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Congratulations to Tiffany Conklin, who successfully defended her Master’s thesis on Friday, October 7th, 2022! The title of her defense was “Particle Delivery Systems to Mitigate Macrophage-Induced Inflammation in Osteoarthritis” and reflected her work conducted as a researcher in the Sharma Lab. Tiffany has been a member of the Sharma Lab since December 2018. As […]

The University of Florida Health Cancer Center has selected Dr. Blanka Sharma as one of three researchers to receive 2022 Shared Resource Pilot and Exploratory Study Awards. These projects are designed to collect preliminary data required to test novel ideas with the goal of creating innovative methodologies or strategies to use shared resources at the […]

Matthew Rexroad, a first year Master’s student, in the Sharma Lab was featured by UF BME during National Hispanic Heritage Month this September. Matthew is inspired by his family stating “There is no way I would be where or who I am without them, and I am forever grateful for their love and support.” In […]

This fall, Suzanne passed her qualifying exam in September by presenting her thesis proposal, titled “3D Models for Interrogating the Effects of Solid Tumor Barriers on Natural Killer Cells.” Many thanks to her committee members, Dr. Ferrall-Fairbanks, Dr. Murfee, and Dr. Siemann for their support and feedback. Over the next several years, Suzanne’s research will […]

The 2022 Gordon Conference (GRC) on Musculoskeletal Biology and Bioengineering, themed “Accelerating Discovery in the Musculoskeletal System,” featured ideas and emerging technologies that explore our progress in understanding the integrated function of the musculoskeletal system in development, at homeostasis, and in aging and disease. This interdisciplinary conference aimed to increase the diversity of our field […]

The Sharma Lab banded together with the Allen Lab and the Murfee Lab to form Team Shallenee. Together, we dominated dodgeball, kickball, tug of war, egg on spoon race, three-legged race, and water balloon catch, but fell short in the sack race. Overall, Team Shallenee placed second, narrowly losing to the Otto Lab. We are […]

Congratulations to Nahis Cruz-Delgado for completion of the University of Florida’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) through the Department of Chemical Engineer, with the support of the National Science Foundation. Nahis is studying Chemical Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico and was one of fourteen students selected to participate in this program. Participants in […]

On July 28th 2022, Justin Wu presented his summer research completed as a part of the Student Science Training Program (SSTP). Justin joined the lab mid-June as a part of this 6-week research program for high school students. Over the summer, Justin investigated chemically engineered manganese dioxide nanoparticles in the treatment of osteoarthritis under PhD student Jessica […]

With the University of Florida allowing students to return to campus, our undergraduate students hit the ground running to complete their studies, resume their research, and graduate at the end of the Spring Term. While this was a time to celebrate being back together on campus, our undergraduate students had to stay vigilant and take […]

Tolulope Ajayi, a fourth year PhD student in the Sharma Lab, presented her work at the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) World Congress in Berlin, Germany! OARSI is the premier international organization for scientists and health care professionals focused on the prevention and treatment of osteoarthritis. At this conference, Tolu shared her research on the […]

This spring, Suzanne Lightsey, a second year PhD student, was awarded the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). The NSF GRFP strives to support outstanding graduate students in STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based doctoral degrees. The GRFP provides three years of support over a five-year fellowship period for the graduate education […]

The Sharma Lab was well represented at the 11th Annual UF Biomaterials Day on March 18th, 2022. The theme of this year’s Biomaterials Day was “Scaffolding New Ideas.” Both Suzanne Lightsey, a second year PhD student, and Tiffany Conklin, a first year Master’s student, shared their work and were capable of the adapting to the […]

This Spring, undergraduate researcher, Robert Ovalle Jr., was selected as a part of the 2022 University Scholars Program. This prestigious award is given to 200 undergraduate students across all disciplines at UF. Those selected are paired with faculty mentors to complete a research project throughout the year. Students who receive the award are expected to […]

In December 2021, the Sharma lab celebrated the graduation of our second and third PhD graduates! On a beautiful Florida day, Dr. Sharma was able to hood both Dr. Temples and Dr. Kumar during the graduate ceremony hosted at the O’Connell center (we were excited for the return of in-person celebrations and graduations to commemorate […]

Shreedevi Kumar successfully defended her thesis, ‘Tissue-specific targeting of inflammatory pathways in osteoarthritis’, on November 3rd. Starting as a lab volunteer and then transitioning to her PhD, Shreedevi has made significant contributions on the research in the connections between inflammation and osteoarthritis in her tenure. While a part of the Sharma lab, Shreedevi was awarded […]

October 29th Madison Temples successfully defended her PhD, ‘Engineered three-dimensional tumor models to investigate natural killer cell migration and interactions with cancer cells’! This work is the culmination of the last five years of Madison’s work in lab. While in the Sharma Lab Madison earned several awards including an Attribute of the Gator Engineer and […]

The first hybrid BMES conference took place in Orlando, Florida this year. Due to the continued concern of Covid-19 the conference was held both in person and online. The Sharma lab was well represented by several talks and posters across biomaterials, orthopedics, and cancer research. Research presentations related to NK cell migration and tumor models […]

To kick off the fall semester, Jessica completed her qualifying exam in September by presenting her proposal over zoom to her committee and a collection of lab mates and others from the department. Her thesis proposal was titled Evaluating the Efficacy of Targeted Manganese Dioxide Nanoparticles in the Prevention of Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis. Over the next […]

Although the last year was anything but ordinary, a large number of Sharma lab students completed their studies and graduated at the end of the Spring Term. The contributions of these undergraduate and Masters students during their time as a part of the lab is something we won’t soon forget. While they were not able […]

The Attributes of a Gator Engineer Awards are bestowed annually to graduate and undergraduate students who best exemplify the attributes that Gator Engineers are charged with having upon the completion of their degrees. Attributes are among the highest honors within the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering and are open to all students within the college. […]

Each year, the University of Florida Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering awards graduate and undergraduate students who exemplify the qualities expected of a Gator Engineer. These qualities include: Creativity, Leadership, Service to the Global Community, Integrity, and Professional Excellence. The Attributes of a Gator Engineer awards are some of the most prestigious awards given through […]

This year to celebrate Black History Month and to amplify Black voices within the department, UF BME published a magazine highlighting many of our Black students and alumni. The Sharma lab was well represented by current PhD student Tolu Ajayi and Post-doc alumni Dr. Isaac Adjei. Both have been integral members of the Sharma lab […]

Although hosted as a virtual event, the Sharma lab was represented by Madison’s work on the online platform. She presented her work PEG Based Hydrogels to Investigate the Role of Biochemical Cues on Natural Killer Cell Migration during the virtual poster session. With this platform, Madison was able to submit a video explaining her work […]

During the annual BME Holiday party, senior members of the Sharma lab were awarded departmental honors for their contributions to the J Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering. Madison Temples was awarded the Graduate Student Excellence Award! During her tenure at UF Madison has been involved in Tau Beta Pi, Lead UF, and served […]