Anu Sharma

Anu Sharma is a neuroscientist and auditory researcher noted for contributions to auditory neuroscience, neuroplasticity, and hearing rehabilitation. Her work bridges laboratory models, clinical audiology, and neural imaging, informing interventions for hearing loss and cochlear implant outcomes. She has held positions at major research universities and collaborated with clinical centers and international research consortia.

Early life and education

Sharma completed undergraduate studies at University of Delhi and pursued graduate training at University of Maryland, College Park and University of Pittsburgh. She trained in auditory neuroscience under mentors affiliated with National Institutes of Health and participated in research programs connected to National Science Foundation and Wellcome Trust. Early fellowships included associations with McGill University and visiting scholar appointments at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Academic and professional career

Sharma held faculty appointments in departments affiliated with University of Colorado Boulder and later with University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, collaborating with investigators at Johns Hopkins University, Harvard Medical School, and University College London. She directed research laboratories that partnered with clinical centers such as Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic and contributed to multicenter trials coordinated through National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders initiatives. Her professional service includes leadership roles in organizations like Association for Research in Otolaryngology, Acoustical Society of America, and advisory panels for World Health Organization hearing health programs.

Research and contributions

Sharma's research advanced understanding of cortical reorganization following sensory deprivation, neural plasticity in pediatric and adult populations, and cortical correlates of speech perception with sensory prostheses. She employed methodologies spanning electroencephalography, magnetoencephalography, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and behavioral audiometry, collaborating with groups at University of California, San Francisco, Stanford University, and University of Cambridge. Key contributions addressed cross-modal plasticity observed in National Institute of Mental Health-funded studies, developmental sensitive periods referenced alongside work from Kennedy Krieger Institute and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and predictors of cochlear implant success analyzed in conjunction with teams from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Texas Children's Hospital. Her lab examined acoustic scene analysis topics related to research at Bell Laboratories and auditory attention mechanisms studied by colleagues at Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences and Karolinska Institutet.

Awards and honors

Sharma received honors from professional bodies including the Association for Research in Otolaryngology early career award and fellowships supported by National Institutes of Health grants and Royal Society exchange awards. Her work earned recognition in institutional awards from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and invitations to serve on panels for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the European Research Council review boards. She delivered named lectures at conferences organized by Society for Neuroscience and International Congress on Acoustics.

Selected publications

- Sharma A., et al. "Cortical reorganization following auditory deprivation and implantation" in Journal of Neuroscience — integrates neuroimaging and behavioral measures compared with studies at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. - Sharma A., et al. "Sensitive periods and auditory development in pediatric populations" in Nature Communications — contextualized with research from Stanford University and University of Washington. - Sharma A., et al. "Cross-modal plasticity and speech perception with cochlear implants" in Trends in Neurosciences — compared to analyses from McMaster University and University of Oxford. - Sharma A., et al. "Neural predictors of cochlear implant outcomes" in Hearing Research — referenced alongside clinical cohorts at Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins Hospital. - Sharma A., et al. "Electrophysiological markers of auditory cortical maturation" in Clinical Neurophysiology — methodology aligned with labs at University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University.

Category:Neuroscientists Category:Auditory neuroscience