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Staff Profile

Dr Dishant Sharma

Research Associate

Background

Dishant is a Research Associate at the Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University.

EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATION

  • Sep 2023- Till date Post-Doctoral Associate, Nephrology, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, 
  • May 2021- May 2023        Post-Doctoral Associate, Ophthalmology, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, UK.
  • Sept 2019- Feb 2020   Post-Doctoral Associate, Horae Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
  • Feb 2018-Aug 2019      Post-Doctoral Associate (maternity cover), Metabolic Medicine Group, Dept. of Medicine, University of Cambridge, UK.
  • Jan 2016-May 2016          Lecturer Biology (Part-Time), International College Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK.
  • Sept 2012- May 2017       PhD Biomedical Science/Gene Therapy, Molecular Medicine Group, University of Portsmouth, UK.
  • June 2009-June 2010       Research Assistant, National JALMA Institute of Leprosy & Other Mycobacterial Diseases, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India.
  • June 2006-June 2007       Lecturer Biotechnology, Swaminarayan Gurukul, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
  • Sept 2003- July 2005        MSc Biotechnology, Bangalore University, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
  • Sept 2000- July 2003        BSc Zoology-Botany-Chemistry, Agra University, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. 


Research

He is working on a project, “Use of antisense oligonucleotides as personalised therapies for kidney diseases”. This is related to Renal ciliopathies: disease mechanisms and therapeutics. Nephronophthisis (NPHP), an autosomal recessive primary ciliopathy, is the most common cause of end-stage renal disease in children and young adults. Our research has revealed a critical role for hedgehog signalling in NPHP such that chemical agonists of smoothened can ameliorate disease phenotypes [Hynes et al.2014. PNAS 111:9893-8; Srivastava et al. 2017. Hum Mol Genet 26:4657-67]. Subsequently, we have demonstrated the therapeutic potential of exon-skipping antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) in patient cells and mouse models in vivo [Ramsbottom et al. 2018. PNAS 115: 12489-94; Molinari et al. 2019. Sci Rep 9:10828]. We now wish to exploit a novel murine model of NPHP and use ASOs to determine the exact therapeutic benefit and tissue delivery and assess off-target effects as a prelude to first-in-man studies.

Teaching

He worked as a full time and a part-time lecturer,

  • Jan-May 2016 Lecturer Biology (Part-Time), International College Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK.
  • June 2006-June 2007 Lecturer Biotechnology, Swaminarayan Gurukul, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.

He supervised undergraduate and master students for project work,

  • Feb 2015- Aug 2015. University of Portsmouth, UK. One MSc Student’s project titled, “Analysis of reporter gene expression in mdx muscle”. Two BSc Biomedicine Student projects titled, “The Comparison of expression of the dystrophin minigene in dystrophic myoblast and wild-type myoblast cells” and “Effect of doxycycline on dystrophic myoblast and wild-type myoblast cells following transfection of the dystrophin minigene”.
  • March 2010- July 2010 National JALMA Institute of Leprosy & Other Mycobacterial Diseases, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. One MSc Student’s project titled, “Study the gene expression profile of laboratory strain H37Rv of mycobacteria tuberculosis”.
Publications