Robert Sharp, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow


RobertSharp

Dr. Sharp started his postdoctoral associate work with Dr. Todd Brusko at the University of Florida in January, 2019.  Dr. Sharp’s area of study involves examining immunoregulation in type 1 diabetes, focusing on lymphocyte regulation genes including PTPN22 (protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 22), SIRPG (signal regulatory protein gamma), and cluster of differentiation 47 (CD47). Using the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats with Cas9 (CRISPR-Cas9) system, Dr. Sharp developed models in CD8+ T-cells and natural killer cells in order to examine the roles of PTPN22, SIRPG and CD47 in pancreatic beta cell destruction in type 1 diabetes. Dr. Sharp received his doctoral degree at University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, focusing his work on SNPs found in the T-cell negative regulation genes protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 2 and type 22 (PTPN2 and PTPN22) along with the bacterial infection of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) in Crohn’s disease (CD) and in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients under the mentorship of Dr. Saleh Naser.  His pre-doctoral work also included collaboration with Red Hill Biopharma for the RHB-104 treatment for CD patients. 

His current effort at Brusko Lab focuses on discovering new biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for type 1 diabetes (T1D) pathology with emphasis on T-cell regulation collaborating with the Network for Pancreatic Organ Donors with Diabetes (nPOD) and Human Atlas of Neonatal Development and Early Life-Immunity (HANDEL-I) projects.


Grants and Fellowship

Experimental Pathology Innovative Grant (2908EPIG)
Sharp (PI). 8/29/2019-5/31/2020. University of Florida Pathology Department. Modeling of the SIRPy and CD47 Pathway in the Pathogenesis of Type 1 Diabetes

HIRN Emerging Leaders in T1D (U24DK104162)

Sharp (PI). 4/1/2021-6/30/2022. Human Islet Research Network (HIRN). The SIRP:CD47 Signaling Pathway in Pancreatic Beta Cells


Publications

  • Sharp RC*, Brown ME*, Shapiro MR, Posgai AL and Brusko TM (2021) The Immunoregulatory Role of the Signal Regulatory Protein Family and CD47 Signaling Pathway in Type 1 DiabetesFront. Immunol. 12:739048. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.739048
  • Shapiro, M.R., Thirawatananond, P., Peters, L., Sharp, R.C., Ogundare, S., Posgai, A.L., Perry, D.J. and Brusko, T.M. (2021), De‐coding genetic risk variants in type 1 diabetes. Immunol Cell Biol. https://doi.org/10.1111/imcb.12438
  • Naser A, Odeh AK, Sharp RC, Qasem A, Beg SA, Naser SA. Polymorphisms in TNF Receptor Superfamily 1B (TNFRSF1B:rs3397) are Linked to Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis Infection and Osteoporosis in Rheumatoid Arthritis. Microorganisms, 2019 Dec 7(12): 646. PMID:31817071; PMCID:PMC6955732
  • Sharp RC. Role of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in PTPN2/22 and Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) in rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease. Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2018 Dec 6225
  • Sharp RC, Naser ES, Alcedo KP, Qasem A, Abdelli LS, Naser SA. Development of multiplex PCR and multi-color fluorescent in situ hybridization (m-FISH) coupled protocol for detection and imaging of multi-pathogens involved in inflammatory bowel disease. Gut Pathog. 2018 Dec 10:51. PubMed PMID: 30534203; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6280354
  • Cao BL, Qasem A, Sharp RC, Abdelli LS, Naser SA. Systematic review and meta-analysis on the association of tuberculosis in Crohn’s disease patients treated with tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors (anti-TNFα). World J Gastroenterol. 2018 Jul 7;24(25):2764-2775. PubMed PMID:29991880; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6034143
  • Sharp RC, Beg SA, Naser SA. Pathophysiology of rheumatoid arthritis is associated with polymorphisms in Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Non-receptor type 2 and 22 (PTPN2/22) and susceptibility to Mycobacteria. J Immunol. 2018 May 200;166.12
  • Sharp RC, Beg SA, Naser SA. Role of PTPN2/22 polymorphisms in pathophysiology of Crohn’s disease. World J Gastroenterol. 2018 Feb 14;24(6):657-670. PubMed PMID: 29456405; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5807669
  • Sharp RC, Beg SA, Naser SA. Polymorphisms in Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Non-receptor type 2 and 22 (PTPN2/22) are linked to hyper-proliferative T-cells and susceptibility to Mycobacteria in rheumatoid arthritis. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2018 Jan 25;8:11. PubMed PMID: 29423382; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5788942
  • Sharp RC, Abdulrahim M, Naser ES, Naser SA. Genetic variations of PTPN2 and PTPN22: role in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes and Crohn’s disease. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2015 Dec 24;5:95. PubMed PMID: 26734582; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4689782

Biographical Sketch


Curriculum Vitae


Contact

Lab: (352) 273-9300

Email: rsharp07@ufl.edu