You are here

BCRF Grantee Since


Donor Recognition

The Planet Fitness Award

Dipali Sharma, PhD

Associate Professor of Oncology
Kimmel Cancer Center
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland

Current Research

Obesity is a known risk factor for post-menopausal breast cancer and is associated with worse outcome in breast cancer patients at any age, but the reasons for this are poorly understood. Dr. Sharma’s team is studying how molecular changes caused by obesity promote breast cancer development, progression and metastasis (tumor spreading), with the goal of developing new preventive strategies. Work in her laboratory suggests that leptin, a protein found at high levels in obese individuals, is a major cause of breast cancer progression and metastasis. In laboratory studies, Dr. Sharma showed that a natural compound called honokiol, found in the bark of magnolia trees, was able to prevent leptin-induced cancer growth. In the coming year, she will examine possible combination therapies and further evaluate the molecular interactions between honokiol and leptin to determine whether honokiol may be effective in preventing obesity-related breast cancer.


Dr. Sharma is an Associate Professor in the Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. She obtained her doctorate in Molecular Biology and Oncology from the University of Delhi. She then completed fellowships at both the University of Maryland and the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center training under the mentorship of Dr. Nancy Davidson.

The prevalence of obesity, an epidemic of major proportions in the United States today, has risen steadily over the last several decades. Research on the biological mechanisms underpinning the link between cancer and obesity is clearly a vitally important area, with major implications for both public health and fundamental cancer research. Dr. Sharma focuses on investigating the molecular links between obesity and cancer, emphasizing aspects that have potential clinical significance. Her studies on obesity-related hormones, adipocytokines, showed that leptin promotes the proliferative response and metastatic potential as well as modulates the expression of various genes involved in cell cycle, apoptosis and metastasis. Dr. Sharma is currently examining the potential of adiponectin as an antagonist using innovative approaches including nanotechnology to investigate these important aspects in obesity-breast tumorigenesis connection. Her lab is exploring the genes, molecules, hormones and cellular processes that could cause and promote cancer in obese people. Using various physiologically relevant models and cell lines, their aim is to find molecular targets that can be disrupted to break the obesity-cancer axis. She is exploring new strategies to disrupt the obesity-cancer connection using novel small molecule inhibitors as well as bioactive food components. Her overall goal is to understand the molecular networks by which obesity affects carcinogenesis and discover novel agents to effectively disrupt obesity-cancer axis.