Madhulika Sharma, Ph.D.

Professional Background

I earned my Bachelor's degree in Chemistry Honors and my Master's degree in Biochemistry from Himachal Pradesh University, India. Subsequently, I pursued my PhD at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh, under the mentorship of Dr. N.K. Ganguly and Dr. R.K. Suri. My doctoral research focused on the pathophysiology of ischemia-reperfusion injury in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
For my postdoctoral fellowship, I joined Dr. Katherine Borden at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, where I received a brief training in the molecular biology of cancer. Following this, I undertook a second postdoctoral position under the mentorship of Dr. Gregory Vanden Heuvel, during which I developed extensive expertise in kidney development, glomerular diseases, and polycystic kidney disease.
Currently, I am a tenure-track Assistant Professor at the Jared Grantham Kidney Institute (JGKI), having previously served as a Senior Scientist and Research Assistant Professor. At JGKI, I continue to advance my research in HIV-associated chronic kidney disease and polycystic kidney disease, further developing and expanding my expertise in these fields.

• BSc, Chemistry Honors, Himachal Pradesh University, India, Baijnath, HP

Research

Overview

Our laboratory primarily focuses on chronic kidney diseases (CKD), with a particular emphasis on HIV-related CKD and polycystic kidney disease (PKD). In the era of antiretroviral therapy (ART), virus replication has been significantly controlled. However, latent virus remains in certain hard-to-reach cells, releasing viral particles that promote inflammation and lead to chronic issues such as CKD. By manipulating the HIV-LTR promoter, we aim to control HIV-1. Our research concentrates on a protein called RBP-J, which has the potential to regulate the viral LTR promoter, offering therapeutic options for targeting viral reservoirs.
In our PKD research, we have identified that ferritin and Notch3 play significant roles in the pathogenesis of the disease. Our goal is to elucidate the mechanisms by which these molecules contribute to disease progression. Additionally, we are investigating novel biomarkers for disease progression in PKD to improve diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

• Wang, Wei, Wang, Henry , Allard, Bailey, Kavanaugh, Matthew, Pritchard, Michele, Slawson, Chad, Chaturvedi, Aakriti, Slawson, Chad, Wallace, Darren, Tran, Pamela. 2022. Ttc21b deficiency attenuates autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease in a kidney tubular- and maturation-dependent manner (102(3)), 577-591
• Wang, Wei, Pottorf , Tana., S, Wang, Henry., W, Dong, Ruochen , Kavanaugh, Matthew ., A, Cornelius, Joseph ., T, Dennis, Katie ., L, Apte, Udayan , Pritchard, Michele., T, Sharma, Madhulika, Tran, Pamela., V. 2021. IFT-A deficiency in juvenile mice impairs biliary development and exacerbates ADPKD liver disease. J Pathol .
• Sharma, Madhulika, Yerrathota, Sireesha, Thornton, Mackenzie, Gunewardena, Sumedha. 2021. Transcriptomic data showing differentially expressed genes between Notch3 and Notch4 deleted mice.. Data Brief, 35
• Radadiya, Priyanka, Thornton, Mackenzie, Puri, Rajni., V, Yerrathota, Sireesha, Dinh Phan, Johnny, Magenheimer, Brenda , Subramaniam, Dharmalingam, Tran, Pamela., V, Zhu, Hao, Bolisetty, Subhashini, Calvet, James., P, Wallace, Darren., P, Sharma, Madhulika. 2021. Ciclopirox olamine induces ferritinophagy and reduces cyst burden in polycystic kidney disease . JCI insight, 6 (8), e141299
• Radadiya, Priyanka, Thornton, Mackenzie., M, Daniel, Emily, Idowu, Jessica., Y, Wang, Wei, Magenheimer, Brenda, Subramaniam, Dharmalingam , Tran, Pamela., V, Calvet, James, Wallace, Darren., P, Sharma, Madhulika. 2021. Quinomycin A reduces cyst progression in Polycystic Kidney Disease. FASEB Journal, 35 (5), e21533
• Lea, W., A, McGreal, K, Sharma, M, Parnell, S., C, Zelenchuk, L, Charlesworth, M., C, Madden, B., J, Johnson, K., L, McCormick, D., J, Hogan, M., C, Ward, C., J. 2020. Analysis of the polycystin complex (PCC) in human urinary exosome-like vesicles (ELVs).. Scientific reports, 10 (1), 1500
• Ishii , Ken, Kobayashi, Hanako Kobayashi, Taguchi, Kensei , Guan, Nan , Li, Andraia, Tong, Carmen , Davidoff, Olena , Tran, Pamela., V, Sharma, Madhulika, Chandel, Navdeep ., S, Kapp , Meghan ., E, Fogo, Agnes ., B, Brooks, Craig ., R, Haase, Volker ., H. 2020. Kidney epithelial targeted mitochondrial transcription factor A deficiency results in progressive mitochondrial depletion associated with severe cystic disease.. Kidney International, S0085-2538 (20), 31250-3
• Idowu, J, Home, T, Patel, N, Magenheimer, B, Tran, P., V, Maser, R., L, Ward, C., J, Calvet, J., P, Wallace, D., P, Sharma, M. 2018. Aberrant Regulation of Notch3 Signaling Pathway in Polycystic Kidney Disease.. Scientific reports, 8 (1), 3340
• Puri, R., V, Yerrathota, S, Home, T, Idowu, J., Y, Chakravarthi, V., P, Ward, C., J, Singhal, P., C, Vanden Heuvel, G., B, Fields, T., A, Sharma, M. 2019. Notch4 activation aggravates NF-κB-mediated inflammation in HIV-1-associated nephropathy.. Disease models & mechanisms, 12 (12)
• Sharma, M, Reif, G., A, Wallace, D., P. 2019. In vitro cyst formation of ADPKD cells.. Methods in cell biology, 153, 93-111