Shreya Sharma

Shreya Sharma first discovered Arizona State University while searching for a program that offered a degree in biomedical engineering — a perfect match for her passion for health care.

Throughout Sharma’s life she has been inspired by robotics, coding and medical advancements. She chose to study biomedical engineering after her father experienced a kidney transplant.

“Given my family’s history with transplants, helping care for people going through the transplant process is something I relate to,” she says.

Among her proudest accomplishments is her capstone project — developing an organ-on-a-chip model to simulate idiopathic subglottic stenosis. Working alongside a Mayo Clinic otolaryngologist, Sharma shadowed patients.

“I never thought I’d get the chance to work on organ chips, much less build a concept from scratch and execute it,” she says.

Sharma studied computational engineering in Assistant Professor Christopher Plaisier’s lab, and had summer research internships at the Schork Lab at TGen, the Berman Institute of Bioethics at Johns Hopkins and the Wyss Institute at Harvard.

Following her summer research experience at Johns Hopkins, Sharma was invited to present her work at the National Human Genome Research Institute’s annual meeting. She was the only undergraduate student selected to deliver a 10-minute presentation focused on the impact of genomic studies. 

“I genuinely believe that a degree in BME is one of the most powerful ways to support patients and improve lives,” she says. “Whether it’s developing medical devices, refining diagnostic tools, or engineering new treatments, everything I learn is ultimately about helping people live longer, healthier and more comfortable lives.”

Outside the classroom, Sharma is committed to mentorship and community engagement. She has served as a teaching assistant each semester, a peer mentor for two years and a leader of the ASU School of Human Evolution and Social Change peer mentor program for a year.

Mentoring first-generation and low-income students is personal for Sharma, as many of her high school peers didn’t have the same college opportunities.

“Helping students reach their full potential is one of the most meaningful parts of my college experience,” she says.

Sharma was also a part of ASU Silver Wings, a military-affiliated volunteer organization where she served as its head of outreach, vice president and president.

In the future, Sharma expects to apply all she has learned about biomedical engineering to develop medical technologies and advance regenerative medicine.

“People assume biomedical engineering is all about prosthetics, but it’s deeply rooted in chemistry, biology and computational methods,” she says.

Sharma is planning to pursue a dual doctorate in medicine and biomedical engineering to continue conducting research in tissue engineering.

Read about other exceptional graduates of the Fulton Schools’ spring 2025 class here.