Our mission: To empower neurodiverse families with clear, evidence based insights

Our story

Every parent of a neurodiverse child knows the drill: one specialist says “wait and see,” another pushes expensive labs, and online forums feel like a maze of conflicting advice. Meanwhile your child still battles stomach pain, sleepless nights, and sudden tantrums and meltdownsand you’re left wondering which rabbit hole to chase next. With autism now affecting roughly 1 in 36 kids and other neurodevelopmental conditions close to 1 in 10, this exhausting search for real, science-backed answers has become an all-too-common family journey.

Kite Health was built to give families answers they can trust—without the endless runaround. Our painless, at-home urine uses child-specific gut-brain markers developed from decades of research, then pair the results with an easy app that tracks mood, sleep, and GI symptoms. In plain language, we translate the data into step-by-step nutrition tweaks, supplement options, and questions to take to your doctor—all guided by pediatric practitioners who get it. No more guessing, no more “try this and hope.” Just clear next steps you can trust, so you can spend less time searching and more time helping your child thrive.

Young girl with long hair and a hair clip, wearing a grey sweater, lying on the floor and reading a book.

Gloved hand holding a urine test strip over two cups of yellow liquid with a color comparison chart in the background.

Smiling female scientist in white lab coat and blue gloves working with a microscope in a laboratory.

Our team

Smiling woman with long brown hair wearing a black blazer and white top against a light background.

Melina Gardeazabal, BSc Eng, MSc

Founder & COO

“I’m a mom and founder of Kite Health. I built this company to give families the body-brain answers I once struggled to find. Every family deserves easy-to-understand answers and clear next steps when their child’s wellbeing is at stake.”

Melina is a health-tech product leader and hands-on mom who turned late-night research into Kite Health. After years of navigating diets, lab tests, and specialist visits to support her child’s school challenges, she set out to build the resource she wished had existed: a kid-friendly, science-first path that translates lab data into practical actions parents can use. To deepen her expertise, Melina earned a Masters in Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health from King’s College London, focusing on the microbiome and brain-gut research. Today she leads a team of pediatric scientists, nutritionists, and UX designers focused on one goal—giving families fast, gentle testing and clear, compassionate guidance to help their kids thrive.

Alejandra Guillén, BSc Eng, MBA

CEO

“Testing means very little until it translates into information we understand to make everyday decisions in our lives—I learnt that working with HIV testing in Africa and that’s the gap we want to close for neurodiverse families."

Alejandra is an engineer-turned-entrepreneur who has spent 20 years bringing connected-health ideas to life. At Roche Molecular Diagnostics she led global initiatives that made cutting-edge assays accessible in underserved regions, and at Medtronic Spain she created a digital health incubator for the development of disease management solutions. She has co-founded multiple digital-health ventures—including AWEAR, an AI-powered stress wearable—proving her knack for 0→1 execution. Now at Kite Health she blends that molecular-testing rigor with startup agility, steering operations, product and go-to-market so our evidence-based gut-brain kits land in parents’ hands quickly and clearly.

Our Advisors
‍

Jenna Arruda, MD

Board-Certified Integrative Pediatrician. MAPS certified. Stanford Medicine.

Sudeb Dalai, MD, PhD

Board-certified Physician-Scientist & Biotechnology Leader. Stanford Medicine.

Julie Matthews, MS

Published Researcher & Award-Winning Author, 20+Clinical Experience In Autism Nutrition. Arizona State University.

Special Advisors

James Adams, PhD

James B. Adams, PhD directs the Autism/Asperger’s Research Program at Arizona State University, where he investigates medical drivers of autism and practical ways to treat or prevent them—spanning nutrition, gut health, oxidative stress, toxic metals, and seizure management.

A prolific scholar with 150+ peer-reviewed papers (40 on autism), Dr. Adams also steers several advocacy and research organizations, including the Autism Society of Greater Phoenix and the Autism Nutrition Research Center. His work is fueled by both scientific rigor and personal experience as the father of an adult daughter on the spectrum.