Spotlight on Padmanee Sharma: Conquering Cancer through Resilience and Innovation
Born in Guyana in 1970, Padmanee Sharma is a world renowned physician, immunologist, and cancer scientist. She is best known for her work on understanding the tumour microenvironment and the immune response to renal, prostate, and bladder cancers.
Although, her life and career has had no shortage of struggles to overcome, Padmanee has uncovered inspiration through hardship. When she was just seven years old, a nasty fall down a flight of stairs left Padmanee in hospital in a coma for three months. Luckily, she awoke from this stint with only a scar and loss of feeling in her arm – and a newfound passion to become a doctor.
Many years of hard work and dedication later, and Dr. Sharma now holds the position of Professor of Genitourinary Medicinal Oncology and Immunology. On top of this, she is Scientific Director of Immunotherapy Platform at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and an inaugural adjunct member of its James P. Allison Institute, where she is Director of Scientific Programs.
Her acclaimed career has earned her a collection of accolades, including the William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Tumour Immunology in 2018 and the 2008 Prostate Cancer Foundation Challenge Award.
Another award, the ASCO Young Investigator Award was granted to her for her work on a study investigating the bladder cancer antigen NY-ESO-1 in 2003, which kicked off a shining career in cancer research.
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Dr. Sharma pioneered the first neoadjuvant clinical trial with immune checkpoint therapy in 2006 which outlined the safety and efficacy of early stage immuno-oncology therapies. Moreover, her work provided the first clinical demonstration of bladder tumours responding to immune checkpoint therapy.
Along with the developing immune checkpoint therapies, her research also has contributed to the development of personalised immunotherapies and combination therapies that target various aspects of the immune system to enhance anti-tumour responses.
She has studied and worked at various institutions over the years, starting at Boston University in 1990, where she earned her undergraduate degree in biology. From there, she moved to Pennsylvania State University, where she acquired a Medical Doctorate and a PhD in immunology.
After working residencies in New York, she continues her dedication to ending cancer at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
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