Overview of Science and Mission
People Behind the Science
About the People
Willard Sharp, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Sharp hearlds an unique and extensive research background and training in basic science and the medical field. Dr. Sharp obtained his Ph.D in Anantomy and Physiology/Biomedical Science in 1994 from the University of South Carolina for his studies in how mechanical forces impact protein synthesis and cytoskeletal organization in cardiac muscle cells. He then did a Post-Doctoral fellowship at the University of Illinois at Chicago investigating how mechanical forces impact the localization and synthesis of muscle proteins in the cardiac cell. Dr. Sharp then pursued further training and received his medical degree from the University of South Carolina in 2003, and completed his residency training program in Emergency Medicine at the University of Michigan in 2007. This background in cardiac cell biology offers Dr. Sharp a unique perspective of "life on the cellular level" and how that directly relates to ischemia and reperfusion.
Dr. Sharp not only has a strong commitment to research, but to his patients and community as well. As a teenager he became an Eagle Scout and taught First Aid and Emergency Preparedness which fostered and interest in medicine. During medical school he was awarded a Rotary Ambassadorial Fellowship to Oxford University, Oxford, England, where he studied gene therapy for Cystic Fibrosis and raised awareness for Cystic Fibrosis research by organizing a fun run through the local Rotary Club. In 2007, he received a Citizens Award from the Canton, Michigan fire department for assisting with a cardiac arrest victim.
Dr. Sharp joined the University of Chicago faculty in August of 2007. His interests lie in the inter-related areas of ischemia/reperfusion injury, cardiac arrest, reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial dysfunction. Currently, his research is focused on the cardioprotective therapy of hypothermia and the impacts of Akt and p53 regulated pathways following ischmeia/reperfusion injury. The goal of this research is to discover potential pharmacological targets to decrease cellular injury followng heart attacks and cardiac arrest.