Spring Convocation - Students - University of Saskatchewan

Earned Doctor of ScienceRajendra K. SharmaRajendra (Raj) K. Sharma was born in Hathras,India, and obtained a B.Sc. and M.Sc. from AligarhUniversity. He was awarded a Research Fellowship fromthe Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in Indiafor a Ph.D. in Biochemistry at AllIndia Institute of Medical Sciences,New Delhi. Dr. Sharma’s outstandingwork was published in the prestigiousJournal of Biological Chemistry.Awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowshipfrom the U.S. National ScienceFoundation, Dr. Sharma joined TuftsUniversity School of Medicine inBoston where his major interest wasthe folate enzyme thymidylatesynthetase, a target for cancerchemotherapeutic drugs. Dr. Sharmamoved to the University of Manitobaand then the University of Calgary,making several milestone discoveriesin the area of signal transductionsystems during his time at these institutions.Dr. Sharma joined the Department of Pathology in theCollege of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewanas an Associate Professor in 1991 and was promoted tofull professor in 1996. He is a Research Scientist in theCancer Research Centre of the Saskatchewan CancerAgency. Dr. Sharma also holds Associate Memberships inthe departments of Pharmacology and Surgery.Dr. Sharma has made oustanding contributions in thearea of colon cancer, demonstrating for the first timethe role of N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) in a ratmodel as well as in patients undergoing resection forcolon cancer. This study indicated that a significantincrease in NMT activity and expression appears at anearly stage of colon cancer.Dr. Sharma has had a long-standinginterest in biochemical regulatorymechanisms in areas involving thecardiovascular system, certain braintumors and colorectal cancer. He hasdiscovered and purified more than adozen new proteins, mostly related tothe area of signal transduction, andhas published 153 papers (115 fulllengthrefereed papers and 38 bookchapters and review articles) and coediteda book on Signal TransductionMechanisms. Dr. Sharma’s research issupported by the Canadian Institutesof Health Research and the Heart andStroke Foundation of Saskatchewan.Dr. Sharma has collaborated withseveral faculties (including the Plant BiotechnologyInstitute, National Research Council of Canada andwith several universities and institutions in Canada, theUnited States, France, India and Hong Kong); hastrained several post-doctoral fellows and students nowestablished worldwide; and has arranged symposiumsboth nationally and internationally.Dr. Sharma is a dedicated and outstanding scientist withan international reputation for conducting innovativeresearch in widely disparate areas involving enzymology,signal transduction and cancer. His scientific endeavoursare held in high esteem by the international scientificcommunity.University of Saskatchewan72004 Spring Convocation