Dr. Shalini Sharma is a molecular and cell biologist specializing in signal transduction, host–pathogen interactions, lipid signaling, and cancer biology. She pursued her Ph.D. in Life Sciences from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, where her thesis focused on the role of phosphatidylinositol kinases in regulating phagocytosis in Entamoeba histolytica.

Following her doctorate, Dr. Sharma conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center (Boston, USA), where she worked on TORC1 signaling in response to amino acid cues in eukaryotic systems. She further advanced her expertise as a Postdoctoral Scientist at UMASS Chan Medical School (USA), focusing on upstream bioprocessing and Stable CHO cell line development for biologics production.

Before joining Galgotias University, she served as an Assistant Professor at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat. Her academic trajectory reflects a strong commitment to advancing basic and applied biosciences, mentoring students, and fostering international collaborations.

Research Interests

• Phosphoinositide and TORC1 signaling
• Cancer biology and therapeutic targets
• Actin cytoskeleton dynamics and phagocytosis
• Parasite cell biology (Entamoeba histolytica, fission yeast)
• Upstream bioprocessing and biologics production

Research and Teaching Experience

• Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat (2023–2024)
• Postdoctoral Scientist II, MassBiologics, UMASS Chan Medical School, USA (2022)
• Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Harvard Medical School & MGH Cancer Center, USA (2019–2021)

Education

• Ph.D. (2018) – School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
• M.Sc. Biomedical Sciences (2012) – Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Center for Biomedical Research, University of Delhi, New Delhi
• B.Sc. Biomedical Sciences (2010) – Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women, University of Delhi, New Delhi

Selected Publications

1. Isabel A Calvo,* Shalini Sharma,* Joao A. Paulo, Alexander O.D. Gulka, Andras Boeszoermenyi, Jingyu Zhang, Jose M Lombana, Christina M. Palmieri, Laura A. Laviolette, Haribabu Arthanari, Othon Iliopoulos, Steven P Gygi and Mo Motamedi (2021). The fission yeast FLCN/FNIP complex augments TORC1 repression or activation in response to amino acid availability. iScience 24(11):103338, *equal contribution
2.  Shalini Sharma, Shalini Agarwal, Ravi Bharadwaj, Somlata, Sudha Bhattacharya and Alok Bhattacharya (2019). Novel regulatory roles of PtdIns(4,5)P2 generating enzyme EhPIPKI in actin dynamics and phagocytosis of Entamoeba histolytica. Cellular Microbiology 21(10):e13087
3. Shalini Sharma, Sudha Bhattacharya and Alok Bhattacharya (2019). PtdIns(4,5)P2 is generated by a novel phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinase in the protist parasite Entamoeba histolytica. FEBS Journal 286, 2216-2234
4. Bharadwaj Ravi, Shalini Sharma, Janhawi, Ranjana Arya, Sudha Bhattacharya, and Alok Bhattacharya. (2018). EhRho1 regulates phagocytosis by modulating actin dynamics through EhFormin1 and EhProfilin1 in Entamoeba histolytica. Cellular microbiology 20(9):e12851
5. Shalini Agarwal, Gaurav Anand, Shalini Sharma, Pragyan Parimita Rath, Samudrala Gourinath and Alok Bhattacharya (2019). EhP3, a homolog of 14-3-3 family of protein participates in actin reorganization and phagocytosis in Entamoeba histolytica. Plos Pathogen 15(5):e1007789.

(Complete list available on Google Scholar)

Selected Conferences & Presentations

International Conferences & talks

• FNIP complex regulates TORC1 and v-ATPase activity in fission yeast, Virtual Floor Talk, MGH Cancer Center, Boston, USA (May 2020).
• FLCN/FNIP complex regulates TORC1 and v-ATPase activity in Schizosaccharomyces pombe, MGH Cancer Center Retreat, Boston, USA (Oct 2019).
• Involvement of phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinase and PtdIns(4,5)P2 signaling in phagocytosis of Entamoeba histolytica, Gordon Research Conference, Newport, Rhode Island, USA (June 2016).

National Conferences & Talks

• Phosphatidylinositol (4,5) bisphosphate signaling in phagocytosis of Entamoeba histolytica, International Conference of Cell Biology, Hyderabad, India (Jan 2018).
• Role of phosphoinositide kinases and PtdIns(4,5)P2 in phagocytosis, Biosparks, JNU, New Delhi (Feb 2018).
• Role of PtdIns(4,5)P2 signaling in phagocytosis of Entamoeba histolytica, SBC Conference, New Delhi, India (Nov 2017).

Awards & Fellowships

• ICMR Senior Research Fellowship – 2018
• CSIR JRF & SRF (2012–2018), AIR 50 in CSIR-JRF-NET
• Travel Grant, Gordon Research Conference, USA – 2016
• First Prize, Oral Presentation, Biosparks JNU – 2018
• Indira Meritorious Award, Ministry of Education, Govt. of Delhi.