Kara Egan

She's the CEO Making the Pap Smear Obsolete

Of all the routine health procedures for women, the often-painful pap smear ranks among the most dreaded. But its days may be numbered, thanks to Teal Health, which has discovered a way for women to screen for HPV at home. (HPV is the virus that can cause abnormal cell growth in the cervix that can develop into cervical cancer.) CEO Kara Egan, a tech and finance vet, co-founded the company with Stanford professor and interventional radiologist Dr. Avnesh Thakor. Rather than relying on cervical cells, which have to be retrieved by a doctor with a speculum, Teal’s “wand” collects easier-to-retrieve vaginal cells, which means women can do it themselves, and the testing is only required once every five years. Just this May, the device received FDA approval. And earlier this year, the company raised an $10 million, bringing Teal’s total funding to $23 million, from an impressive array of investors, including Serena Williams and Chelsea Clinton.

By Audrey Goodson Kingo