He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Botany with Honors in Zoology; and Master’s and Ph.D. degrees with specialization in Molecular Genetics and Cytogenetics from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. Dr. Sharma’s PhD work focused on the molecular cytogenetic study of heterochromatin and chromosomal evolution. He further trained in the fields of chromosome organization, genomic instability, DNA repair, histone acetylation and epigenetics of radiation response during his post-doctoral training from Columbia University in New York City and Washington University in St. Louis. He joined the department in 2002. The overarching goal of research in his laboratory is to gain molecular insights for developing future prevention and intervention strategies of more effective and efficient treatment of cancers.