Category: Current Students

Touraj passes his Qualifying Exam! This summer, Touraj passed his qualifying exam by presenting his thesis proposal, titled “Functionalized MnO2 Nanoparticles for Targeting Oxidative Stress in Osteoarthritis.” Many thanks to his committee members, Dr. Rinaldi-Ramos, Dr. Sampath, and Dr. Allen for their support and feedback. Over the next several years, Touraj’s research will focus on […]

Victoria named UFHCC University Scholar Undergraduate researcher, Victoria Consalvo, was selected as a part of the 2025 UFHCC University Scholars Program. This prestigious award is given to undergraduate students to educate the next generation of professionals on the importance of biomedical research and scientific discoveries, specifically focused on cancer. Those selected are paired with faculty […]

Suzanne is selected for the Association of Academic Women’s Emerging Scholar Honorable Mention Award! Suzanne Lightsey, a 5th year PhD student, was selected by the Madelyn Lockhart Dissertation Awards Committee for the 2024 Association for Academic Women’s (AAW) Emerging Scholar Honorable Mention Award. AAW at the University of Florida established the Madelyn Lockhart Dissertation Fellowship […]

A BIG congratulations to Gabriella Flinn for earning an engineering co-op position at Vertex in Providence, Rhode Island. Gabby will join the Device Immunology team led by Tania Baltazar where she will continue the development of cutting-edge solutions for individuals battling type 1 diabetes. Although we are sad to lose Gabby this spring, we are […]

A HUGE congratulations to Natalia for earning an engineering co-op position at Edwards Lifesciences in Irvine, California. Natalia will be joining a team where she will continue the development of cutting-edge solutions for individuals battling cardiovascular disease. Although we are sad to lose Natalia this spring, we are excited to see the unique perspective she […]

The Sharma Lab celebrated the end of a great semester with a White Elephant Gift Exchange Party at Dr.Sharma’s house where we all brought food to share that reminded us of home! Also, to whoever said Florida was way too warm for a fire– we happily proved you wrong. We hope that everyone has a […]

During the annual BME Holiday party, Suzanne Lightsey was awarded the Graduate Student Excellence Award for her contributions to the J Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering. This award is given to the registered BME graduate student who has excelled in her coursework, research, service to the department, and leadership– all of which Suzanne […]

Congratulations to Jillian Jacek, who successfully presented her undergraduate honor’s thesis on December 9th 2024! The title of her defense was “Evaluating the Chondroprotective Effects of MnO2” and reflected her work conducted as an undergraduate researcher in the Sharma Lab. Jillian has been a member of the Sharma lab since 2022, and will be graduating […]

On November 6th, Jessica Aldrich successfully defended her PhD, titled ‘Advancing a Reactive Oxygen Species Scavenging Nanomaterial Platform to Target Oxidative Stress In Osteoarthritis’! This work is the culmination of the last five and a half years of Jessica’s work in both the Sharma Lab and the Allen Lab. While at the University of Florida, […]

This Halloween, the Sharma Lab partnered with the Allen lab to recreate Middle Earth in the Lord of the Rings. The Sharma Lab was transformed into the Shire and the Mirkwood Forrest lined the hallway that connected to Mordor (aka the Allen lab). This year’s theme idea came from Shane Priester, a PhD student in […]