Faculty Profile - Shruti Sharma, PhD
Dr. Shruti Sharma is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and the Center for Biotechnology and Genomic Medicine at Augusta University. Her research focuses on the role of inflammation, endothelial injury, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) trans-signaling in the vasculopathies associated with diabetic retinopathy (DR). Her lab has established that IL-6 trans-signaling plays a significant role in initiating blood-retinal barrier breakdown in DR and that selective inhibition of the IL-6 trans-signaling pathway prevents inflammation and vascular dysfunction in the retina. She is an active member of the Culver Vision Discovery Institute at Augusta University and collaborates with several basic scientists and clinicians in the Department of Ophthalmology, Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, and the Vascular Biology Center at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.
Dr. Sharma has authored more than 50 scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals. She has trained 12 research technicians, 2 PhD students, and 5 post-doctoral fellows. She has served as specialty editor-in chief of “Frontiers in Oxidant Physiology” journal (Impact Factor 3.201), leading a team of 178 editors.
Dr. Sharma is a major contributor to the Genomic Medicine Ph.D. program, and serves as the director of three major courses required for all Genomic Medicine graduate students.
Ongoing Projects
- Targeting Interleukin-6 Trans-Signaling in Diabetic Retinopathy
- Discerning molecular mechanisms of Glaucomatous Optic Neuropathy
- Proteomic, Glycomic, and Glycoproteomic profiling of serum from patients with Diabetic Retinopathy
Teaching
- Course Director, Translational Genomics and Proteomics (GNMD8051)
- Course Director, Genomic Medicine seminar (GNMD8060)
- Course Director, Functional Genomics and Proteomics Using Animal Models (GNMD8052)