Sunil Sharma, MD

Chief of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine
Senior Director of Clinical Research, Huntsman Cancer Institute
Director, HCI Center for Investigational Therapeutics
Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Utah
Jon & Karen Huntsman Presidential Professor in Cancer Research

Sunil Sharma, MD, is chief of medical oncology for the Department of Internal Medicine and senior director of clinical research at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI). Sharma is also a director of the Center for Investigational Therapeutics at HCI and a professor in the School of Medicine at the University of Utah. At HCI, he is a member of the Experimental Therapeutics Program. He holds a Jon and Karen Huntsman Presidential Professorship in Cancer Research.

Sharma is an expert in the development and testing of new cancer therapies. At HCI, he is working to increase the portfolio of high-quality clinical trials, including phase I trials. He is also establishing a translational oncology lab to support related studies. In addition, his clinical interests are focused on treatment of patients with gastrointestinal cancers (colon, pancreatic, esophageal, rectal, liver), mesothelioma, and rare tumors (carcinoid, neuroendocrine tumors, and carcinomas of unknown primarys).

Before joining HCI, Sharma built a phase I clinical trials program at the Nevada Cancer Institute where he oversaw more than 25 clinical trials. He led a global oncology drug development program at the drug manufacturing company Novartis. He also worked as a physician in the Division of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York City. He earned a medical degree at the University of Delhi, New Delhi, India.