Dr Shiwani Sharma

Dr Shiwani Sharma pursues cardiovascular research at the Vascular Research Centre, Lifelong Health Theme, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI). She is contributing to stem cell research focused on a novel and unique population of adult progenitor cells with vasculogenic capacity and role in vascular regeneration in health and disease. She utilizes animal models of vascular diseases, cell culture systems and cutting-edge technologies such as single-cell RNA sequencing, multi-coloured immunolabelling and confocal microscopy for this research. She has published this research in Nature Communications. She is interested in extending this research to analogous human progenitor cells for harnessing their therapeutic potential for regenerative medicine. 

Dr Sharma is also keen to initiate vascular research in scleroderma, an autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation, fibrosis and vasculopathy with the aim of investigating the causes of peripheral vascular abnormalities and digital ulcers that contribute to medical management burden in this disease.  

Prior to cardiovascular research, Dr Sharma pursued ophthalmic research in the College of Medicine and Public Health for over twenty years. She focused on decipehring the molecular mechanisms underlying genetically predisposed eye diseases, including corneal dystrophies, cataract and glaucoma. She published this research in leading scientific journals, including Nature Genetics, Nature Communications, American Journal of Human Genetics, Human Molecular Genetics and Journal of Cell Science. She presented this research at international and national scientific meetings organised by the International Society for Eye Research, Asia and Oceania Society for Photobiology, and Australian Society of Biochemists and Molecular Biologists as an invited speaker.