Anjali Sharma
Pharmaceutical Sciences

Anjali Sharma

Associate Professor

734/647-9732

[email protected]

College of Pharmacy
1007 E Huron St
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1628

4268 Pharm

Sharma Lab

Role Overview and Bio

Dr. Anjali Sharma is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Michigan, where she leads the Sharma Laboratory (Translational Nanomedicine Research Laboratory). Prior to joining the University of Michigan in 2026, she was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Washington State University, where she founded and directed the Translational Nanomedicine Research Laboratory. Dr. Sharma earned her Ph.D. in Materials Chemistry from McGill University and completed her postdoctoral training in translational nanomedicine at the Center for Nanomedicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her research program integrates chemistry, materials science, nanotechnology, engineering, and medicine to develop clinically translatable, target-specific nanotherapeutics for drug delivery, gene delivery, and molecular imaging.

Research Interests

  • Overcoming Biological Barriers

    Engineering nanomedicines capable of crossing physiological barriers, including:

    • Blood-brain barrier
    • Blood-retinal barrier
    • Blood-tumor barrier

  • Nanomedicine for Neurological Disorders

    Development of targeted systemic therapies for traumatic brain injury, neurodegeneration, stroke, and other central nervous system diseases.

  • Ocular Drug Delivery

    Targeted nanotherapeutics for proliferative retinopathies, corneal neovascularization, ocular inflammation/infection, and vision preservation.

  • Nanotechnology for Cancer Therapy

    Targeted delivery strategies for solid tumors, including prostate cancer.

  • Translational Biomaterials Engineering

    Development of scalable manufacturing methods, quality-by-design strategies, and reproducible nanomedicines to accelerate clinical translation.

