Adjunct Faculty
Adjunct faculty typically have an academic or research appointment at another institution and contribute or collaborate with one or more School of Medicine faculty members or programs.
Adjunct rank detailsLokesh Kumar Sharma, PhD
Assistant Professor AdjunctAbout
Research
Publications
2026
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-D Improves Lung Vascular Integrity During Acute Lung Injury.
Yoon Y, Sharma L, Tang W, Kirk S, Raredon M, Ahangari F, Khoury J, Qian H, Ke Y, Tulapurkar M, Liu R, Luan Y, Yuan Q, Chen L, Birukov K, Simons M, Wu D, Niklason L, Kaminski N, Yuan Y. Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-D Improves Lung Vascular Integrity During Acute Lung Injury. Circulation Research 2026 PMID: 41822962, PMCID: PMC13007730, DOI: 10.1161/circresaha.124.326094.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchVEGF-DAcute lung injuryBarrier-protective effectsVascular integrityLung injuryLipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury modelIntravenous administrationTNF-aParacrine signalingModel of acute lung injuryPulmonary vascular integrityLigand-receptor interactionsImmune cell infiltrationAcute lung injury modelLung vascular integrityVEGFR2-dependent signalingLung injury modelEndothelial barrier integrityEndothelial barrier functionRNA sequencing dataMicrovascular endothelial cellsInhibition of VEGFR2Microvascular nichePharmacological blockadeAssociated with pathwaysEpidermal growth factor receptor regulates Beclin-1 in hyperoxic acute lung injury
Harris Z, Korde A, Khoury J, Manning E, Stanley G, Shin Y, Mitchell K, von der Schulenburg A, Sun Y, Hu B, Shin H, Joerns J, Clark B, Placek L, Unutmaz D, Moldobaeva A, Sharma L, Sauler M, Rajagopalan G, Zhang X, Wang H, Ghaedi M, Kang M, Koff J. Epidermal growth factor receptor regulates Beclin-1 in hyperoxic acute lung injury. BMJ Open Respiratory Research 2026, 13: e003323. PMID: 41592865, PMCID: PMC12853440, DOI: 10.1136/bmjresp-2025-003323.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsEpidermal growth factor receptorAcute lung injuryHyperoxic ALIHyperoxic acute lung injuryGrowth factor receptorIn vivo effectsLung injuryOxidant-mediated acute lung injuryFactor receptorIntensive care unit mortalityExposure to high oxygenAlveolar type II cellsDelivery of supplemental oxygenPulmonary cell deathLife-saving therapyPluripotent stem cellsType II cellsNormoxia controlSupplemental oxygenUnit mortalityAlveolar epitheliumBeclin-1Cell death pathwaysStem cellsTherapeutic potentialA clinically interpretable prediction model for acute mortality in patients with pneumonia requiring mechanical ventilation
Hu H, Zu Y, Zhao L, Zhang Q, Zhou G, Xu P, Zhao A, Yin F, Sharma L, Chang D. A clinically interpretable prediction model for acute mortality in patients with pneumonia requiring mechanical ventilation. Respiratory Research 2026, 27: 126. PMID: 41731516, PMCID: PMC12980919, DOI: 10.1186/s12931-026-03581-x.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchArea under the curveDecision curve analysisShort-term mortalityIntensive care unitInterpretable prediction modelsPrecision-recallMechanical ventilationWeb-based calculatorSOFA scoreMachine learning algorithmsOptimal resource allocationClinical net benefitEarly mechanical ventilationHigh-risk patientsEarly risk stratificationMultiple independent cohortsFeature selectionLearning algorithmsHigh-risk populationIndividual risk assessmentPerformance metricsMIMIC-IVPrediction modelUrine outputModel interpretation
2025
Integrative single-cell RNA and ATAC sequencing reveals the impact of chronic cigarette smoking on lung epithelial responses to influenza and hyperoxia
Cha P, Zou Z, Nouws J, Brewster R, Dela Cruz C, Sharma L, Yan X, Sauler M. Integrative single-cell RNA and ATAC sequencing reveals the impact of chronic cigarette smoking on lung epithelial responses to influenza and hyperoxia. Respiratory Research 2025, 27: 13. PMID: 41366391, PMCID: PMC12801856, DOI: 10.1186/s12931-025-03393-5.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchChronic CS exposureTranscription factor motif enrichmentCS exposureEpithelial programETS family factorsSusceptibility to acute lung injuryResponse to influenzaMotif enrichmentATAC-seqAcute lung injuryTranscriptional regulationSingle-cell RNAATAC sequencingEpigenetic contextEpithelial subsetsEpithelial responsesProof-of-principle studyLung injuryDifferentiation pathwayChanges in vivoBackgroundCigarette smokingInflammatory signalingAberrant responsesCiliated cellsHyperoxiaStroke-associated pneumonia impairs neurological recovery through upregulation of interferon signaling in mice 3035
