KEY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Interdisciplinary research environment
  • Cutting-edge technologies & skilled faculty
  • Approach research questions with in vitro models, animals models, patient samples, functional “-omics” techniques, bioinformatics, and computational biology
  • Translational research – from drug development to biomarker discovery and validation
  • Big Data Analytics

Curriculum

Admission Criteria

Program Website

Center for Biotechnology & Genomic Medicine

Tuition and Fees

 

Contact Us

Patricia L. Cameron, PhD
Vice Dean, The Graduate School
(706) 721- 3278
BIOMED@augusta.edu

ASK A QUESTION

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The Genomic Medicine program provides an outstanding research environment for studying principles and practice of genomic medicine including genetics, genomic, proteomic, drug discovery, pharmacogenomics, and computational data analysis. 

Students will learn from experts how to use modern, high throughput technologies, in vitro and in vivo models, and patient data to study human diseases, create diagnostic tools, and develop new therapies. Contributing faculty expertise includes genomics, proteomics, molecular biology, drug discovery, computational biology, and bioinformatics. Our distinguished faculty teach how to approach fundamental and complex biological questions with these techniques in a variety of research areas – from diabetes to cancer to vision research.

MEET THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Ashok Sharma, PhD Program Director

"I invite you to join our community of genomic and proteomic scientists seeking to find solutions to disease prediction, prevention and the delivery of personalized medicine." 
Ashok Sharma, PhD


Dr. Sharma is a Tenured Associate Professor in the Center for Biotechnology and Genomic Medicine at Augusta University. With a background in computer science and a PhD in Genomic Medicine, Dr. Sharma has experience in both the computational and biological aspects of biomedical research. His research focus is on the development of biologically meaningful algorithms for comprehensive analysis and the visualization of high-throughput data by incorporating biological knowledge and rigorous computational methods. In the last decade, biomedical research has been revolutionized by the advent of high-throughput technologies that can generate large amounts of data. Unlocking the meaningful biological information contained inside high-throughput data is a big challenge for bench biologists. He works with an interdisciplinary team to carry out bioinformatics analysis and pursue research projects in collaboration with other biologists. He has authored more than 50 full-length papers in peer-reviewed journals. Additionally, he has developed and published two software tools, HPCluster and ParaSAM, which are useful for analyses of gene expression datasets. Currently, he is working on the analysis of large-scale proteomic and genomic measurements from patients with Diabetic Retinopathy and Glaucoma. In 2019, Dr. Sharma received the prestigious “Outstanding Young Basic Science Faculty” award from the Medical College of Georgia. 

Dr. Sharma has been the Associate Editor of the “Frontiers in Non-Coding RNA” journal since 2011. He is an editorial board member of “Medical Genomics and Biomarkers” and has served as a reviewer for several scientific journals.

Dr. Sharma is the Program Director of the Ph.D. program in Genomic Medicine, to which he has been one of the major contributors. He is the course director of Computational Methods in Genomics and Genetics, a course that is required for all Genomic Medicine graduate students. In addition to coursework, Dr. Sharma has been an active member of several student committees and continues to play a crucial role in the education of graduate students.

Program Information

Ashok Sharma, PhD 
Program Director
 assharma@augusta.edu

 

Debbie Ellison
Program Administrator 
(706) 721-3433
 dellison@augusta.edu

Student Profile

 

Stepan Budkin

"I enjoy my Functional Genomics and Proteomics, as well as Computational Methods courses. The former teaches me about techniques that are used in the field of Genomic Medicine and their application. Whereas the second introduces me to the field of Bioinformatics that is used to decode the massive data that the newly advanced machinery generates."

 Stepan Budkin >>