Elle Sander

Elle Sander is the Co-Founder and CEO of Lifelet Medical, a medical device company innovating in heart valve replacement. From a young age, Elle has been passionate about improving patients’ lives. She first scrubbed in on cardiothoracic surgeries at 19 years old as an undergraduate researcher, which inspired her to pursue a career working on life-changing technologies for patients.

Elle, along with co-founder Dr. Faisal Sharif, is developing a polymeric heart valve that is free from animal tissue and does not require blood thinners or open-heart surgery, greatly expanding patients’ options for heart valve replacement while reducing long-term impacts for patients and the environment. The company’s mission is to provide patients with a new, safe, more sustainable technology.

Lifelet’s innovative implantable polymer has achieved long-term safety and efficacy milestones, passed USP Class VI medical grade requirements, and is underpinned by a granted patent. Elle and Lifelet are currently involved in a €5M disruptive innovation project supported by the Irish government to bring a minimally-invasive polymer valve to patients.

Elle holds an M.Sc. in Regenerative Medicine from University of Galway after completing a B.Sc. in Bioengineering from Lehigh University and is grateful for support from Enterprise Ireland, EIT Health, Ignite Health, MedTech Innovator, and TMC Innovation.