Shobhona Sharma
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, India
Biography
Shobhona Sharma has been exploring various aspects of the malaria parasite over several years at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India. One of the major focuses of her lab has been the study of acquired immunity to malaria. Through a differential immunoscreen using sera samples from Eastern India, her group identified several novel protective malarial proteins. Of these, she has studied the structure and novel functions of Plasmodia ribosomal P-proteins extensively. Her metabolic monitoring of disease progression provides understanding of certain biochemical signatures. In collaboration with pharmacologists, her group also explores nanolipid carrier-mediated delivery of antimalarials. Recent results have shown that nano-lipid-carrier mediated delivery of antimalarial drugs and specific antibodies holds great promise in malaria control.