Dr Samridhi Sharma is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Antimicrobial Research Unit at University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Samridhi obtained her Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) Degree in 2016, followed by her PhD in Pharmacy in 2023 from Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa. Samridhi is passionate about helping people and improving health outcomes, which led her to conduct numerous projects throughout her years at Rhodes University. Her PhD research project focused on ‘Health Communication for Antimicrobial Resistance and Stewardship’ in a semi-rural setting. Samridhi has published five papers in peer-reviewed journals, contributed to three book chapters in a Pharmacovigilance textbook for BPharm students in India, and presented at seven national and international conferences, demonstrating her excellent writing and communication skills.

In 2022, Samridhi was appointed as the youngest Project Manager of Scifest Africa, South Africa’s National Science Festival, allowing her to further enhance her leadership and teamwork skills. In 2020, Samridhi developed a COVID-19 information booklet for low- to semi-literates to increase awareness and provide prevention measures. For this reason, she became part of the Rhodes University COVID-19 Science Engagement Team. In 2018, Samridhi completed a four-month internship at the World Health Organization (WHO) Headquarters in the Department of Antimicrobial Resistance. This made her the first student from the Faculty of Pharmacy at Rhodes University to pursue this internship, thus portraying her hard work, dedication, and self-motivation.

Samridhi’s overall performance in health communication and community outreach, whilst continuing to prosper in her academic field resulted in her receiving the Rhodes Top 100 Student Leadership Award in 2022 and 2018. Furthermore, Samridhi was part of Africa’s Brightest Young Minds (BYM) Cohort of 2021 and 2022, and also a Finalist of the ‘Community Engagement Researcher of the Year Award’ in 2020. In addition, Samridhi received recognition from the Rhodes University Vice-Chancellor for contributions to excellent research and conference awards in 2019 and 2018.

Samridhi’s aspiration is to inspire the youth towards leadership and empower communities to embrace healthier lifestyles, thereby enhancing and sustaining overall health and well-being.