Aeris builds and delivers low-cost mold-prevention kits to renters, closing the short biological window between a water leak and a mold problem that won't go away.
Aeris started as an independent research paper for the High School Health Research Challenge, looking at the link between Philadelphia's climate and respiratory health. Rather than let the findings sit in a report, its three co-leads, Aaron Sharma, Tejashwin Kodipaka, and Advaith Chungappalli, all students at Downingtown STEM Academy, built something renters could actually use.
Aeris now runs as a small, student-operated team: research, kit design, and outreach to public health partners across Philadelphia, all handled in-house. Meet the team →
A leak is inevitable in any building eventually. What decides whether it becomes a health problem is what happens in the days right after, and that's exactly where low-income renters get stuck.
Getting a landlord to respond, schedule, and complete a repair can take far longer than mold needs to take hold.
The team's original research kept surfacing the same story: it's not that renters don't know about mold, it's that no one gets them anything to act on in time.
A kit costs a fraction of professional mold remediation, and can be used the same day a leak is discovered.
Three goals, in order of what needs to happen first.
Build simple intake and delivery through partner clinics and community organizations, so a request turns into a kit within a day.
Keep refining kit contents and guidance with input from public health researchers, not just what's convenient to source.
Turn what Aeris learns from real deliveries into evidence that supports faster landlord response times and stronger renter protections.
When a pipe leaks or a roof lets water in, mold doesn't wait. Once drywall, insulation, or carpet stays damp, spores that are already in the air find exactly what they need to grow.
For homeowners, that's an inconvenience solved with a fan and a dehumidifier. For renters, especially renters waiting on a landlord to respond, it's often a health risk that sits there for weeks.
This is the window Aeris is built around: the short stretch between water exposure and mold colonization. Get moisture control in early, and the outcome changes completely.
Left-to-right is time since a leak starts. Top-to-bottom is how humid the room stays. Move around the panel and watch mold growth, and asthma-trigger risk, respond.
Illustrative model based on how mold colonization and moisture generally interact, not a reading from your actual home.
Compact, easy to use without any training, and priced so cost is never the reason a leak goes untreated.
Reads how wet a surface really is, so you know if it's still a problem.
Pull moisture out of drywall, carpet, and insulation while air dries the room.
EPA-registered, renter-safe treatment for the exposed surface.
Step-by-step instructions and a note for your landlord about what happened and when.
We designed the process to move as fast as the mold does.
A short form: where the water came from, and what's affected.
Through a partner clinic, community org, or direct drop-off, usually within a day.
Follow the guide. No contractor or landlord approval needed to start.
Aeris is a young project. Here's what's actually happened so far, and what it's building toward next.
Aeris grew directly out of a completed High School Health Research Challenge paper on housing and respiratory health.
The team has reached out to public health researchers at Drexel, Penn, and CHOP, and has already met with a CHOP/Penn researcher to discuss the kit. Aeris is continuing to connect and reach out to Philadelphia-based health organizations.
A full presentation with a rotating speaker order across all three co-leads is written and rehearsed, ready for partner and funder meetings.
Turning partner conversations into an actual delivery pipeline for renters in the Philadelphia area.
Aeris grew out of independent public health research into a hands-on project, now run day to day by its three co-leads.
Aspiring biomedical engineer and pre-med student. Leads outreach and partnerships with researchers and clinicians across Philadelphia.
Aspiring healthcare professional. Started Aeris from a High School Health Research Challenge paper on Philadelphia's climate and respiratory health.
Aspiring dentist. Graphic Designer at Global, and helps shape how Aeris communicates the science behind it.
Aeris has connected with public health researchers and clinicians across the Philadelphia area to ground the kit in real evidence.
Whether you need a kit this week or want to bring Aeris to your clinic, school, or community org, reach out below.
Submissions go straight to the Aeris team.