Front row left to right: Quadrat Yusuph, Sandeep Misra, Godson Orachor, MingMing Zhao,
(Back row left to right: Dalton Shults, Lyle Tobin, Ajay Sharma, Sayed Mobarak, Anter Shami, Joshua Sharp
Principal Investigator
Joshua S. Sharp, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Pharmacology
Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
The University of Mississippi
School of Pharmacy
Department of BioMolecular Sciences
Contact: jsharp@olemiss.edu
662-915-1758
445 Faser Hall, 72 University Ave.,
University, MS 38677
Graduate Students
Postdoctoral Research Associates
Ajay Sharma
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Pharmacy
Bio – I am an experienced analytical chemist with a strong foundation in organic chemistry, natural
products, food chemistry, and biochemistry. I completed my Graduation (Chemistry, Zoology &
Botany – 2009) from Govt. College Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India; Master’s Degree (Major – Chemistry,
Minor – Biochemistry – 2011) from Punjab Agriculture University Ludhiana, Punjab India; and Ph.D.
(Organic Chemistry, Natural Products – 2019) from SLIET (Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering &
Technology, Deemed University) Punjab India with Inspire Fellowship.
Research – Experienced analytical chemist with a strong foundation in mass spectrometry, food
chemistry, and biochemistry. Skilled in the characterization and identification of compounds using a
diverse range of analytical techniques, Mass spectrometry, LCMS/MS, GC-MS, GC-MS/MS, and
GCGC-TOF. Additionally, well-versed in method development and validation for the identification of
various small molecules, contaminants, adulterants, and plant toxins using chromatographic
techniques coupled with Mass spectrometry.
Experience – Currently, I serve as a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Biomolecular
Science, University of Mississippi (April 2024 – till date). I worked as Senior Executive – Food
Adulteration at NFSI (Nestle Food Safety Institute), Nestle R&D Centre, Manesar, Gurgaon, India (July
2022 – March 2024). Before Joining Nestle, I worked as an Assistant Professor at the University
Centre for Research and Development, Department of Chemistry, Chandigarh University, Mohali,
India (August 2018 – July 2022). In total, I have more than 6 years’ experience in research and
teaching.
Current work – Evaluation of various application of hydroxyl radical protein foot printing using newly
developed technology [Flash Oxidation (Fox) Protein Footprinting System] along and LCMS/MS for
structural characterization protein.
Contact: asharm18@olemiss.edu
Mingming Zhao
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Dr. Mingming Zhao earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Macau. She has been involved in the development and application of advanced mass spectrometry techniques (GC-MS, LC-MS) for both targeted and untargeted metabolomics, with a focus on discovering marker compounds of pharmaceutical interest.
Currently, Dr. Zhao is pioneering the development of a mass spectrometry-based radical protein footprinting approach to study the structural pharmacology of protein pharmaceuticals in whole blood. Her research centers on characterizing protein conformation and interactions within the native biomedical matrix of whole blood from type 2 diabetes models. Additionally, Dr. Zhao serves as a guest associate editor for the Journal of Frontiers in Pharmacology.
Contact: mzhao3@olemiss.edu
Undergraduate Students
Lyle Tobin
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Majors: Biochemistry, & Classics
Contact: ltobin@go.olemiss.edu