SakuraMed — About

Our story

SakuraMed offers a patient-centric imaging device for vaginal exams to improve the clinician workflow and patient experience by replacing the outdated, duckbill-shaped speculum with a self-insertable, tampon-shaped device.

Born from a place of personal discomfort, the company began in 2022 as an engineering project by bioengineering undergraduates at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. This idea officially transitioned into a startup in 2023. Today, the vision is to reshape routine gynecological exams by prioritizing patient comfort and empowering people with dignity, equal access, and high-quality care.

Our team

Priya Kumar

Chief Executive Officer

Priya leads the company with a strong business, bioengineering, and technology acumen. Priya founded SakuraMed in 2023 after realizing that she and many others were avoiding the pap smear due to discomfort, anxiety, and fear. She has since led the team to win multiple awards and funding, while providing strategic direction for the company. Priya is a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumna.

Priya Kumar

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Samantha Yee, PhD

Chief Scientific Officer

Sam holds a PhD in Integrated Biomedical Sciences and conducts research focused on women's cancers. She is a former National Cancer Institute K00 fellow at the University of Chicago and current postdoc, and has a multitude of leadership and volunteer experience in the women's health space. She is a high-achieving leader who offers her scientific background and expansive network in the women's health space.

Samantha Yee, PhD

Chief Scientific Officer

Srinivasa Pavan Kancharla

Product Development Engineer

Pavan comes with an M.S. in Data Science from UW Seattle and a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from IIT Hyderabad, with research experience in ML for medical imaging applications. He leverages this technical expertise to deliver robust software architecture, computer vision models, and intelligent AI systems for medical imaging applications.

Srinivasa Pavan Kancharla

Product Development Engineer

Advisors