Akshay Sharma, MBBS, MPH, PhD

Dr. Sharma is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Biological Sciences at the University of Michigan School of Nursing. He received his PhD in epidemiology from Emory University’s Laney Graduate School in Atlanta, GA. Prior to this he obtained an MPH from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, and a medical degree (MBBS) from Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute in Bangalore, India. Before joining the University of Michigan, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow and Epidemiologic Methods Course Instructor at Emory University.

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Dr. Sharma’s research interests include examining new approaches for increasing the frequency of HIV testing among men who have sex with men in the United States, with a focus on rapid home HIV self-testing. He is also interested in evaluating behavioral and biomedical interventions for HIV prevention, and epidemiologic study design and methodological issues such as identifying analytical approaches to improve the detection of true underlying benefits of primary prevention strategies. Before moving to the United States, Dr. Sharma was involved in community HIV and STD risk reduction activities such as encouraging safe sex and promoting the use of barrier contraceptives in rural areas in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.