Dr. Anjali Sharma is an Assistant professor within the Department of Chemistry at Washington State University (WSU), located in Pullman. Her academic journey is marked by a deep-rooted commitment to advancing the field of Materials Chemistry in Medicine, earning her a Ph.D. from McGill University focusing on designing nanomaterials for drug delivery. Following this, she completed her postdoctoral training at the Center for Nanomedicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she specialized in dendrimer nanomedicines. At Johns Hopkins, Dr. Sharma ascended to the role of Research Faculty Member, where her work focused on the development of targeted nanotherapies, particularly in addressing critical healthcare needs within central nervous system and inflammatory disorders. Her contributions played a pivotal role in advancing dendrimer-based drugs, some of which are now progressing through human clinical trials.

            Transitioning to WSU, Dr. Sharma now spearheads the "Translational Nanomedicines Research Laboratory," where her interdisciplinary research endeavors are aimed at developing rationally designed and clinically applicable nanostructures. Her primary objective is to engineer smart and scalable targeted therapies capable of traversing multiple biological barriers, thereby addressing unmet medical needs across a spectrum of diseases. Dr. Sharma has published over 40 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals and is the inventor of more than 20 patents and invention disclosures.

Dr. Rishi Sharma, Ph.D., serves as the Director of Business Development at the College of Arts and Sciences at Washington State University and is a Co-Founder of Partha Therapeutics. He obtained his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Canada under the mentorship of Dr. René Roy, a pioneer in glycodendrimers. During his graduate studies, he developed a novel synthetic approach for dendrimer synthesis known as the "Onion Peel Approach”. This novel approach streamlined the creation of scalable and seamless dendritic structures, earning recognition for its efficiency and precision. After completing his Ph.D., he joined Johns Hopkins Center for Nanomedicine as a postdoctoral fellow. During his tenure at Johns Hopkins University, he developed the scalable and improved synthetic protocol of OP-101, a Dendrimer-N-acetyl cysteine conjugate, which has reached phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of Covid-19 (NCT04458298). Additionally, he designed and developed an innovative polyethylene glycol-based dendrimer platform that can traverse the blood-brain barrier when administered systemically, targeting neuroinflammation in various animal models of central nervous system (CNS) disorders.

After completing his tenure at Johns Hopkins University, he joined Ashvattha Therapeutics, a Johns Hopkins spin-off. Dr. Sharma led an R & D team at the Ashvattha and established the pipeline of dendrimer based targeted nanotherapies ranging from neurodegenerative, ocular, cancer, and liver disorders. His leadership facilitated the development of approximately 100 dendrimer-drug conjugates targeting multiple drug targets, with notable successes including D-4517.2 (Phase 2) and OP-801 (Phase 1/2), both progressing to clinical stages. Dr. Sharma's contributions extend beyond the laboratory, with over 40 high-impact scientific manuscripts published and more than 50 patents filed and 10 granted. He's grateful for the opportunity to be part of something meaningful and hopes his work can play a small role in making the world a better place.