BGU Alumnae Revolutionizing Breast Cancer Detection
BGU Alumnae Revolutionizing Breast Cancer Detection
July 29, 2024
Current events, Medical Research, Robotics & High-Tech
The Jerusalem Post – Meet the women revolutionizing breast cancer detection on the “Inside Israeli Innovation” Podcast with Eve Young. Eve Young, economics correspondent for The Jerusalem Post, interviews Dr. Karny Ilan, CEO and co-founder of femtech startup Feminai.
Dr. Karny Ilan, Shani Klein Antman, and Gal Yanuka are entrepreneurs in women’s healthcare, who met at an entrepreneurship course at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
Feminai has made waves with a breakthrough technology: An at-home breast cancer test. This tech will allow for easier detection and early treatment of the most common type of cancer for women.
“In the academia world, women are right now being pushed forward, women are encouraged to do things,” Dr. Ilan said. “But in business, women are seen in top positions with much less frequency, to the point where it became a disadvantage.”
Dr. Ilan recounted meeting with investors, who asked her and her co-founders, “Who’s the man who thought of this idea? Who is building the technology?” “I’ve heard, ‘You need a man on the team. You need an old man with white hair on the team.’ It’s all sorts of different things,'” Dr. Ilan noted.
Over time, Feminai was able to overcome many of these obstacles, and have managed to have more success with investors. One of the most notable of these investors is Gili Elkin, a co-founder and general manager at ICI Fund. “Something super unique about her is that she’s there to give all these women that were kicked out of other VCs for being women a chance,” Dr. Ilan said. “I don’t think the problem was with the people in the room. I think the problem is that there just aren’t women in the room.”
Read more on The Jerusalem Post>>
Stories Like This