Velazquez S, Simoes L, Boisserand B, Sharma L, Tran T, Chen B, Kim J, Dela Cruz C, Sansing L. Stroke-associated pneumonia impairs neurological recovery through upregulation of interferon signaling in mice 3035. The Journal Of Immunology 2025, 214 DOI: 10.1093/jimmun/vkaf283.877.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchTransient middle cerebral artery occlusionLong-term deficitsClinical complicationsUpregulation of interferon signalingCD8+ T cellsMiddle cerebral artery occlusionIntratracheal inoculationCerebral artery occlusionStroke-associated pneumoniaIL-6 productionIFNy productionWhite blood cellsSham miceImmune infiltrationLy6G+ neutrophilsSham surgeryT cellsImmune cellsNeurological deficitsPoor outcomeNeurological recoveryInfected miceArtery occlusionIL-6Klebsiella pneumoniaeA familial case of Birt–Hogg–Dubé syndrome complicated with lung cancer: a case report and literature review
Feng J, Yu Y, Liu Y, Ding Y, Mu J, Jiang R, Sharma L, Jie Z. A familial case of Birt–Hogg–Dubé syndrome complicated with lung cancer: a case report and literature review. Frontiers In Medicine 2025, 12: 1581786. PMID: 40630489, PMCID: PMC12234290, DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1581786.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchFLCN mutationsPulmonary cystsRare familial casesLung cancerLung adenocarcinomaFamilial casesGenetic testingBilateral pulmonary cystsPathogenic FLCN mutationsPrimary lung adenocarcinomaInvasive lung adenocarcinomaAutosomal dominant disorderRenal tumorsSpontaneous pneumothoracesSevere hyperthyroidismClinical courseFLCN geneCutaneous fibrofolliculomasCase reportTumor progressionGermline mutationsPersistent coughDominant disorderTumor suppressor proteinLiver injuryIL‐6 signaling regulates the inflammatory response without impacting pathogen burden during influenza‐associated pulmonary aspergillosis
Sharma L, Singh R, Tolman N, Ngeow C, Duray A, Naghshtabrizi N, Ahmad A, Bain W, Robinson K. IL‐6 signaling regulates the inflammatory response without impacting pathogen burden during influenza‐associated pulmonary aspergillosis. Physiological Reports 2025, 13: e70372. PMID: 40420617, PMCID: PMC12106949, DOI: 10.14814/phy2.70372.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsAF infectionAspergillus fumigatusInterleukin-6IL-6 signalingLung inflammationInfluenza-associated pulmonary aspergillosisInterleukin-6 knockout miceNeutrophilic lung inflammationBronchoalveolar lavage fluidEpithelial cell damageLung capillary permeabilitySusceptibility to opportunistic pathogensPulmonary aspergillosisClinical courseLavage fluidKnockout miceOpportunistic pathogenRAGE levelsEpithelial integrityMouse modelIL-6Pathological inflammationTissue injuryInflammatory responseViral infectionProphylactic anticoagulant therapy is associated with improved survival in ICU patients with non-COVID-19 pneumonia: a retrospective cohort study
Hu H, Zhu Y, Hu R, Zhao L, Zeng X, Wu X, Qiu R, Nie Y, Sharma L, Chang D. Prophylactic anticoagulant therapy is associated with improved survival in ICU patients with non-COVID-19 pneumonia: a retrospective cohort study. Frontiers In Pharmacology 2025, 16: 1597885. PMID: 40406481, PMCID: PMC12095157, DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1597885.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchProphylactic anticoagulant therapyShort-term mortalityKaplan-Meier survival analysisAnticoagulant therapyICU patientsPropensity score matchingPulmonary infectionImproved survivalNon-COVID-19Subgroup analysisNon-COVID-19 pneumoniaDuration of anticoagulant therapyAssociated with improved survivalMultivariate Cox regression modelSurvival analysisEffect of anticoagulant therapyMedical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV databaseCox regression analysisRetrospective cohort studyAssociated with reduced short-term mortalityOptimal administration strategiesCox regression modelsPrognostic factorsAnticoagulation groupCoagulation disordersEpidermal Growth Factor Receptor Regulates Beclin-1 and Autophagy in Hyperoxic Acute Lung Injury
Harris Z, Korde A, Khoury J, Manning E, Stanley G, Sun Y, Hu B, Shin H, Joerns J, Clark B, Mitchell K, Placek L, Unutmaz D, Moldobaeva A, Sharma L, Sauler M, Rajagopalan G, Zhang X, Wang H, Ghaedi M, Kang M, Koff J. Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Regulates Beclin-1 and Autophagy in Hyperoxic Acute Lung Injury. American Journal Of Respiratory And Critical Care Medicine 2025, 211: a2472-a2472. DOI: 10.1164/ajrccm.2025.211.abstracts.a2472.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchLower Respiratory Tract C. Albicans Induces Lung Injury in Mice and Associates With Lung Injury Endpoints in Humans
Tolman N, Choi W, Alder J, Tabary M, Qin S, Wang X, Zhang Y, Tu Y, Sharma L, Bon J, Robinson K, Snyder M, Dela Cruz C, Nguyen M, Morris A, Biswas P, Bain W, Kitsios G. Lower Respiratory Tract C. Albicans Induces Lung Injury in Mice and Associates With Lung Injury Endpoints in Humans. American Journal Of Respiratory And Critical Care Medicine 2025, 211: a2825-a2825. DOI: 10.1164/ajrccm.2025.211.abstracts.a2825.Peer-Reviewed Original Research