Founder Spotlight: Smita Asrani | UE LifeSciences
Meet Smita Asrani, a passionate healthcare leader and breast cancer awareness advocate, whose life’s work is transforming early detection access for women across the globe.
Smita currently serves as the Vice President of Partnerships, USA at UE LifeSciences, and is also the Co-founder of the Breast Cancer Early Detection Coalition. Her journey into FemTech is rooted in profound personal loss. After losing her sister Nayana to late-stage breast cancer and earlier, her husband and father to cancer, Smita’s path pivoted toward purpose. Today, she works tirelessly to ensure other families do not face the same preventable tragedies.
Over the years, Smita has channeled her grief into action. She’s played a key role in bringing iBreastExam, a cost-effective, FDA-cleared early detection tool, to underserved communities in the United States and globally. Her work bridges the gap between innovation and equity—pushing for the inclusion of preventive screening tools for women under 40, who currently lack insurance-covered options in the U.S. healthcare system.
With a background spanning strategic partnerships, physician recruitment, and healthcare startup growth, Smita has helped forge powerful alliances with organizations such as the National Black Nurses Association and the Tigerlily Foundation, amplifying the message that early detection saves lives.
As part of UE LifeSciences, she champions breakthrough technologies like iBreastExam and Selfi, an upcoming at-home breast health tool that aims to make early detection as accessible as checking your blood pressure. By combining clinical research, artificial intelligence, and human-centered design, her work brings breast health tools directly to women—wherever they are.
Smita’s commitment doesn’t stop at innovation. Through the Breast Cancer Early Detection Coalition, she is lobbying for policy reform and insurance coverage for breast cancer screenings, especially for younger women who are often overlooked in traditional screening guidelines.
For Smita, FemTech is not just a sector, it’s a movement. “Being healthy is powerful. It’s sexy. And it never goes out of style,” she says. Her mission is to make preventive care engaging and empowering so that women are inspired to prioritize their health and demand better from the systems meant to serve them.
Looking ahead, Smita sees the future of FemTech being shaped by AI-powered diagnostics, at-home testing, telehealth integration, and a strong focus on underserved populations. She believes the space is evolving from a niche to a fundamental pillar of healthcare.
Her advice to budding FemTech innovators is grounded in empathy and action: “Talk to real users. Build what women actually need. And don’t wait for perfect conditions start now and grow with purpose.”
Smita Asrani’s story is a powerful reminder that from personal loss can come collective impact. And through her work, thousands of women are gaining access to life-saving tools—one early detection at a time.
If you’re a trailblazer in women’s health or FemTech, we’d love to hear your story! Share your journey and insights with us at info@femtechindia.com. Together, let’s amplify the voices driving positive change.
