Krishna K. Sharma, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor (Organic & Medicinal Chemistry)
- sharmakk@etsu.edu
- 423-439-6910
- 460 Brown Hall
Note: Currently recruiting graduate, integrated B.S.-M.S., and undergraduate students. Interested students are encouraged to email. Summer fellowship opportunities are available.
Education and Training
| Years | Degree/Role | Institution |
| 2010 | B.S. (Pharmaceutical Science) | Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University |
| 2012 | M.S. (Medicinal Chemistry) | National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), S.A.S. Nagar |
| 2017 | Ph.D. (Medicinal Chemistry) | National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), S.A.S. Nagar |
| 2017-2019 | Post-Doctoral Researcher | University of Kansas |
| 2019-2021 | Post-Doctoral Researcher | Ohio State University |
| 2021-2026 | Senior Research Scientist | Iowa State University |
Short Bio
Dr. Krishna K. Sharma joined East Tennessee State University (ETSU) in Spring 2026 as an Assistant Professor. He received M.S. (Pharm.) and PhD degrees from the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Mohali, India. He did postdoctoral research at the School of Pharmacy at the University of Kansas and the College of Pharmacy at the Ohio State University. Prior to joining ETSU, he worked as a Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Chemistry at Iowa State University.
Courses Taught
CHEM-2020 - Organic Chemistry II
CHEM 4010/5010: Seminar in Chemistry
Research
My laboratory focuses on medicinal chemistry, peptide chemistry, and drug design to enable the development of peptide therapeutics. By leveraging expertise in medicinal chemistry, organic chemistry,
peptide chemistry, chemical biology and pharmaceutical sciences, the foundational studies in my laboratory focus on developing novel peptide chemistry approaches to understand the structure-function-property of peptides and exploit disease targets and biological pathways for therapeutic development.
Research Foci
(1) Chemical Tools for Improving Pharmacological Profiles of Peptides
(2) Cell Permeable Macrocyclic Peptides for Targeting Intracellular ‘Undruggable’ Protein-Protein Interactions
(3) Strain-Selective Antibiotics with Unique Mechanisms of Action
(4) Chemical Approaches for Selective Modification of Peptides
Selected Publications
Sharma, K.K.,* Sharma, K., Rao, K., Sharma, A., Rathod, G.K., Aaghaz, S., Sehra, N., Parmar, R., VanVeller, B and Jain, R. "Unnatural amino acids: strategies, designs and applications in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery." J. Med. Chem., 2024, 67, 19932–19965. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c00110
Wall, B.J., Sharma, K.K., O’Brien, E.A., Donovan, A. and VanVeller, B. “General installation of (4H)-imidazolone cis-amide bioisosteres along the peptide backbone.” J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2024, 146, 11648–11656. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.3c13825
Sharma, K.,† Sharma, K.K.,† Sharma, A. and Jain, R. “Peptide-based drug discovery: current status and recent advancements.” Drug Discovery Today, 2023, 28, 103464. DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2022.103464.
O’Brien, E.A., Sharma, K.K., Byerly-Duke, J., Camacho III, L.A. and VanVeller, B. “A general strategy to install amidine functional groups along the peptide backbone.” J. Am. Chem. Soc, 2022, 144, 49, 22397–22402. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c09085.
Sharma, K.K.,† Cassell, R.J.,† Meqbil, Y.J., Su, H., Blaine, A.T., Cummins, B.R., Mores, K.L., Johnson, D.K., van Rijn, R.M. and Altman, R.A. “Modulating β-arrestin-2 recruitment at the µ and δ-opioid receptors using peptidomimetic ligands.” RSC Med. Chem., 2021, 12, 1958–1967. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1039/D1MD00025J
Sharma, K.K., Ravi, R., Maurya, I.K., Kapadia, A., Khan, S.I., Kumar, V., Tikoo, K. and Jain, R. “Modified histidine containing amphipathic ultrashort antifungal peptide, His[2-p-(n-butyl)phenyl]-Trp-Arg-OMe exhibits potent anticryptococcal activity.” Eur. J. Med. Chem., 2021, 223, 113635. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2021.113635