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On Thursday, March 28th, Jessica Aldrich, a fifth year PhD student, and Gabriella Flinn, a senior undergraduate, disseminated their research at the 13th Annual UF Biomaterials Day. The theme of this year’s Biomaterials Day was “Assembling Interfaces for Innovation.” Jessica’s and Gabby’s work titled “Manganese Dioxide Nanozymes as a Chondroprotective Therapy for Osteoarthritis“ and “Engineering 3D […]

Jessica Aldrich, 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 and Emerging Scholar Awards to honor outstanding female graduate students. The award committee honored […]

This February, undergraduate Sharma Lab researcher Victoria Consalvo presented her work at the Florida Undergraduate Research Conference (FURC) at the University of North Florida. FURC is one of the nation’s largest multi-disciplinary research conferences. It is an annual event open to all undergraduate researchers in the state of Florida to present their research in a […]

In February, Dr. Sharma, Dr. Patterson, and Jessica attended the Orthopedic Research Society (ORS) annual meeting in Long Beach, CA. This meeting had nearly 2,800 orthopedic professionals attend where they networked and learned about the latest innovations in the field. Jessica Aldrich presented her research via a podium presentation titled, “Intracellular ROS-Scavenging Nanozymes for the […]

The UF Health Cancer Center held their annual Research Showcase on January 31st at the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom. The event showcased the center’s multidisciplinary approach to solving the problem of cancer, with research ranging from basic mechanisms of disease, to cancer prevention and screening, to new cancer therapies. Suzanne presented her research titled, “Engineering […]

Matthew Rexroad graduated with his Master’s degree this past December 2023. We look forward to following his work and impact in the upcoming years! Congratulations!

During the annual BME Holiday party, Jessica Aldrich 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 Jessica […]

The Sharma Lab celebrated the end of a great semester with a White Elephant Gift Exchange Party at the Cheesecake Factory and, of course, we all got cheesecakes to go! We hope that everyone has a restful break.

On November 8th, the University of Florida held its 2023 Fall Undergraduate Research Symposium. The Fall Undergraduate Research Symposium is a chance for all undergraduate students to present their research. Presenting at the symposium gives students valuable presentation experience, as well as a place to network and learn about research in a variety of fields. […]

On November 8th, the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering celebrated its 12th annual Pruitt Research Day. We hold our celebration near the birth date of Dr. J. Crayton Pruitt Sr. whose vision and generosity helped found the department. Dr. Pruitt was always most excited to hear about and discuss the achievements and […]

On November 6th, Nahis Cruz-Delgado presented her research at the American Institute for Chemical Engineers (AIChE) 2023 Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. This conference is the educational forum for chemical engineers interested in innovation and professional growth. Nahis is an undergraduate student at the University of Puerto Rico who has previously conducted research in the […]

This Halloween, the Sharma Lab tapped into their scariest side and channeled Monsters, Inc! The lab was transformed into the city of Monstropolis where the screams of undergraduate students are used to fuel our research. The Sharma Lab’s hard work was recognized by being awarded the most creative group! Monster’s Inc included Boo (Rylee), Sully […]

Congratulations to Matthew Rexroad, who successfully defended his Master’s thesis on Friday, October 20th, 2023! The title of his defense was “Adapting a Non-Invasive Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Injury Model for ACL Mid-Substance Tears in Rats” and reflected his work conducted as a researcher in the Sharma Lab. Matthew has been a member of the […]

From October 11-14, 2023, the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) held its annual meeting in Seattle, Washington. Jessica and Dr. Sharma traveled across country to participate in the conference. Once in Seattle, they were able to reconnect with former undergraduate student, Ethan To, who was presenting his work in the Sharma Lab! Together, the Sharma Lab […]

Congratulations to Dr. Sharma and collaborators for receiving an NIH National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases grant for her project titled “ROS scavenging nanoparticles for mitigating oxidative stress in osteoarthritis”. The team of investigators includes Dr. Kyle Allen (BME), Dr. Terrence Ryan (Applied Physiology and Kinesiology), and Dr. Hari Parvataneni (Orthopedic Surgery). […]

In August, the Sharma lab celebrated the graduation of our fourth PhD graduate during the 2023 Summer Commencement! On a beautiful Florida day, Dr. Sharma was able to hood Dr. Ajayi during the graduate ceremony hosted at the O’Connell center! Congratulations, Tolu! Thank you for all of your hard work in the Sharma Lab. We […]

Congratulations to Nahis Cruz-Delgado for completing the University of Florida’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) through the Department of Chemical Engineering, with the support of the National Science Foundation. Participants in the REU program benefit from conducting research on a broad range of topics relevant to chemical engineering in a diverse and inclusive environment. Nahis […]

Congratulations to Gabby Flinn for completion of the UF BME Undergraduate Summer Research Program. Gabby was one of ten students selected to participate in this program. This summer, Gabby engineered 3D hydrogels of varying stiffness to interrogate cancer cell behavior under Suzanne Lightsey’s mentorship. At the end of the summer, Gabby disseminated her findings from […]

Jessica recently traveled to Lake Placid, New York (Home of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics) to complete her first full distance Ironman. Jess started competing in triathlon during grad school and has already completed four Ironman 70.3 races and competes for the University of Florida Trigators club triathlon team.   Jess completed the race consisting […]

On July 20th, Tolulope Ajayi successfully defended her PhD, titled ‘Application of Imaging Modalities and Animal Models to Advance Nanoparticle Technologies for Osteoarthritis’! This work is the culmination of the last five years of Tolu’s work in both the Sharma Lab and the Allen Lab. While at the University of Florida, Tolu published several research […]

Be sure to check out the newest paper from our group, Drug Delivery Strategies and Nanozyme Technologies to Overcome Limitations for Targeting Oxidative Stress in Osteoarthritis, an invited review published in Pharmaceuticals. In this review, Jessica discusses the current state of nanozyme technologies for use as a therapeutic treatment for osteoarthritis. At this time, there […]

Jessica was recently awarded an NIH Ruth L Kirschstein training grant for the completion of her research on Manganese Dioxide as a Nanozyme to Mitigate Oxidative Stress in Osteoarthritis. This competitive grant supports Jessica’s research on manganese dioxide nanoparticles as a therapeutic treatment for osteoarthritis. She will be working collaboratively with the Dr. Terence Ryan […]

Matthew Rexroad, a Master’s student, was selected to be an HSF Scholar. The HSF selects 10,000 outstanding students as HSF scholars making this scholarship extremely competitive and prestigious. This is the second time Matthew has received this recognition, further validating all the hard work and effort Matthew has put into his education and research. Matthew’s […]

Tucked away in West Gainesville, the Sharma Lab traveled to University of Florida’s facility, TREEO, to host a lab retreat. Our lab retreats comprise of scientific sessions where each lab member gives a presentation. This year, the focus was on considering new techniques, technologies, or methods needed to answer the elusive questions in our work. […]