Ambika Bumb an American biomedical scientist and businessperson. Bumb is a nanomedicine specialist who uses

nanotechnology Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...

for the detection and treatment of disease. Her discoveries using

nanodiamond Nanodiamonds, or diamond nanoparticles, are diamonds with a size below 100 nanometers. They can be produced by impact events such as an explosion or meteoritic impacts. Because of their inexpensive, large-scale synthesis, potential for surfa ...

s while working as

postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to p ...

at the

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...

and the

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is the third largest Institute of the National Institutes of Health, located in Bethesda, Maryland, United States. It is tasked with allocating about $3.6 billion in FY 2020 in tax revenue to ...

led to the launch of the biotech Bikanta. Bumb is currently Deputy Executive Director at the

Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense, formerly known as the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, is an organization of former high-ranking government officials that analyzes US capabilities and capacity to defend against biological threats. A ...

Early life

Bumb was born to

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

parents who immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

for

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

. Her father was the first in his family to complete his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

degree and her mother the first female in her town to get her college degree in a STEM field. Her maternal grandfather was a

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

. Bumb graduated from Southside High School as

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

in 2002.

Education

Bumb graduated in 2005 with a

Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering A Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering is a kind of bachelor's degree typically conferred after a four-year undergraduate course of study in biomedical engineering (BME). The degree itself is largely equivalent to a Bachelor of Science and ...

and a Minor in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

from

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, while being recognized with the Helen E. Grenga Outstanding Woman Engineer and E. Jo Baker President's Scholar Awards. With an early interest in

nanomedicine Nanomedicine is the medical application of nanotechnology. Nanomedicine ranges from the medical applications of nanomaterials and BioBrick, biological devices, to Nanoelectronics, nanoelectronic biosensors, and even possible future applicatio ...

, she conducted research focused on tracking quantum dots in bone and cartilage while also being an active leader in various campus organizations. In 2008, Bumb completed her doctorate in Medical Engineering in three years from

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

while also on the prestigious

Marshall Scholarship The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is widely considered one of the most prestigious sc ...

and NIH-OxCam Program. She developed a triple-reporting nanoparticle and showed the technology's transferability across different disease types with studies in cancer and

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

. The

magnetic Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that are mediated by a magnetic field, which refers to the capacity to induce attractive and repulsive phenomena in other entities. Electric currents and the magnetic moments of elementary particle ...

nanoparticle A nanoparticle or ultrafine particle is usually defined as a particle of matter that is between 1 and 100 nanometres (nm) in diameter. The term is sometimes used for larger particles, up to 500 nm, or fibers and tubes that are less than 1 ...

s demonstrated strong potential in cancer diagnostics and therapy. Upon graduation, she continued to go on to two post-doctoral fellowships at the

(2009-2011) and

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is the third largest Institute of the National Institutes of Health, located in Bethesda, Maryland, United States. It is tasked with allocating about $3.6 billion in FY 2020 in tax revenue to ...

(2011-2013

Career

Her breakthroughs in the areas of nanomedicine and diagnostics have led to multiple patents, publications, and the spin out of her biotech company Bikanta that is using nanodiamonds to allow academics and doctors to study and address disease at the cellular level. Nanodiamonds are next generation imaging probes leading research including applications with the recent Nobel Prize in Chemistry for super-resolved fluorescence microscopy and utility in portable cancer detection devices. Bikanta was among the early biotechnology startups to receive funding from Y Combinator and has been recognized as the victor in the Silicon Valley Boomer Venture and CapCon Competitions, as well as a recipient of the California Life Science Institute's FAST Award, and named 1 of 4 Best Diagnostics Startups of 2015 by QB3. As Bikanta prepared to move the technology into clinical trials, the

Theranos Theranos Inc. () was an American privately held corporation that was touted as a breakthrough health technology company. Founded in 2003 by then 19-year-old Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos raised more than US$700 million from venture capitalists and ...

scandal went public and many investors pulled out of the diagnostics space. Bikanta was unable to raise the funding to proceed with the clinical trials. Complementary to her scientific and commercial interests, Bumb has also been involved in national science policy initiatives, particularly related to nanotechnology. After Bikanta, Bumb began working as Health Science and Technology Advisor for the Secretary of State in the office of Crisis Management and Strategy in December 2019, where she played a role in the government response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Later, she transferred to President Joe Biden's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, her new role being the Deputy Executive Director. Bumb was featured as a female role model to empower young girls by Career Girls. She has been appreciated in various interviews, including by

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

at the ''Naturejobs'' Career Expo,

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and in an interview by WeFunder.

Personal life

Bumb practices

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...

and has been a dancer from an early age. Bumb enjoys traveling and her adventures have taken her to see silver-backed gorillas in Rwanda, climbing waterfalls, and swimming with dolphins.

Awards and recognition

* The Council of Outstanding Young Engineering Alumni Award -

* Orloff Science Award for Technical Achievement - National Institutes of Health * National Institutes of Health-Oxford Cambridge Scholarship in Biomedical Sciences * Georgia Institute of Technology President's Scholarship * Aspen Health Forum Fellow * Helen E. Grenga Outstanding Woman Engineer Award * E. Jo Baker Award for outstanding President's Scholar *

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is one of the most prestigious honor societies in the United States with chapters at more than 300 college campuses. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington and Lee University in ...

Award for Outstanding Leadership * Women In Engineering Excellence Award * Akamai Foundation Award through the Mathematical Association of America * Winner of Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit * Winner of CapCon Business Competition

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bumb, Ambika Living people Marshall Scholars Georgia Tech alumni Businesspeople in the health care industry Women medical researchers American women chief executives American Jains American people of Indian descent American health professionals of Indian descent Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Year of birth missing (living people) American medical researchers 21st-century American businesswomen 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American women scientists 21st-century American biologists