Title: Director, Commercialization Practice
Category: Senior Professional
Education: B.S., M.S., Microbiology; Ph.D., Life Sciences (Immunology); J.D.
Dr. Sharma received her Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Bombay, India and J.D. from Boston University School of Law. She has over twelve years of life sciences R&D experience in diverse Infectious diseases with an emphasis on understanding the causative agent’s biology and the host responses to infection towards the development of vaccines/therapeutics/diagnostics. Her post-doctoral research stint at Vanderbilt Medical Center led to the discovery of virulence genes that differentiated Helicobacter pylori strains causing gastritis and peptic ulceration/cancer. Subsequently, Smita focused her endeavors in intellectual property commercialization in the biotechnology/pharmaceutical sectors. This included law firm and in-house corporate positions and encompassed driving commercialization of scientific innovations, patent strategy and procurement, IP licensing and IP management.