Selected Publications

    1. Rani, A.; Bisen, S.; Sharma, R.; Dar, AI.; Dhull, A.; Palmer, NJ.; Singh, NK.*; Sharma, A*. Systemic targeting of aberrant neovascular tufts using trehalose-dendrimer nanocarriers for the treatment of proliferative retinopathies. Theranostics 2026; 16(3):1504-1527.
    2. Ghosh, ; Pulukuri, AJ.; Dar, AI.; Dhull, A.; Biswas, A.; Sharma, R.; Sharma, A*., PSMA-Targeted Dendrimer Delivery of Sorafenib Enhances MAPK Suppression and Anti-Angiogenic Activity in Prostate Cancer. J. Med. Chem.2026; 69 (13): 15786-15812.
    3. Rani, A.; Sharma, R.; Jain, VJ; Pulukuri, AJ.; Ghosh, R.; Zhang, Z.; Sharma, A*. Exploring the power of metal-free click transformations towards the synthesis of highly functionalized dendrimers for applications in drug delivery. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2025;17(51):69134–69149
    4. Harvey, ME.; Shi, M.; Oh, Y.; Mitchell, DA.; Luo, A.; Slayden, OD.; MacLean II JA.; Sharma, A.; Hayashi, K*. Repeatedly occurring retrograde menstruation intensifies central sensitization driven by neuroinflammation in endometriosis. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2026 136, 10, 10.1172/JCI194136.
    5. Dhull, A.; Pulukuri, AJ.; Dar, AI.; Palmer, NJ.; Gonzalez, J.; Sharma, R.; Berkman, CE.; Sharma, A*. Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA)-Directed Dendrimer–Camptothecin Conjugate for Targeted Treatment of Prostate Cancer. ACS Applied Nanomaterials; 2025, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.5c03528
    6. Pulukuri, AJ.; Dhull, A.; Dar, AI.; Sharma, R.; Berkman, CE.; Sharma, A*. Dendrimer-Mediated Delivery Enhances Therapeutic Efficacy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. Biomacromolecules; 2025, 26, 9, 5979–6000
    7. Dar, AI.; Zhang, Z.; Gopalakishnan, S.; Sharma, R.; Castaneda, JG.; Rani, A.; Dhull, A.; Atoui, T.; Mashal, Y.; Naseer, Z.; Calmi, J.; Sharma, A*. Neuron-Targeted 2-Deoxyglucose-Dendrimer-Rosiglitazone Nanotherapy Mitigates Neuroinflammation and Cognitive Deficits in Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury. Bioengineering & Translational Medicine, 2025;
    8. Castaneda, JG.; Park, KW.; Evans,; Sharma, R.; Sahaym, O.; Gopalakrishnan; S.; Dar, AI.; Valdez; T.; Sharma, A*. Nano approaches to gene delivery: barriers, solutions, and current landscape. Invited Review, WIRES Nanomedicine & Nanobiotechnology; 2025 17(2):e70010.
    9. Dar, AI.; Jain, V.; Castaneda, JG.; Dhull, A.; Sharma, A*. Silibinin Conjugated Galactose Dendrimers for Targeted Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2025; 17, 14, 20980–21000.
    10. Dhull, A.; Park, KW.; Dar, AI.; Wang, A.; Rani, A.; Valdez, T.; Sharma, A*. Mixed-layered glycodendrimer probe for imaging inflammation at surgical site infections. ACS Sensors, 2025, 10, 3, 2234–2243.
    11. Gok, O.; Sharma, A.; Kambhampati, SP.; Khoury, ES.; Kannan, S.; Kannan, RM. Sustained and Step-Wise Drug Release by a Novel Double Responsive Dendrimer-N-Acetylcysteine Conjugate. Biomacromolecules2025, 26, 7, 4274–4285.
    12. Huang, M.; Li, Y.; Thomas, AG.; Sharma, A.; Liyanage, W.; Tichý, T.; Tenora, L. et al. Inhibition of microglial glutaminase alleviates chronic stress-induced neurobehavioral and cognitive deficits. Neurotherapeutics; 2025, e00759. doi: 10.1016/j.neurot.2025.e00759.
    13. Nair, RR.; Sarkar, A.; Hariharan, P.; Gabrielson, KL.; Wu, T.; Liu. C.; Sharma, A.; Liyanage, W.; Bhujwalla, ZM.; Panet Vidaver, M-F.; Kannan. RM.; and Sofou, S. Low-dose temozolomide selectively increases glioblastoma’s vascular permeability, tumor microenvironment penetration and the killing potential of systemic actinium-225 α-particle dendrimer-radioconjugates improving treatment efficacy. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and molecular Imaging, 2025, 52, 4308–4319.
    14. Rani, A.; Pulukuri, AJ.; Wei, J.; Dhull, A.; Dar, AI.; Sharma, R.; Mesbahi, N.; Savoy, EA.; Yoon, H.; Wu, BJ; Berkman CE.; Sharma, A*. PSMA-targeted 2-deoxyglucose-based dendrimer nanomedicine for the treatment of prostate cancer. Biomacromolecules, 2024 25, 9, 6164–6180
    15. Dhull, A.; Zhang, Z.; Sharma, R.; Dar, AI.; Rani, R.; Wei, J.; Gopalakrishnan, S.; Ghannam, A.; Hahn, V.; Pulukuri, AJ.; Tasevski. S.; Moughni, S.; Wu, J.; Sharma, A.* Discovery of 2-deoxy glucose surfaced mixed layer dendrimer: a smart neuron targeted systemic drug delivery system for brain diseases. Theranostics, 2024, 14(8): 3221-3245.
    16. Dhull, A.; Wei, J.; Pulukuri, AJ.; Rani, A.; Sharma, R.; Mesbahi, N.; Yoon, H.; Savoy, EA.; Vi, SX.; Goody, KJ, Berkman CE.; Wu, BJ; Sharma, A*. PSMA-targeted dendrimer as an efficient anticancer drug delivery vehicle for prostate cancer. Nanoscale, 2024, 16(11):5634-5652.
    17. Sharma, A,; Sah, N.; Sharma, R.; Vyas, P.; Liyanage, W.; Kannan, S.; Kannan RM. Development of a novel glucose‐dendrimer based therapeutic targeting hyperexcitable neurons in neurological disorders. BioEngineering & Translational Medicine. 2024; e10655.
    18. Dhull, A.; Yu, C.; Wilmoth, AH.; Chen, M.; Sharma, A.*; Yiu S.* Dendrimers in Corneal Drug Delivery: Recent Developments and Translational Opportunities. Pharmaceutics 2023, 15 (6), 1591.
    19. Porterfield, JE.; Sharma, R.; Jimenez, AS.; McCracken, S.; Zhang, L.; An, HT.; Lee, S.; Kannan, S.; Sharma, A.*; Kannan, RM*. Galactosylated hydroxyl-polyamidoamine dendrimer targets hepatocytes and improves therapeutic outcomes in a severe model of acetaminophen poisoning-induced liver failure. BioEngineering & Translational Medicine; 2023, 8(3):e10486.

     

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