GWHT Welcomes Seven to the Team for the 2026-27 Academic Year
The Center for Global Women’s Health Technologies welcomes seven new team members whose work spans cancer prevention and treatment, clinical translation, engineering education, and technology development. Their varied experiences strengthen GWHT’s work to translate women’s health innovation into practical solutions that improve access to care.
Gatha Adhikari, Research & Development Engineer II
Gatha joins GWHT from the University of Maryland, where she was a graduate research assistant in the Global Biomedical Devices Laboratory within the Fischell Department of Bioengineering. As a Research & Development Engineer, she will contribute to the development of healthcare technologies that improve access to diagnosis, treatment, and care.
Her interest in global health began in Nepal, where she witnessed firsthand the barriers communities face when health services and medical equipment are limited. Outside of work, Gatha enjoys spending time in nature, reading, traveling, and exploring new cultures and cuisines.
Sebastian Lira, Translational Fellow
Sebastian joins GWHT from Johns Hopkins University with interests in accessible health care, breast and cervical oncology, and biomedical engineering. His interest in this work is personal: his mother and grandmother are from rural Peru, where cervical cancer screening was difficult to access. He hopes to contribute to solutions that expand access to care for communities like those his family comes from.
Sebastian enjoys Olympic weightlifting, film photography, music, and learning to cook. He is looking forward to exploring Durham’s food scene, trails, and natural spaces.
Kimi Du, Translational Fellow
A recent Duke biomedical engineering graduate, Kimi supports both GWHT’s cervical cancer and education initiatives. Through Ignite, she helps prepare and facilitate engineering-design sessions for middle and high school students, coordinate program activities, and analyze data. With the Cervix project, she contributes to engineering design and software development, tracks data and image quality collected with colposcopes, and manufactures atomizers for the Pocket Colposcope.
Kimi is interested in translational biomedical engineering and accessible technologies that improve women’s health, particularly in cervical health and cancer prevention. She enjoys tennis, pickleball, hiking, swimming, and reading.
Mia Jocić, Translational Fellow
Mia joins GWHT after graduating from the University of Maryland, College Park, with a degree in bioengineering and a minor in science, technology, ethics, and policy. She supports the clinical translation of an injectable ethanol ablation therapy for breast cancer and contributes to development of a cervical mucus-removal tool for speculum-free gynecological exams.
Her work allows her to further explore therapeutic development and health-equity engineering while building skills in device research and development. Outside of work, Mia enjoys hiking, skiing, and woodworking. She is looking forward to exploring the Research Triangle’s food scene and attending Duke women’s basketball games.
Stella Hopper-Gramenz, Translational Fellow
Stella recently graduated from Smith College and joins GWHT as a research associate and translational fellow. Her primary work involves regulatory and stability chemistry testing for an ethyl-cellulose ethanol breast cancer ablation therapy. She also supports data analysis and information management for clinical trials of cervical screening devices.
Stella is interested in polymer chemistry for women’s health and the broader field of biomedical engineering. She is motivated by the opportunity to expand equitable access to health care through science and engineering. Stella is a drummer and guitarist and has recently joined a run club in Durham.
Pranav Kannan, Translational Fellow
A recent Duke biomedical engineering graduate, Pranav works across technology development and STEM education initiatives. With the Pocket Colposcope team, he is helping develop local server infrastructure to support device use in rural health clinics and assess machine-learning algorithms for interpreting colposcopy images. He also works with Ignite, GWHT’s engineering-design education program for middle and high school students.
Pranav is especially interested in the intersection of data science, medical technology, and diagnostic tools, as well as the potential for computational approaches to make diagnostics more accessible in different clinical settings. Outside of work, he enjoys tennis, pickleball, and reading.
Alina Sharma, PhD Student
Alina joins Duke from the University of Maryland, College Park as an incoming PhD student. Her research interests include cervical cancer and imaging, with a focus on the challenges of addressing cancer risk in low- and middle-income countries. She is also interested in effective scientific communication across cultures and communities.
In her spare time, Alina enjoys cooking, gardening, dancing, and woodworking. She is excited to explore Durham’s arts scene and Duke Gardens while getting to know her PhD cohort and lab community.
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