Ova Health won the 2025 edition of Western University’s Hult Prize Competition on February 8, 2025. The Hult Prize is a global competition involving student teams from across the world that work on problems associated with the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The competition judges included Gabe Mott, COO and Co-founder of Aspire Food Group, Andrew Fleet, Co-Founder & Executive Director of Growing Chefs! Ontario, and Christina Fox, CEO of TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario.
Ova Health will be proceeding to the national Hult Prize Competition held in Montreal this June.
Redefining how menopause is understood
Menopause is a natural biological process that affects over 1 billion women globally, yet it remains understudied, underfunded, and often dismissed. Women navigating menopause experience a range of symptoms—hot flashes, brain fog, mood changes, and sleep disturbances—with little personalized care or data to guide their health decisions.
Ova Health is redefining the way menopause is understood, managed, and treated by developing a biosensor-driven solution to empower women with real-time, personalized health insights throughout menopause. By tracking hormonal, metabolic, and symptomatic changes, Ova’s technology creates individualized menopause transition plans and enables proactive healthcare interventions. The venture aims to bridge the massive data gap in women's health, equipping both women and healthcare providers with actionable tools to improve well-being during this critical life stage.
Women’s health has been overlooked for far too long. We’ve waited, we’ve been dismissed, and we’ve gone without the data and tools we deserve. At Ova, we’re changing that—putting the power back in women’s hands with real insights and innovation built for us, by us.
Aditi Basdeo, BEng '26, HBA '26 Candidate
Ova Health is made of an interdisciplinary team of engineers, business leaders, and medical researchers, all dedicated to transforming menopause care. The team includes:
- Aditi Basdeo, CEO – Fourth-year dual-degree candidate in Chemical Engineering & Honours Business Administration (HBA) candidate
- Ashley Strachan, COO – Fourth-year dual-degree candidate in Chemical Engineering & Honours Business Administration (HBA) candidate
- Ireland Catherwood, CFO – Fourth-year HBA candidate
- Maeve Van Driel, CTO – Fourth-year dual-degree student in Mechanical & Biomedical Engineering
- Olivia Hodgson, CMO – Fourth-year HBA candidate
- Olivia Micucci, CSO – Fourth-year Medical Sciences student
- Eily Levson, Research Intern – First-year Medical Science student
- Kayla Ward, Finance Intern - Fourth-year HBA candidate
Ova Health had its origins in the Ivey New Venture Project, and its development has been supported by Entrepreneur-in-Residence Domenic Cecol. The team also featured as a Semi-Finalists at the 2025 Ivey Business Plan Competition.