The Sharma laboratory has a multifaceted research program focused on answering the question of why some women are predisposed to pregnancy complications. We believe that these problems may originate from abnormal immune and hormonal responses during pregnancy. The hypothesis is that anti-inflammatory intrauterine milieu controlled by cytokines and pregnancy hormones is crucial to fetal development and pregnancy success.

Institutions

Wih

Research Description

Dr. Surendra Sharma is Professor and Deputy Director of Center of Biomedical Research Excellence at Women and Infants Hospital—Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA. He is an internationally known investigator in the field of Immune Programming of Pregnancy and Associated Disorders and was recently awarded the Honorary Doctor of Medicine Degree from Linkoping University Faculty of Health Sciences, Linkoping, Sweden. He serves as a permanent member on review boards for the NIH and the American Diabetes Association as well as on editorial boards of several journals. His academic interests are as follows. Gestational outcomes are programmed at the time of implantation and during early pregnancy, apparently in defiance of the normal immunological laws of tissue transplantation. The process of normal implantation and early pregnancy success is regulated by exquisite integration and coordination of an array of biological processes. The molecular basis of this roadmap is diverse and not fully understood. The Sharma laboratory has a multifaceted research program focused on answering the question of why some women are predisposed to pregnancy complications. We believe that these problems may originate from abnormal immune and hormonal responses during pregnancy. The hypothesis is that anti-inflammatory intrauterine milieu controlled by cytokines and pregnancy hormones is crucial to fetal development and pregnancy success.

Awards

The Honorary Doctor of Medicine Lecture to Faculty of Health Sciences
Linkoping University Hospital, SWEDEN, May 11, 2006.

Affiliations

American Association of Immunologists, 1999-Present

American Society for Reproductive Immunology, 2001-Present

American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1999-Present

American Society for Reproductive Medicine, 2003-Present

Administrative:
Counselor to the Board, American Society for Reproductive Immunology, 2003-2006

Funded Research

RO1-HD41701-01
NIH/NICHD
Principal Investigator: Surendra Sharma 15%
Polymorphisms in IL-10 Locus Predispose to Preterm Birth
Period: 09/01/2002-08/31/2007 $257,000/yr
The major goal of this project is to investigate the etiology of
Preterm births with a focus on the incidence in African American population.
These studies will focus on the immunogenetic role of IL-10 in this pregnancy disorder.

RO 1-HL65719-01A1
NIH/NHLBI
Principal Investigator: Jack Nassau (S. Sharma, Women & Infants Principal Investigator) 10%
Stress and Immunity in Pediatric Asthma
Period: 07/01/2002-06/30/2005 $260,000/yr
The major goal of this project is to investigate the effect of stress on the immune
function in pediatric asthma patients.

1 P20 RR018728-01
NIH
Principal Investigator: James Padbury (S. Sharma, Deputy Director) 5%
COBRE for Perinatal Biology
Period: 10/01/2003-09/30/2008 $1,570,000/yr
The major goals of this project are to increase our understanding of cardiopulmonary
development, immune programming of pregnancy, and help to develop strategies
for new therapeutic interventions by defining how several of these events impact
fetal and newborn development.

1-04-TLG-14
American Diabetes Association
Principal Investigator: Surendra Sharma 10%
Immune Programming of Gestational Diabetes (1-04-TLG-14)
Period: 01/01/2004-12/31/2007 $100,000/yr
The major goals of this project are to examine the mutually inclusive roles of
placental development, IL-10, and glucose in normal and GDM pregnancy providing
insights into the immune and cytokine programming of GDM.

NICHD 02025
NIH
Co-Investigator: Surendra Sharma 10%
Research on Scope & Causes of Stillbirth in the United States
Period: 09/26/2003-09/25/2008 $846,000
The major goals of the proposal are to establish a tissue bank for stillbirth deliveries
and to study the pathogenesis of stillbirth.

P42ES013660-01
NIEHS Superfund Projects
Project Leader: Surendra Sharma
State-based Approach to Complex Exposures (PI: Kim Boekelhiede)
Sub Project: Genetic Stress and Toxicant-Induced Pregnancy Disruption
Period: 01/01/2005-12/31/2010 $219,592/yr
This project focuses on the influence of environmental toxicants on pregnancy
outcome in mice genetically disrupted at cytokine loci.

N0-1HD-2-3342, Sub-contract WSU05056, Perinatology Branch, NICHD, NIH and Detroit
PI: Surendra Sharma
Effect of Ascending Infections on Birth—A Mouse Model
Period: 09/01/2005-08/31/2007 $79,000/year
This project focuses on establishing a mouse model to study the role of ascending
infections in the female genital tract on the incidence of preterm birth.

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