Nimmi Ramanujam
Events
Nimmi Ramanujam
Duke University
Beyond Image Accuracy: Engineering Trustworthy Clinical Decision Systems for Decentralized Healthcare
Advances in optical imaging and artificial intelligence are expanding access to diagnostic capabilities beyond specialized healthcare settings. Yet reliable clinical decisions require more than accurate images and algorithms. Drawing on lessons from cervical cancer prevention, this talk introduces an engineering framework that connects trustworthy information generation, AI reliability and context-specific clinical decision-making. It explores how real-world variability can inform the continuous improvement of imaging technologies and clinical workflows, enabling more reliable and accessible healthcare across diverse populations.
About the Speaker
Nirmala “Nimmi” Ramanujam is the Robert W. Carr Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University and founder of the Center for Global Women’s Health Technologies. She brings engineers, clinicians and communities together to develop cancer technologies that address unmet needs, particularly for women underserved by healthcare systems.
Her research spans the cancer care continuum, from portable imaging, artificial intelligence and digital health tools for cervical cancer screening to localized immune therapies and metabolic imaging approaches for breast cancer. Her cervical cancer innovations are advancing beyond the laboratory through clinical implementation in Peru and Kenya, expanding access to care closer to women’s communities.
Central to her work is the belief that meaningful innovation begins with the people experiencing the problem. She also leads experiential education programs that prepare future innovators to design with communities. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Engineering member, National Academy of Inventors and Fulbright Scholar.
