Nimmi Ramanujam

Nimmi Ramanujam
EducationUniversity of Texas at Austin (PhD)
Known forPocket colposcope and Callascope
Center for Global Women's Health Technologies
WISH consortium
AwardsIEEE Biomedical Engineering Award (2023)
Social Impact Abie Award (2019)
Fulbright Global Scholar (2019)
SPIE Biophotonics Technology Innovator Award (2020)
Optica Michael S. Feld Biophotonics Award (2020)
Scientific career
FieldsBiomedical engineering
Biophotonics
Women's cancers
Global health
InstitutionsDuke University
Websitebme.duke.edu/faculty/nimmi-ramanujam
dukegwht.org

Nirmala (Nimmi) Ramanujam[1] is an Indian-Malaysian-American biomedical engineer whose research focuses on developing accessible technologies for cervical and breast cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment in low-resource settings. She is the Robert W. Carr Professor of Engineering and Professor of Cancer Pharmacology and Global Health at Duke University, where she founded the Center for Global Women's Health Technologies (GWHT) in 2013.[2]

Ramanujam is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, Optica, and the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, and a Fulbright Global Scholar.[3] In 2023, she received the IEEE Biomedical Engineering Technical Field Award.[4] In 2019, she received the Social Impact Abie Award from AnitaB.org.[5]

Early life

Ramanujam grew up primarily in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with brief periods in Mysore and Bangalore, India.[6] Her mother, a veena player, introduced her to music at a young age, and Ramanujam began studying the instrument at five. She performed on radio broadcasts and at concerts throughout her school years. In interviews, she has described parallels between her musical training and her approach to engineering, noting that both involve envisioning a solution before developing the technical means to achieve it.[6]

Education and career

Ramanujam received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. She subsequently held positions as a research scientist and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and as an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison before joining the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University as an associate professor.[3] She was promoted to full professor in 2011.

Cancer screening and treatment technologies

Ramanujam's research centers on transforming complex diagnostic instruments into lower-cost, portable alternatives suitable for use in under-resourced healthcare settings. Her technologies are used in clinical settings in the United States, Latin America, and Africa, through partnerships with academic institutions, hospitals, non-governmental organizations, and ministries of health.[7]

Her best-known invention is the Pocket colposcope, a low-cost portable device for cervical cancer imaging that is included on the World Health Organization's list of recommended devices for cervical cancer screening.[8][9] A related device, the Callascope, is a speculum-free, self-use imaging tool designed to allow cervical self-screening without a pelvic examination.[10]

Other technologies developed by her research group include the CapCell Scope, a translational microscope designed to identify metabolic biomarkers associated with tumor behavior in breast cancer, and an injectable liquid-based ablation therapy intended as a low-cost alternative to surgery for tumor treatment.[11]

Ramanujam founded Calla Health, a company that commercializes technologies developed at the Center for Global Women's Health Technologies.

WISH consortium

Ramanujam leads the Women Inspired Strategies for Health (WISH) consortium, which works to improve cervical cancer prevention in low-resource settings.[12] The consortium develops see-and-treat strategies for areas with limited clinical infrastructure.[12] WISH was named one of the top 100 proposals in the MacArthur Foundation's 100&Change competition.[12]

Education and outreach initiatives

Ramanujam created the (In)visible Organ project, an arts and storytelling initiative addressing stigma around sexual and reproductive health. The project includes an educational documentary that was an official selection at the Women at the Center Film Festival at the International Papillomavirus Conference in 2020, as well as an art exhibition combining visual arts, medical photography, sculptures, and installations.[13][14]

She also developed IGNITE, a global education program that integrates design thinking, STEM concepts, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The curriculum has been implemented in more than four countries; projects have included student-designed water purification systems near Lake Atitlán in Guatemala and renewable-energy flashlights in Muhuru Bay, Kenya.[15]

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ "ORCID". orcid.org. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  2. ^ "Nimmi Ramanujam". Duke Biomedical Engineering. 2023-11-16. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  3. ^ a b c "From reluctant engineer to leader of audacious projects on behalf of women". www.nibib.nih.gov. Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  4. ^ Ibaraki, Stephen. "Top 2023 IEEE Biomedical Engineering Awardee Professor Nimmi Ramanujam Shares Deep Insights". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  5. ^ "Meet Dr. Nimmi Ramanujam, Social Impact Abie Award Winner". AnitaB.org. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  6. ^ a b "Arts+ at Duke: Nimmi Ramanujam, Engineering Pianist". Duke Arts. 2018-10-01. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  7. ^ "Nimmi Ramanujam". globalhealth.duke.edu. 2019-12-23. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  8. ^ "Cervical Cancer Screening, HPV Vaccinations Improved through Technologies and Initiatives". Duke Health Referring Physicians. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  9. ^ World Health Organization (2020). WHO technical guidance and specifications of medical devices for screening and treatment of precancerous lesions in the prevention of cervical cancer. Geneva: World Health Organization. ISBN 978-92-4-000263-0.
  10. ^ "Women's Health: It's Personal for Nimmi Ramanujam". Duke University School of Medicine. 2020-01-21. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  11. ^ Martinez, Michaela (2017-11-06). "Engineering a New Narrative". Duke Pratt School of Engineering. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  12. ^ a b c "The WISH Revolution". Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  13. ^ "The (In)visible Organ". The (In)visible Organ. Archived from the original on September 9, 2020.
  14. ^ "(In)visible Organ". Rubenstein Arts Center. 2019-01-14. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  15. ^ Dotson, Mary Elizabeth; Alvarez, Valentina; Tackett, Maria; Asturias, Gabriela; Leon, Isabela; Ramanujam, Nirmala (2020). "Design Thinking-Based STEM Learning: Preliminary Results on Achieving Scale and Sustainability Through the IGNITE Model". Frontiers in Education. 5. doi:10.3389/feduc.2020.00014. ISSN 2504-284X.
  16. ^ "Nirmala Ramanujam". SPIE. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  17. ^ "Duke biomedical engineering professor wins social impact award". WRAL TechWire. 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  18. ^ Thompson, Christopher (2019-04-22). "Ramanujam Receives Fulbright Global Scholar Award". Duke Pratt School of Engineering. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  19. ^ "Nirmala Ramanujam: The 2020 SPIE Biophotonics Technology Innovator Award". SPIE. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  20. ^ Thompson, Christopher (2020-02-06). "Ramanujam Receives the 2020 Michael S. Feld Biophotonics Award". Duke Pratt School of Engineering. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  21. ^ "Engineering Solutions to Women's Health". IEEE Awards. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
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