How One Father Challenged the Measure of Care and Crafted a Global Healthcare Solution
Shiloh (Source: Joshua Resnikoff)
Solutions often carry the most meaning when they arise from lived necessity rather than abstract opportunity. Sunstone Health reflects that principle. Founded by Joshua Resnikoff, the company was not born from market trends or technological ambition, but from a moment of personal exhaustion and a realization that the ability to protect his ailing child ultimately rested in his own hands.
Before Sunstone, Resnikoff’s life followed a science-rooted trajectory. Trained as a biomedical engineer, he spent more than a decade in Boston working at research universities. His work focused on high-risk, high-reward translational science. Alongside his academic career, he delved into multiple ventures across sectors. Science and entrepreneurship were not separate pursuits for him; they were deeply intertwined. He says, “Life was steady, purposeful, and intellectually fulfilling.”
That equilibrium shifted with the birth of his second child, Shiloh. Born healthy, Shiloh thrived through infancy until, around 18 months, unexplained fevers began to appear. According to Resnikoff, they arrived suddenly and violently, climbing to 105 degrees Fahrenheit within minutes and lingering for days at a time. “You could leave him playing on the floor, walk into the kitchen, and come back to a child at 105,” Resnikoff recalls. He notes that standard interventions provided little relief, no combination of medications meaningfully lowered his temperature, and emergency visits became routine.
Like many families, Resnikoff and his partner navigated urgent care clinics, referrals, and long waits between specialists. Despite his scientific background and access to elite institutions, answers remained elusive. “I’m a scientist. I lived in Boston, surrounded by leading institutions. I should have had access to every resource. Still, we were stuck in this terrible waiting game,” he says. Eventually, a pediatrician recognized the pattern as PFAPA, a rare periodic fever syndrome. Resnikoff notes that the diagnosis arrived without a solution. Then came the sentence that crystallized everything. “They just told me, ‘It’s not terminal, so don’t worry about it,’” he recalls. “But how do you not worry about this?”
That moment was transformational. “I sought solutions and treatment,” he says. “And instead, I was told this is as good as it gets.” The experience transformed his identity. He moved from scientist to caregiver, from designing treatments in theory to confronting what it meant to need one.
Shiloh’s condition, while frightening, allowed for a largely normal life between episodes, Resnikoff notes. Many families, he knew, were not afforded that balance. As he says, “It scared me deeply, but it didn’t derail my life. And that contrast opened my eyes, because that’s not a reality for many.”
Through conversations with other parents and clinicians, a pattern emerged. Many families were waiting too long for recognition and guidance. According to him, the system remained fragmented, even as science advanced. “We all believe healthcare is supposed to be data-driven and science-driven,” Resnikoff says. “Yet I saw firsthand how families are still left assembling answers on their own.”
Those lived experiences led to the formation of Sunstone Health, a compassionate platform designed to help families find those answers quickly and seamlessly.
It analyzes health insurance data to surface early patterns of genetic and developmental complexity, guiding families toward integrated diagnostics and specialist insight without forcing them to navigate the maze alone. Its focus today centers on pediatric conditions with genetic roots, including epilepsy and autism, where earlier intervention changes lives. “My mission is to help families,” he says. “To do that at scale, the system itself has to work better.”
This first chapter of Sunstone is also the opening of a longer journey. Joshua Resnikoff views the company as a beginning rather than an endpoint, a framework designed to grow alongside the families it serves. As he puts it, “Progress in healthcare accelerates when compassion and precision are built together. And in that convergence, Sunstone Health finds both its purpose and its promise.”
This article is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. If you are seeking medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, please consult a medical professional or healthcare provider.
