Nimmi Ramanujam, the Robert W. Carr, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering, has received a $10.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to support her research aimed at detecting and treating early breast cancer.

The Innovator Award 2024 will cover four years of work by Ramanujam and his team to reduce the burden of cancer treatments on patients, especially those who do not live near a hospital.

Ramanujam said her team hopes to develop a new treatment model that allows patients to receive the entire treatment in one visit, rather than returning for multiple doses. To do this, she said the team will look to take advantage of what is currently known about tumors to develop effective engineering technologies.

“(The model) is designed to overcome the toxicity and duration of current breast cancer treatments. We have seen an increase in screening mammography, but we have yet to see a big change in metastatic burden,” Ramanujam said. “So we’re trying to figure out how we can treat them early and take advantage of the immune system in these patients.”

With the funding, she hopes to continue clinical trials to determine the drug’s safety and effectiveness in humans so they can move on to “larger studies.”

“I hope it will help increase access to breast cancer treatment and … reduce the burden that current treatments have on the family unit of the health system and the socio-economic structure,” she said.

The project builds on Ramanujam’s research into ways to “eliminate mortality” from cervical and breast cancer in Duke Center for Global Women’s Health Technologies. The center – which she founded – is primarily aimed at increasing the impact of biomedical innovations and addressing disparities in women’s health.

Ramanujam said her inspiration for starting the center was to harness her talents and put her efforts towards something that could help others.