Global Cancer Research and Control Seminar Series 2025 (Upcoming Webinars)
Thursday, June 5, 2025 | 10:00 - 11:00am ET
The Neighborhood Tobacco Environment and Adolescent Tobacco Use in India (Virtual)
Ritesh Mistry, Ph.D., M.P.H., Associate Professor of Global Public Health
University of Michigan
Ritesh Mistry, Ph.D., M.P.H., is a tenured Associate Professor of Global Public Health and Health Behavior and Health Equity at the University of Michigan. He has led public health research projects in the United States and internationally for many years. Dr. Mistry’s research addresses health risk behaviors, particularly those associated with cancer and chronic disease risks, such as tobacco use. He has studied tobacco use in families, adolescents, young adults, and reproductive-aged patients. Dr. Mistry’s key focus is on policy and environmental influence on health behaviors. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Fulbright Program, and the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program.
Abstract
India has one of the highest tobacco-related morbidity and mortality burdens worldwide. Adult use rates are exceptionally high, with smokeless tobacco use rates higher than smoking rates. Tobacco is smoked, chewed, and applied, and consists primarily of local products (bidi, cigarettes, pan masala with tobacco, khaini, gutkha, snuff, etc.). More than half of the adults who use tobacco in India started during adolescence or early adulthood. Thus, preventing and curbing youth tobacco use rates is a public health priority. To address the tobacco-related population health burden, the Government of India enacted the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) in 2003, with many amendments since. This presentation will characterize the neighborhood tobacco environment of adolescents in India regarding tobacco retail access, promotion, and COTPA compliance. It will also examine the association between these neighborhood tobacco environmental factors and the risk of tobacco use in adolescents.Thursday, September 11, 2025 | 10:00am - 11:00am ET
Translating Health Care Technologies from Concept to Impact: Challenges and Opportunities in Global Cervical Cancer Prevention (Virtual)
Nirmala Ramanujam, Ph.D., Director, Center for Global Women's Health Technologies
Duke University
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.