel Murphy, founder of The Grafter, a consultancy that helps entrepreneurs maximise the value of their businesses ahead of an exit. Rachel shares her extensive experience in building and successfully exiting healthcare companies, offering practical insights on what founders should focus on. 

Connect with Rachel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachthegrafter/

Learn more: https://thegrafter.com/

Apply to be a guest: www.thehealthtechpodcast.com

Subscribe to Healthtech Pigeon 🐦: www.healthtechpigeon.com

Get in touch with James: www.jamessomauroo.com