Her Story
About Tasneem
Dr. Tasneem Sharma is a vision scientist and academic leader with a background in glaucoma research, stem cell biology, and retinal disease therapeutics, currently serving as Associate Professor at Indiana University School of Medicine. She previously served as Research Scientist and Postdoctoral Fellow at UNT Health Science Center, where she characterized an ex-vivo pressurized chamber system for translaminar pressure modulation, differentiated human induced pluripotent stem cells to retinal ganglion cells, and developed novel glaucoma therapeutics for neuroprotection. She also served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Iowa, where she reprogrammed patient-specific fibroblasts to induced pluripotent stem cells, generated 3D retinal organoids, and applied CRISPR-Cas9-based genome editing and gene therapy. She holds a PhD in Visual Sciences from UNT Health Science Center. She attributes her success to her mentors who have guided her throughout her professional and personal life.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Tasneem
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my mentors. They have guided me throughout my professional and sometimes personal life, and having someone who has your back no matter what is very important. All my mentors have stayed mentors for life.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
No task is impossible. We create our own glass ceilings sometimes, but there is no limit. You can't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footsteps on the moon. We inhibit our own selves, so if we feel like there are boundaries, only you can push through those boundaries.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge is funding. Funding rates are lower than they used to be, there's a lot of competition for research dollars, and costs like gloves and cell culture are going up while we have limited money to stretch.
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