Ms. Pramila Thapa - Optics - Women Researcher Award🏆

Early Academic Pursuits

She born on August 17, 1994, is an Indian researcher with a distinguished academic background. She achieved a significant milestone in her education by submitting her thesis titled "Multimodal Optical Techniques for Cancer Screening and Diagnosis" to the Department of Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi in December 2023. She earned her Master's degree in Physics from Kumaon University in 2016 and completed her Bachelor's degree in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics (PCM) from the same university in 2014.

Professional Endeavors

Her professional journey has been marked by a dedication to research and academic pursuits. From July 2019 to 2023, she served as a Ph.D. student in the Department of Physics at IIT Delhi. Prior to this, she worked as a Research Assistant in the Bio-Photonics Lab at IIT Delhi from July 2018 to December 2018. In May 2023 to July 2023, she expanded her horizons as a Research Exchange Student at the University of Tromsø/The Arctic University of Norway (UiT).

Contributions and Research Focus in Optics

During her Ph.D., she undertook various courses at IIT Delhi, focusing on topics such as Basic Optics & Instrumentation, Biomedical Optics & Bio-photonics, and Computational optics laboratory. Her research work has primarily revolved around developing Multimodal Optical Techniques for Cancer Screening and Diagnosis, showcasing her commitment to advancing medical diagnostics through innovative optical approaches.

Accolades and Recognition

She has received numerous accolades and awards, highlighting her outstanding contributions to the field. Notable awards include the Best Thesis Award in WOPI at IIT Madras in January 2024, the Best Paper Award for a poster presentation in OPTIQ at CUSAT Cochin University in December 2023, and the Research and Innovation Award at IIT Delhi during Open House 2023 in the PG category.

Her achievements also extend to international recognition, as seen in the RETA award and RSTA award, short-term mobility grants from IIT Delhi, and the INTPART research mobility grant between IIT Delhi, India, and UiT Norway.

Impact and Influence

Her impactful research is evident in her Best Poster Award in Industry Day 2022 at IIT Delhi in Health Care Industry and her consistent involvement in international conferences and events. Her work has not only contributed to the academic community but also holds promise for practical applications in the healthcare industry.

Legacy and Future Contributions

Notable Publications

• Effect of fluorescein dye concentration in oral cancer tissue: statistical and spectroscopic analysis
• Multispectral polarization microscopy of different stages of human oral tissue: A polarization study
• Multimodal fluorescence imaging and spectroscopic techniques for oral cancer screening: a real-time approach
• Simultaneous fluorescence microscopy and spectroscopy of oral squamous cell carcinoma, oral dysplasia, and normal tissue
• White light phase-shifting interferometry using deep learning-based phase-shifter
• Multimodal and multispectral diagnostic devices for oral and breast cancer screening in low resource settings
• Single-shot multispectral quantitative phase imaging of biological samples using deep learning
• Point‐of‐care devices based on fluorescence imaging and spectroscopy for tumor margin detection during breast cancer surgery: Towards breast conservation treatment
• Analysis of early-stage breast cancer using smartphone-based fluorescence imaging and spectroscopy during intra-operative procedure