Translating Health Care Technologies from Concept to Impact: Challenges and Opportunities in Global Cervical Cancer Prevention
Global Cancer Research and Control Seminar Series
September 11, 2025 | 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Virtual
This seminar will examine the intersection between the global burden of cancer, health disparities, and technology innovation. In the 21st Century, cancer has been a significant health and developmental challenge, contributing to suffering around the world. Like other noncommunicable diseases, cancer has created enormous health disparities. Today, it disproportionately affects populations in low- and middle-income countries, which account for the vast majority of cancer deaths. Using cervical cancer as a case study, Dr. Nimmi Ramanujam will discuss how new biomedical engineering solutions can extend the reach of health care to a broader, more diverse population and explain how these innovations can be disseminated for broad impact.
Nimmi Ramanujam, Ph.D.
Nirmala “Nimmi” Ramanujam, Ph.D., is the Robert W. Carr Jr. Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering and a Professor of Cancer Pharmacology and Global Health at Duke University. In addition to serving as the Director of the Duke Center for Global Women’s Health Technologies, Dr. Ramanujam founded the Center in 2013 to catalyze impactful research and educational and community outreach activities that promote women’s health. She is recognized for creating globally accessible technologies for women’s health related to cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment.
In 2023, Dr. Ramanujam was awarded the IEEE Biomedical Engineering Technical Field Award, given annually for outstanding contributions to the field of biomedical engineering. In 2019, she received the Social Impact Abie Award from AnitaB.org for making a positive impact on women, technology, and society. She was also elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in 2017. Dr. Ramanujam created the Calla Health Foundation to commercialize her technologies, in addition to a number of other initiatives and consortia–including WISH, (In)visible Organ, and IGNITE–that have far-reaching impact on cervical cancer, reproductive health, and engineering design education.