Anu Sharma is an American

audiologist Audiology (from Latin 'to hear'; and from Greek branch of learning , ''-logia'') is a branch of science that studies hearing, balance, and related disorders. Audiologists treat those with hearing loss and proactively prevent related damage. By ...

and academic. She is a professor in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Science and a fellow at the Institute for Cognitive Science and Center for Neuroscience at

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...

. She is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Otolaryngology and Audiology at the

University of Colorado Denver The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) is a Public university, public research university located in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is part of the University of Colorado system. Established in 1912 as an extension of the University of C ...

Medical School. Sharma received her doctorate at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

while working under

Nina Kraus Nina Kraus is a professor at Northwestern University, investigating the neural encoding of speech and music and its plasticity where she is the Hugh S. Knowles Chair. Her Auditory Neuroscience Lab, also known as Brainvolts, examines the biologic ...

, PhD.

Research

Sharma researches the impact of

hearing loss Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spo ...

on the brain. Her research includes examining the effects of auditory deprivation on development and re-organisation of the central

auditory pathway The auditory system is the sensory system for the sense of hearing. It includes both the sensory organs (the ears) and the auditory parts of the sensory system. System overview The outer ear funnels sound vibrations to the eardrum, increas ...

s, and on cross-modal compensatory plasticity from visual and

somatosensory The somatosensory system, or somatic sensory system is a subset of the sensory nervous system. The main functions of the somatosensory system are the perception of external stimuli, the perception of internal stimuli, and the regulation of bod ...

modalities. She also looks at the effects of intervention with

hearing aid A hearing aid is a device designed to improve hearing by making sound audible to a person with hearing loss. Hearing aids are classified as medical devices in most countries, and regulated by the respective regulations. Small audio amplifiers ...

s and

cochlear implant A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted Neuroprosthetics, neuroprosthesis that provides a person who has moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss with sound perception. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants may allow for imp ...

s on

cortical plasticity Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity or just plasticity, is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to reorganize and rewire its neural ...

and behavioural outcomes. Further, Sharma has an interest in

neuroplasticity Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity or just plasticity, is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through neurogenesis, growth and reorganization. Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to reorganize and rewir ...

for both infants and young children and age-related hearing loss in older adults.

Funding and publications

Sharma's research has been funded by

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

(NIH) since 2001. Her work has been published in journals such as ''

Hearing Research The ''Hearing Research'' is a peer-reviewed monthly journal that publishes research work with basic peripheral and central auditory mechanisms. Indexing and abstracting According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the journal has a 2017 impact ...

'', '' PLOS ONE'', ''Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience'', ''Ear and Hearing'', and ''Journal of Communication Disorders''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharma, Anu Audiologists American women academics Living people Northwestern University alumni Place of birth missing (living people) University of Colorado Boulder faculty University of Colorado Denver faculty Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women