Richa Sharma, MD

Cracking the Code Behind Childhood Bone Cancer

Osteosarcoma is one of the most aggressive malignant bone cancers in children and teens, marked by poor survival rates which have barely improved in decades. Unlike many cancers, it has no single genetic driver, leaving families and physicians without clear answers to the cause or the treatment.

That’s where Richa Sharma, MD, pediatric hematology oncologist and researcher, is pushing the field forward. Her lab made a breakthrough discovery: mutations in SMARCAL1, a gene that normally repairs DNA during cell replication, predisposes children to this devastating disease. With support from a VeloSano Pilot Grant, her team is now digging into the most important question: how does this mutation spark cancer in the first place?

Using advanced and human cell models like induced pluripotent stem cells, her team can model SMARCAL1 mutations into these cells, guide them to become bone cells and watch where development goes off track. If these edited cells struggle to form healthy bone, it reveals the earliest steps of osteosarcoma — clues that could one day lead to targeted therapies.

“Osteosarcoma is a really, really terrible cancer,” says Dr. Sharma. “The VeloSano Grant is allowing us to develop an osteosarcoma model in which we can understand how mutations in this gene leads to osteosarcoma. Once we understand this biology, targeting this cancer could be possible. It’s exciting that VeloSano is able to support this project from the ground up.”

Her passion extends beyond the lab. At her first Bike to Cure in fall of 2025, she felt the full force of the VeloSano community behind her work. “You see your entire pediatrics team, patients, their families and physicians — everyone with the same overarching goal of helping patients with cancer,” says Dr. Sharma. “I’m from Indianapolis, and it felt like the bike version of the Indy 500.”

Dr. Sharma is quick to shift the spotlight away from herself and toward the people working beside her every day in her lab. “They have grit, persistence and work ethic,” says Dr. Sharma. “They’re the ones doing the heavy lifting.”

When she talks about the donors who make this work possible, her gratitude is unmistakable. “Thank you for letting us carry out this research,” says Dr. Sharma. “When you see cancer in a child, it’s just not fair, and you want to do something about it. VeloSano support truly makes discoveries possible.”