Dr. Sandra Saldana is the (full time) CEO and Co-Founder of Alva Health, a Yale University spinout and Techstars-backed company that is developing a wearable device for real-time stroke detection. She is responsible for execution of the company’s strategy and vision, fundraising and day-to-day operations, currently serving as Principal Investigator on a $1MM Phase II SBIR grant funded by the National Science Foundation. Dr. Saldana has led Alva Health through participation in several elite business accelerators and pitch competitions, and received 1st place at the 2021 Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit business plan competition, Top 4 Finalist in the inaugural MedTech Color pitch competition, and the Grand Prize of $350,000 out of over 1100 global applicants in the 2021 MedTech Innovator competition, the largest global accelerator for medical device startups. Before Alva Health, Dr. Saldana was Vice President of sales and account management at Brand Institute’s Boston office, the top branding agency in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. In her role, she advised pharma, biotech and med device executives on strategic branding, marketing and communications initiatives, while being responsible for territory sales growth. Dr. Saldana completed a BA in Biological Sciences at Cornell University, a PhD in Cancer Biology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and an MBA in Healthcare Management at the Yale School of Management.