Dr. Megha Sharma’s research goals and activities are centered around improving outcomes of neonates with hypoxic lung disease. She was trained in a pulmonary vascular biology lab where she conducted hypothesis driven investigation of mechanisms of impaired angiogenesis in Persistent Pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. Since joining UAMS and Arkansas Children’s as faculty, Dr. Sharma has transitioned to a clinical research portfolio. She first completed an Implementation Science Scholarship program where she leveraged Implementation Science and mixed methods approaches to improve physician stewardship of reducing iatrogenic blood losses in very preterm infants. In addition to successfully achieving the primary outcomes of lab utilization, blood out, lab charges and skin-breaking painful procedures, she also published her manuscript as lead author in Pediatrics. She also advanced her research knowledge and analytical skills by completing a 2-year Master’s in Clinical and Translational Sciences through the UAMS graduate school with support from the Translational Research Institute. She is funded through two competitive grant mechanisms – Marion B Lyon New Scientist Development Award and the KL2 Career Development Award through the National Center of Advancing Translational Sciences (NIH) and the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute.
Dr. Sharma leads several NIH, institutional, and industry-funded clinical trials as a site-principal investigator. In her role as Associate Director for Clinical Research in neonatology, Dr. Sharma also supervises the conduct of about 12 active multicenter clinical trials in the section of neonatology. Recent academic accolades also include election to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and the Red Sash Award for outstanding teaching of medical students.
PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS
Orcid ID: 0000-0002-9807-1856
My NCBI Bibliography: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/megha.sharma.7/bibliography/public/
· McArthur, E., Murthy, K., Zaniletti, I., Sharma, M., Lagatta, J., Ball, M., Porta, N., Grover, T., Levy, P., Padula, M., Hamrick, S., Vyas-Read, S., & CHNC Severe BPD and Cardiology Focus Groups (2024). Neonatal Risk Factors for Pulmonary Vein Stenosis in Infants Born Preterm with Severe Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia. The Journal of pediatrics, 275, 114252. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2024.114252
· Sharma M, Bowman E, Zheng F, Spencer HJ, Shukri S, Gates K, Williams M, Peeples S, Hall RW, Schootman M, Landes SJ, Curran GM. Reducing Iatrogenic Blood Losses in Premature Infants. Pediatrics, Sept 2024.
· Dalby ST, Courtney SE, Sharma M, Angtuaco MJ. Transcatheter patent ductus arteriosus closure in premature infants requiring high-frequency ventilation. Cardiol Young. 2024 Apr 11:1-3. doi: 10.1017/S1047951124000702. PMID: 38602097.
· Sharma M, Brown AW, Powell NM, Rajaram N, Tong L, Mourani PM, Schootman M. Racial and skin color mediated disparities in pulse oximetry in infants and young children. Paediatr Respir Rev. 2024 Jan 5:S1526-0542(24)00001-0. doi: 10.1016/j.prrv.2023.12.006. PMID: 38233229.
· Savrik C, Sharma M, Burrow T, Beavers J. Apnea and acidosis in a newborn. Neoreviews Mar 2024.
· Pugh CP, Ali S, Agarwal A, Matlock DN, Sharma M. Dynamic Computed Tomography for Evaluation of Tracheobronchomalacia in Premature Infants with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2023;10.1002/ppul.26652
· Sharma M, Callan E, Konduri GG. Pulmonary Vasodilator Therapy in Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn. Clin Perinatol. 2022;49(1):103-125
· ElHassan NO, Sharma M, Akmyradov C, Kaiser JR, Goudie A, Nembhard WN. Childhood Educational Outcomes of Children Born with Gastroschisis. J Pediatr. 2022;240:110-116.e3.4
· Sharma M, Rana U, Joshi C, et al. Decreased Cyclic Guanosine Monophosphate-Protein Kinase G Signaling Impairs Angiogenesis in a Lamb Model of Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2021;65(5):555-567
· Sharma M, Hu X, Geddes GC, Acharya K. Microcephalic Newborn with Forehead Nevus Flammeus, Bulging Eyes, and Clenched Fists. Neoreviews. 2019;20(3):e170-e173
· Yadav K, Sharma M, Agarwal S, Bhatia N, Yadav N. Aortic pseudoaneurysm & endocarditis caused by Aerococcus viridans: A case report and literature review. Cardiovasc Revasc Med. 2018;19(2):201-203
· Sharma M, Yadav K, Yadav N, Ferdinand KC. Zika virus pandemic-analysis of Facebook as a social media health information platform. Am J Infect Control. 2017;45(3):301-302
· Sharma M, Afolayan AJ. Redox Signaling and Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2017;967:277-287
· Sharma M, Yadav K. Zika Virus Pandemic – Misconceptions and its Implications. Clinics Mother Child Health. 2016. doi:10.4172/2090-7214.1000e109
· Yadav K, Sharma M, Ferdinand KC. Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors: Present perspectives and future horizons. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2016;26(10):853-862
· Srinivasan L, Swarr DT, Sharma M, Cotten CM, Kirpalani H. Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Gene Association Studies in Neonatal Sepsis. Am J Perinatol. 2017;34(7):684-692
· Sharma M, Calderwood W, Iacobas I. Latero-cervical mass in a teenager proves NOT to be lymphoma. Drexel Medical Journal. 2012