Ashish K Sharma, MD, PhD

Dr. Sharma is a basic and translational medical scientist with a background in immunology, cell biology, molecular biology and pulmonary physiology. He joined UF in June 2018 as an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery. Prior to joining UF, Dr. Sharma was a faculty member in Department of Surgery at University of Virginia since 2004. He received his PhD from University of Virginia and completed his medical graduation from MR Medical College, Gulbarga, India.

The research in Dr. Sharma’s laboratory focuses on defining the molecular and signal transduction mechanisms of acute lung injury (i.e. ischemia-reperfusion injury or primary graft dysfunction) after lung transplantation as well as investigating the pathophysiology of aortic aneurysms. The main focus of his research is to decipher the contribution of purinergic signaling via pannexin and transient receptor potential channels as well as to implement mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles as a therapeutic strategy in aortic aneurysms and primary graft dysfunction after lung transplantation.

He has served as a peer-reviewer for numerous scientific journals. He is an active member of the American Thoracic Society, International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, and the American Heart Association. He has regularly served as a reviewer for National Institute of Health as well as international research organizations (United Kingdom and Switzerland). Dr. Sharma has given guest lectures at various academic institutions and serves as editor and reviewer for peer-reviewed scientific journals. Dr. Sharma has a strong history in the teaching and research training of surgery residents, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, medical students and undergraduate students.

Dr. Sharma directs two research laboratories that investigate the molecular mechanisms of aortic aneurysm pathogenesis and pathophysiology of post-lung transplant injury. Current projects are focused on how dying/apoptotic cells are eaten up by endothelial cells and macrophages, and if the dysregulation of this process (efferocytosis) causes vascular and pulmonary inflammation and injury. His laboratories also focus on mechanistic studies to decipher the crosstalk between parenchymal cells such as endothelial and smooth muscle cells with immune cells like macrophages and neutrophils, involving pannexin and TRPV4 ion channels as well as excess iron-mediated cell death (ferroptosis), in the pathophysiology of aortic aneurysms and lung ischemia-reperfusion injury. His research interests also include therapeutic application of mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles in attenuating vascular and pulmonary disease processes. His laboratory is nationally renowned in scientific research of aortic aneurysm and lung transplant injury. Research methodologies/techniques used in his laboratories involve investigation of human samples and murine experimental models entailing surgical models, flow cytometry, RNA/protein analysis, spatial transcriptomics and scRNA sequencing etc.

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