M.D.
Medical Oncologist and Hematologist, City of Hope Atlanta
Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, India
Internal Medicine - AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, Atlantic City, NJ
Hematology Oncology - Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
Hematology and Oncology – American Board of Internal Medicine
Dr. Nitika Sharma joined City of Hope in Atlanta, Georgia, in February 2022 as a Medical Oncologist. In her role at City of Hope, Dr. Sharma evaluates and treats patients with a wide range of types and stages of cancer, with expertise in thoracic, gastrointestinal (GI) and breast cancers.
"I strive to put the patient first at all times and value the bond and trust the patients put in you for their care," says Dr. Sharma. "I can imagine the anxiety that patients must go through as they're waiting for test results, so I do everything I can to help alleviate some of that anxiety by working quickly and efficiently.”
The whole-person approach to care is what led Dr. Sharma to City of Hope, where the Mother Standard® of care and its core values of speed to care, compassion and empathy toward patients resonated with her. “My goal is always to prioritize my patients' quality of life,” she says. “At City of Hope, I get to work with oncology-trained dietitians, pain management physicians and other members of the multidisciplinary care team to offer healthy lifestyle strategies and techniques to help patients manage the side effects of treatment and get back to their life.”
Dr. Sharma was inspired to pursue a career in medicine by her uncle, a pediatrician who she revered while growing up in India. “He was the first doctor in my family, and I really looked up to him. Now that I'm also working in medicine, I can't even imagine doing anything else.”
As an avid learner, Dr. Sharma stays up to date on developments and breakthroughs in oncology. “That's actually the reason I chose to specialize in oncology, in the first place,” she says. “It's such a dynamic field, with many nuances and constant advancements in technology.”
In her role at City of Hope, Dr. Sharma leverages the tools of precision medicine, particularly the rapidly growing fields of immunotherapy and targeted therapy as well as state-of-the-art diagnostic tools such as liquid biopsies and tissue next-generation sequencing.
Dr. Sharma earned her medical degree from Kasturba Medical College in Mangalore, India. After graduating, she moved to the United States for an internal medicine residency at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where she served as Chief Resident. She completed hematology oncology fellowship at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, where she also served as Chief Fellow. She then stayed to serve as Medical Director and Lead Physician of Thoracic Oncology. Dr. Sharma also has extensive experience leading a large medical center's thoracic oncology program as Medical Oncologist and Hematologist.
Outside of her work in oncology, Dr. Sharma enjoys spending time with her husband and their two young sons and enjoys visiting museums and parks.