Staff Profile

Dr. Bhawna Sharma

Designation: Scientist D

Division/Unit: Immunology

Email: sharma[dot]bhawna[at]icmr[dot]gov[dot]in

Educational Qualification

Ph. D (Microbiology)

Personal Statement

Dr. Bhawna Sharma is working as Scientist-D at ICMR-National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis – JALMA North India Campus, Agra. She specializes in the immunology of infectious mycobacterial diseases, particularly Tuberculosis and Leprosy. She earned her PhD from the Department of Immunology ICMR-NJIL & OMD, affiliated with Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University, Agra. With over more than 13 years of dedicated research experience, she has published more than 20 research articles in national and international peer-reviewed journals. Her work focuses on host-pathogen interactions, the role of T cell subsets as diagnostic and therapeutic targets, and mechanisms of T cell activation in TB and Leprosy. In 2017, she received the prestigious DBT BioCare award for women scientists. Committed to advancing immunological insights into mycobacterial infections, she continues to contribute meaningfully to biomedical research aimed at better diagnostics and control strategies forthese challengingdiseases

Research Focus

• Mycobacterial Diseases (Tuberculosis and Leprosy)
• Host pathogen interactions
• Cell Signaling pathways
• TB Vaccine
• Biomarkers

Ongoing projects as Principal investigator

Investigating the negative regulation of Cytokine Signaling in leprosy reactions by Suppressor of cytokine signalling (SOCS) molecules. Funding Agency- ICMR under Adhoc Scheme

Significant Publications

1. Sharma B, Joshi B and Kumar S (2025) Impact of anti-TB drugs on modulations of T-cell-receptor-mediated signalling events in TB pleurisy patients. Front. Immunol. 16:1645200. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1645200. IF-5.9

2. Sharma N, Joshi B, Sharma B, Kumar S, Mohanty KK, Prakash H. Customized MHC Class I & II restricted peptides from clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis tweak strong cellular immune response in Healthy individuals and Pulmonary Tuberculosis patients: A potential candidate in vaccine design, Tuberculosis, Volume 152,2025, 102640, ISSN 1472-9792. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tube.2025.102640. IF-2.9

3. Pathak VK, Singh I, Sharma B, Turankar RP, Arora M, Singh SV, Sengupta U. Unveiling the role of NK cells, NKT-like cells, and γδ cells in pathogenesis of type 1 reactions in leprosy. Heliyon. 2024 Jan 29;10(3):e25254. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25254. IF-3.4

4. Sharma B, Rathour D, Uddin S, Joshi B, Chauhan DS, KumarS. Exploring modulations in T cell receptor mediated T cell signalling events in systemic circulation and at local disease site of patients with tubercular pleural effusion: An attempt to understand pathogenesis of Tuberculosis at local disease site. Frontiers in Medicine. 2022; 9:983605. DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2022.983605. IF- 3.1

5. Sharma B, Dua B, Joshi B. (2020). Investigating role of Mycobacterium tuberculosis secretory antigens in altering activation of T cell signaling events in Jurkat T cells. International Journal of Mycobacteriology; 9:405‑10. IF-1.26

6. Upadhyay R, Dua B, Sharma B, Natarajan M, Jain AK, Balaji KN, Joshi B. Transcription factors STAT4, STAT6 and CREB regulate Th1/Th2 response in leprosy patients: Effect of M. leprae antigens. BMC Infect Dis. 2019,19: 52. IF-3.4

7. Singh A, Dar MY, Joshi B, Sharma B, Srivastava S, Shukla S. Phytofabrication of Silver nanoparticles: Novel Drug to overcome hepatocellular ailments. Toxicology Reports. 2018; 5:333-42. IF-4.807

8. Sharma, B, Upadhyay R, Dua, B, Khan NA, Katoch VM, Bajaj B and Joshi B. Mycobacterium tuberculosis secretory proteins downregulate T cell activation by interfering with proximal and downstream T cell signalling events. BMC Immunology 2015; 16:67. DOI 10.1186/s12865-015-0128-6. IF- 2.9

9. Dagur PK, Sharma B, Upadhyay R, Katoch VM, Sengupta U and Joshi B. Phenolic-glycolipid-1 and lipoarabinomannan preferentially modulate TCR and CD28-triggered proximal biochemical events, leading to T-cell unresponsiveness in mycobacterial diseases. Lipids in Health and Disease 2012, 11:119. IF-3.9

10. Farazuddin M, Sharma B, Khan AA, Joshi, B, Mohammad O. Anticancer efficacy of perillyl alcohol-bearing PLGA microparticles. International Journal of Nanomedicine 2012; 7: 35-47. IF-6.7