Mariane da Silva Melo (she/her)
- Programme: MBA
- Nationality: Brazilian British
- Scholarship: Laidlaw Women's Leadership Fund
Education: MD Medical Doctor, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil; graduated in 2019
Pre-MBA industry: Healthtech and Healthcare
Pre-MBA role: Associate Medical Director, Ufonia
Clubs: Healthcare (healthtech lead)
About me: Before starting the MBA programme at LBS, I spent my career at the intersection of medicine and technology. After graduating as a doctor in Brazil, I moved to the UK and worked in the NHS across emergency medicine, neurology and oncology. Alongside my clinical work, I co-founded a healthtech company and ran it for five years, developing an AI clinical decision support tool used by NHS organisations. Building a company from the ground up, from securing funding to leading a multidisciplinary team, taught me how innovation can truly reshape healthcare.
Most recently, I led regulatory strategy at Ufonia, a startup building conversational AI to automate patient follow-up. There, I worked on bringing the product to Class IIa medical device certification, combining my clinical background with regulatory and commercial expertise. My work in healthcare innovation was recognised by Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe.
I chose LBS to deepen my leadership, strategic and financial skills and to join a global community passionate about making an impact. I’m especially interested in how AI and digital solutions can improve access to care.
In my free time, I love travelling, exploring new cultures and spending time outdoors.
Three topics I can be approached about: Healthcare; healthtech; non-traditional background.