Amit Sharma

Bio

Dr. Sharma received his engineering degree in biotechnology from New Delhi, India. For graduate studies, he attended the College of Veterinary Medicine at Ohio State University. His Ph.D. studies in the laboratory of Dr. Kathleen Boris-Lawrie focused on regulation of HIV post-transcriptional gene expression by host cell factors.

During his postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Mamuka Kvaratskhelia at the College of Pharmacy at Ohio State, Dr. Sharma studied the molecular basis of interaction between retroviral integrases and their cellular cofactors. During his second postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Julie Overbaugh at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, Dr. Sharma’s research involved characterizing the viral and host factors that are critical for replication and adaptation of chimeric simian-human immunodeficiency viruses (SHIVs) in the macaque models of HIV infection.

In 2018, Dr. Sharma transitioned to a tenure-track faculty position at Ohio State with dual appointment in College of Veterinary Medicine and College of Medicine. At Ohio State, Dr. Sharma’s laboratory continuously maintained extramural funding from NIH and secured two patents for therapeutic leads against coronaviruses.

In May 2024, Dr. Sharma joined the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine to help advance its strong reputation in human and animal infectious diseases. Located in the CVM Research Building, the primary focus of the Sharma laboratory is to study the viral and host determinants necessary for replication of SHIVs in macaque lymphocytes, with the goal of developing SHIV/macaque models that emulate biological, immunological, and pathological features of HIV infection. His laboratory is also conducting COVID-19 research and applying members’ expertise to identify peptides and small-molecule inhibitors that block entry of SARS-CoV-2 and related bat coronaviruses.

Dr. Sharma has successfully mentored several postdoctoral, graduate, DVM, and undergraduate trainees.

Publications

• NCBI My Bibliography – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/amit.sharma.1/bibliography/public/
• Google Scholar – https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=QeitzV0AAAAJ&hl=en

Area(s) of Expertise

Animal models of HIV infection, coronavirus drug discovery, viral genetics