Farid Manshaii KG ’28 received the $40,000 Westly Prize for Young California Innovators on Jan. 26 for his health technology startup Recalivape, a harm-reduction system designed to help people quit vaping.
The prize recognizes businesses that combine technological innovation with measurable public benefit, particularly at stages where early funding can significantly accelerate development. The competition for the award, run by the Westly Foundation, receives more than 100 applicants and grants three unrestricted prizes to early-stage founders building social-impact ventures.
The tool features an attachment compatible with current vaping devices that monitors users’ vaping behaviors. Recalivape’s long-term goal is to include a fully autonomous machine that adjusts nicotine dosages based on the individual user’s needs.
Recalivape aims to support people who want to quit vaping by aiding in gradual nicotine reduction rather than stopping abruptly. According to the company’s vision, the system tracks vaping behavior, including usage frequency and intensity, and uses that data to guide personalized quitting pathways for nicotine users through a paired app.
Manshaii said the idea behind Recalivape came from his early exposure to smoking-related disease and addiction research, which included research on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
In 2019, he worked under a pulmonologist at Pomona Valley City of Hope, one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States, researching adaptive breathing systems for COPD patients. He said this experience shaped his understanding of the long-term consequences of nicotine use and informed his interest in prevention.
As an undergraduate at UCLA, Manshaii observed that vaping had become highly normalized among young people.
“I thought our generation was smarter in a way, because smoking is bad,” he said. “I thought vaping would also be viewed as bad. It wasn’t.”
Manshaii said the problem was not only behavioral but also structural, prompting him to examine existing solutions closer.
He explained that variations in vaping devices, nicotine liquids, frequency and intensity make vaping difficult to measure. The idea for Recalivape eventually took shape in August 2022 during his sophomore year of college, after he realized that the two primary approaches to quitting vaping were nicotine replacement therapy or just stopping abruptly, without any further guidance.
Reflecting on the years-long effort behind Recalivape, he emphasized that progress has been nonlinear, shaped as much by obstacles as by breakthroughs.
“If I look back at the entirety of building this so far, it’s still going to be a very long journey,” Manshaii said. “There will always be setbacks, whether personal or in building a company. When you’re building a company, you’re dealing with contractors, you’re dealing with people you’re working with. That’s just part of it.”
He said most of what he has learned came from experimentation, and the challenge was figuring out how to execute from his experience.
Mentorship played a central role in this process. Manshaii credited UCLA addiction researcher Dr. Edythe London with helping him build the research framework, which was followed by the development of a prototype.
In a statement to TSL, KGI President Mohamed Abousalem highlighted the connection between Manshaii’s project and the university’s mission.
“Recalivape exemplifies what we strive to cultivate at Keck Graduate Institute — innovative, entrepreneurial thinkers who translate science into solutions that heal and uplift our communities and tackle systemic issues in society,” Mohamed Abousalem said.
“Recalivape exemplifies what we strive to cultivate at Keck Graduate Institute — innovative, entrepreneurial thinkers who translate science into solutions that heal and uplift our communities and tackle systemic issues in society,” Abousalem said.
Jessica García-Kohl, executive director of the Westly Foundation, said Recalivape stood out for both its mission and leadership.
“He’s using tech innovatively to solve a pressing social crisis, which in this case is addiction,” García-Kohl said.
She added that judges also evaluated the execution and commitment in each organization.
“They clearly felt that he had the experience, the leadership and the drive to finish what he starts,” García-Kohl said.
She emphasized that while recipients may go on to commercial success, impact remains the foundation’s priority.
“These are people who may go on to do extraordinary things and make a lot of money,” she said. “But the fact that they’re prioritizing social impact is what matters to us.”
Manshaii said he learned via email that he had advanced to finalist status before presenting his project at Stanford University on Jan. 24, when the winners were ultimately selected. He received a phone call confirming his win two days later. He said this funding will allow him to extend Recalivape’s development without immediate outside investment.
“This acts as a bridge,” he said. “It lets me get further along without needing to dilute early. That gives me more leverage.”
Looking ahead, Recalivape plans to launch a clinical study in the coming months as part of Manshaii’s doctoral research. He emphasized that the company’s direction remains unchanged.
“The final goal is not going to change,” he said. “It’s still about helping people who want to quit vaping.”
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