# Sheena Menezes

> Sheena Menezes is the co-founder and CEO of Simple HealthKit, a Milpitas, California digital health company delivering accurate, affordable at-home diagnostics, treatment, and follow-up care. A biochemist with a PhD from UC Santa Barbara, where she discovered a novel tRNA methylase, she built her career in in-vitro diagnostics before founding Simple HealthKit to close socioeconomic gaps in healthcare access. Born and raised in Kuwait with Indian-Portuguese roots, she has been recognized by Fierce Healthcare as one of its Most Influential Minority Executives in Healthcare and named to Inc.'s 2025 Female Founders 500.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Simple HealthKit
- **Organizations:** Simple HealthKit, Scanadu, UC Santa Barbara
- **From:** Kuwait
- **Nationality:** American (Indian-Portuguese heritage, born in Kuwait)
- **Education:** PhD, Biochemistry and Bioengineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Computer Science (undergraduate research), University of North Texas
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads Simple HealthKit, an omnichannel, vertically integrated digital health platform that owns a CAP-accredited, CLIA-certified lab licensed in all 50 states, Discovered a novel tRNA methylation enzyme during her PhD at UC Santa Barbara, Led a urinalysis product to 510(k) FDA clearance while at Scanadu

## Career timeline

- **2010** — Completed PhD in Biochemistry at UC Santa Barbara after discovering a novel tRNA methylase using computational bioinformatics
- **2010s** — Director of In Vitro Diagnostics and Sr. Principal Scientist at Scanadu, leading a urinalysis product from proof of concept to 510(k) clearance
- **2020** — Co-founded Simple HealthKit to deliver accessible at-home diagnostics and follow-up care
- **2021** — Raised Series A funding for Simple HealthKit
- **2023** — Company raised $8M and expanded into sexual health and respiratory testing; launched at-home kits on Walmart.com
- **2023** — Named one of Fierce Healthcare's Most Influential Minority Executives in Healthcare
- **2025** — Named to Inc.'s Female Founders 500 list

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads Simple HealthKit, an omnichannel, vertically integrated digital health platform that owns a CAP-accredited, CLIA-certified lab licensed in all 50 states
- Discovered a novel tRNA methylation enzyme during her PhD at UC Santa Barbara
- Led a urinalysis product to 510(k) FDA clearance while at Scanadu
- Raised $8M to expand Simple HealthKit's diagnostics-to-treatment portfolio
- Launched at-home testing kits on Walmart.com, expanding access to rural and underserved communities
- Named one of Fierce Healthcare's Most Influential Minority Executives in Healthcare (2023)
- Named to Inc.'s 2025 Female Founders 500 list
- Built a company workforce that is roughly 70% women and 80% people of color

## Latest updates

- **2025-02** — Named to Inc.'s 2025 Female Founders 500 list.
- **2023-09** — Named one of Fierce Healthcare's Most Influential Minority Executives in Healthcare.
- **2023-06** — Simple HealthKit launched at-home testing kits on Walmart.com.
- **2023-04** — Simple HealthKit raised $8M and expanded its portfolio into sexual health and respiratory testing.

## Links

- Website: https://simplehealthkit.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheenamenezes/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/shealthkit
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/simple-healthkit-100612392359926

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/sheena-menezes
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-29