Jyotika Sharma

The School and UND’s infectious disease research group bolsters its expertise.

On August 1, another piece of the infectious disease research group came into place at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences when Assistant Professor Jyotika Sharma, PhD, joined the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. She possesses master’s degrees in both botany and microbiology, and a PhD in Microbiology. From 2001 to 2006, Sharma was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas Health Center–San Antonio. She comes to the SMHS from the Biology Department at the University of Texas–San Antonio, where she was a research assistant professor since 2006.
     Sharma’s research focuses on host immune responses to Francisella tularensis, the bacterium that causes tularemia and is on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Select Agent Registry. Tularemia is characterized by a high fever, acute septicemia, and toxemia, and spreads to humans through several routes, including insect bites and direct exposure to an infected animal. 
     More broadly, her work encompasses human innate immune responses to infectious agents, neuroinflammation, and cancers. Her research fits into the general focus of the infectious disease research group at the SMHS and UND, who study vector-borne diseases, illnesses caused by bacteria or viruses that hitchhike their way to humans by thumbing a ride with insects or other pests like rats.