Nimmi Ramanujam
Robert W. Carr, Jr., Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Overview
Ramanujam obtained her Ph.D. degree at the University of Texas at Austin. She progressed through the ranks as an academic researcher; the first five years as a research scientist and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, the next five as an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and the following five as an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University. In 2011 she was promoted to full professor. Ramanujam is internationally recognized for her contributions in innovation, education and entrepreneurship and received numerous awards most notably, the IEEE Biomedical Engineering Award Technical Field Award and the Social Impact Abie award . She is a Fulbright scholar, a member of the National Academy of Inventors, and a fellow of international professional societies in her field. She has also been invited for speaking engagements at the United Nations, as a TEDx speaker, and been invited to give plenary talks on her work all over the world.
Ramanujam addresses pressing challenges in women’s cancers, specifically, cervical and breast cancer. Ramanujam creates technologies that transform complex diagnostic instruments and therapies into accessible, affordable, and appropriate solutions. Several of these products are now being used in several countries in the U.S., Latin America, and Africa. She has developed a network of partners including academic institutions and hospitals, non-governmental organizations, ministries of health, and commercial partners to implement these technologies in diverse healthcare settings globally.
She has used her expertise in imaging and human-centered design to develop the Pocket colposcope which is on the WHO list of devices for cervical cancer imaging. A sister device, the Callascope is a self-use speculum-free imaging device, which allows women to screen themselves privately without the need for an intrusive pelvic exam. She has developed a translational microscope called the CapCell Scope to identify biomarkers of metabolism that reflect tumor behavior, including growth, proliferation, and treatment resistance, aimed at informing drug selection for breast cancer treatment. She has developed an ultra-low-cost injectable liquid ablation therapy that disrupts tumors locally as well as elicits an anti-tumor immune response to address an important gap – the lack of access to surgery to the world’s most vulnerable populations.
Ramanujam has also created several global initiatives that strive to achieve enduring impact in health and education. Her innovations have a common wellspring - they are all connected and come from a place of wanting to create and make something that doesn’t exist.
The most prominent is a consortium called Women Inspired Strategies for Health (WISH) to improve cervical cancer prevention in low-resource settings globally. She is working with partners worldwide to ensure that technologies and strategies for addressing cervical cancer are adopted by cancer control programs in geographically and economically diverse healthcare settings. These partnerships have resulted in see-and-treat cancer control strategies in the least resourced settings that are in clinical deserts. WISH has been recognized by the MacArthur Foundation as one of the top 100 most transformative and impactful solutions, a testament to its significance in redesigning the health system.
Ramanujam has launched an arts and storytelling initiative, The Invisible Organ to raise awareness of sexual and reproductive health inequities. An educational documentary with a similar name was created and has been screened at conferences and by multiple artists and students across the U.S. This film was officially selected for the Women at the Center Film Festival at the International Papillomavirus Conference in 2020. She also co-led the curation of an art exhibit to bring together a collection of visual arts, medical photography, sculptures, and installations, both a physical exhibit and a digital moving gallery to express the stigma and shame associated with female anatomy.
She has also created a global education program that intersects design thinking, STEM concepts, and the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals to promote social justice awareness: Ignite. The participatory learning curricula have been implemented in more than four countries with broad-ranging impact. For example, students living around the contaminated Lake Atitlan, in Guatemala learned how to design engineering solutions for clean water. Similarly,for personal use during frequent power outages.
Positions
Robert W. Carr, Jr., Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the Pratt School of Engineering
2014 Pratt School of Engineering
Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the Pratt School of Engineering
2011 Pratt School of Engineering
Director of Center for Global Women's Health Technologies in the Pratt School of Engineering
2022 Pratt School of Engineering
Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology in the School of Medicine
2013 School of Medicine
Affiliate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society in the Institutes and Provost's Academic Units
2014 Institutes and Provost's Academic Units
Core Faculty Member, Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy in the Institutes and Provost's Academic Units
2019 Institutes and Provost's Academic Units
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute in the School of Medicine
2005 School of Medicine
Education
B.S. 1989
1989 University of Texas, Austin
M.S. 1992
1992 University of Texas, Austin
Ph.D. 1995
1995 University of Texas, Austin
Publications, Grants & Awards
- Grants (38)
- Awards (16)
- Academics Articles (78)
- Conference Pages (32)
- Book Sections (3)
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
Burroughs Wellcome Fund
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
US Agency for International Development
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
Prevent Cancer Foundation
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
VentureWell
National Institutes of Health
North Carolina Biotechnology Center
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command
National Institutes of Health
Air Force Office of Scientific Research
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command
National Institutes of Health
United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command
National Institutes of Health
Inaugural Editorial Board of IEEE OJEMB
Duke University Women’s Center
Scientific Reports
Duke Cancer Institute
AnitaB.org
World Molecular Imaging Society
International Society for Optics and Photonics
Consortium of Universities for Global Health
National Academy of Inventors
National Academy of Inventors
International Society for Optics and Photonics
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
Optical Society of America
Molecular Imaging and Biology
Indian Journal of Gynecologic Oncology
Bme Frontiers
Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention : Apjcp
Biomedical Optics Express
Current Opinion in Biomedical Engineering
Redox Biology
Frontiers in Public Health
Cancer Control : Journal of the Moffitt Cancer Center
Scientific Reports
Journal of Medical Internet Research
Annals of Global Health
Ieee Transactions on Bio Medical Engineering
Biomedical Optics Express
Ieee Trans Biomed Eng
Mol Cancer Res
Scientific Reports
Biomedical Optics Express
Journal of Biomedical Optics
Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports
J Low Genit Tract Dis
Journal of Biomedical Optics
Plos One
Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys
Biomedical Optics Express
Biomedical Optics Express
J Cancer Res Clin Oncol
Journal of Biomedical Optics
Medical Physics
Theranostics
Breast Cancer Research : Bcr
Journal of Biomedical Optics
Journal of Biophotonics
Plos One
J Biophotonics
CLEO: Applications and Technology, CLEO_AT 2013
Chemistry & Biology
Progress in Biomedical Optics and Imaging Proceedings of Spie
Progress in Biomedical Optics and Imaging Proceedings of Spie
2013 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, CLEO 2013
Plos One
Progress in Biomedical Optics and Imaging Proceedings of Spie
Journal of Investigative Dermatology
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
The Journal of Maternal Fetal & Neonatal Medicine : the Official Journal of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine, the Federation of Asia and Oceania Perinatal Societies, the International Society of Perinatal Obstetricians
The New England Journal of Medicine
Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual International Conference
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Progress in Biomedical Optics and Imaging Proceedings of Spie
Progress in Biomedical Optics and Imaging Proceedings of Spie
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
2017 IEEE Healthcare Innovations and Point of Care Technologies, HI-POCT 2017
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Optical Biopsy XIV: Toward Real-Time Spectroscopic Imaging and Diagnosis
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Progress in Biomedical Optics and Imaging Proceedings of Spie
Molecular Cancer Therapeutics
Medical Physics
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Lasers in Surgery and Medicine
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Annals of Surgical Oncology
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Optics Infobase Conference Papers
Biomedical Photonics Handbook
Natural Biomarkers for Cellular Metabolism: Biology, Techniques, and Applications
Offices & Contact
Durham, NC
27708 Box 90281, 1427 Fciemas
Durham, NC
27708-0281