Hema Sharma

Dr Hema Sharma is a Clinical Research Fellow with CIPM working under Professor Shiranee Sriskandan in the laboratory-based work-stream 2 “network in clinical infection diagnostics”.  It involves a close collaboration with Dr Angela Kearns, Head of the Staphylococcal Reference Laboratory, Centre for Infections at the Health Protection Agency.

The aim of her work with CIPM is to investigate the pathogenesis of infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus with special attention to the ‘superantigen’ staphylococcal toxins. This will include extended toxin genotyping, the investigation of factors that affect superantigen gene expression and the impact of exposure to superantigens in vivo and in vitro.

Background

Hema Sharma is a physician training in Infectious Diseases, Medical Microbiology and Virology in the London Deanery. She has worked within the Infection specialties at The Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust and Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospitals NHS Trust. As a junior doctor she trained medically at Whipps Cross University Hospital, St George’s Healthcare Trust and at Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Trust. She completed her house jobs at Southampton General Hospital and Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth.

Alongside her clinical training she has obtained the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Membership of the Royal College of Physicians(UK) Infectious Diseases and is currently studying for a Masters in Clinical Microbiology at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary, University of London. She completed her undergraduate medical degree and intercalated BSc. in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Southampton.