Nimmi Ramanujam

Nimmi Ramanujam is the Robert W. Carr, Jr., Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University, with secondary appointments in Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Global Health, and as a Core Faculty Member at Duke-Margolis Institute. She founded the Center for Global Women's Health Technologies and leads interdisciplinary research at the intersection of biomedical engineering, women's cancers, and global health equity.

• Education: B.S., M.S., Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from University of Texas, Austin

Her research focuses on developing affordable, portable diagnostic tools like the Pocket Colposcope and Callascope to improve cervical cancer screening in low-resource settings. She pioneered metabolic imaging techniques to characterize tumor behavior and guide therapy for breast cancer, emphasizing patient-centric technology design.

Key article themes include biophotonics, low-resource diagnostics, metabolic tumor profiling, and community-centered healthcare innovation. Her awards span the IEEE Biomedical Engineering Award, Social Impact Abie Award, and fellowships in prestigious societies like OSA, SPIE, and NAI.

• Scientific Awards:
  • Breast Cancer Research Program Innovator Award (2024)
  • IEEE Biomedical Engineering Award (2023)
  • Social Impact Abie Award (2019)
  • National Academy of Inventors Fellow (2017)
• Students:
  • Mercy Asiedu (Ghana-born innovator deploying cervical cancer tech in Africa)
  • Jenna Mueller (long-term mentee)
  • Marlee Krieger (Executive Director of her Center)
• Labs & Teams:
  • Center for Global Women's Health Technologies at Duke
  • Collaborations with Duke Cancer Institute and Duke-Margolis Policy Institute
  • Global partnerships in Peru, India, Kenya, and other LMICs