Shri Prabha Shivram
Title: Co-founder, SomnOSA
Age: 24
After finishing 10th grade in Chennai, India, Shri Prabha Shivram moved to Delaware, where she began an educational journey that culminated in June 2022 at SomnOSA, a company she co-founded with classmates to help treat obstructive sleep apnea.
Now a research specialist at Johns Hopkins University (where she earned her master's in biomedical engineering), Shivram still works with her three SomnOSA co-founders. These days, as the company has gained funding and recognition, her responsibilities include not only prototyping their technology but also creating business plans and presentations to attract venture capital to their project.
Shivram told the Baltimore Business Journal that her dream job is "to create life-saving medical devices that reach patients and improve their lives." Her resume shows as much: She's held roles in biomedical education, neuromechanics research, and worked in quality assurance for a company that treats pain for amputee patients.
At SomnOSA, she is seeking to treat sleep apnea, a condition that obstructs the airway during sleep and can put patients at higher risk of heart disease and strokes. The company's work with and observation of ear, nose and throat medicine helped the team identify crucial needs in sleep apnea treatment.
The company of four has won business and pitch competitions in Baltimore, Delaware and Arkansas, which Shivram says has given the company the feedback and the networks needed to continue its work.
How was SomnOSA founded?
The founding team met in the Johns Hopkins [Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design master's program]. We conducted more than 300 hours of ethnographic observations in ENT (ear, nose and throat) surgery to identify the unmet need with the highest impact on patients and interviewed more than 100 clinicians, researchers and patients to learn user needs. We then performed extensive stakeholder analysis, root cause analysis, competitive landscape analysis and business and strategic analysis to identify the pressing issue of obstructive sleep apnea.
What prompted you to study sleep apnea?
Through our ethnographic observations at various ENT departments, we identified that treatment for sleep apnea is one of the most crucial needs. Sleep apnea is a deadly disease marked by repeated upper airway obstruction and suffocation during sleep. Left untreated, it leads to significant neurocognitive dysfunction and increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and workplace or motor vehicle accidents. This disease affects 54 million people in the U.S. and 1 billion people worldwide and costs the U.S. economy an estimated $150 billion per year.
How does it feel to work at the intersection of biotech and business?
Working at the intersection of technology and business is an exciting and dynamic endeavor. This convergence offers a unique opportunity to create innovative solutions, drive economic growth and have a tangible impact on the world. Through this, I was able to identify real-world challenges, user needs, market potential, and economic growth potential, and develop innovative solutions that meet the needs. I also got the best opportunity to collaborate with experts from various fields, including engineers, marketers, financiers, and legal professionals.
How has studying and working at Johns Hopkins shaped the company's trajectory?
The master's program at JHU was the reason my team met. All technical, business and clinical experts at Johns Hopkins have advised us through various stages of SomnOSA's development. We participated in the Spark Accelerator at Fast Forward U, an organization that supports ventures across campus. Through those programs, we participated in and won several business plan competitions. These were important because we got invaluable feedback from the judges that helped shape our business plan and sales strategies. The funds we received were used for prototyping and product development.
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