Manoj Sharma

Professor and Chair, Department of Social and Behavioral Health
Expertise: Health behavior research, Stress-coping, Integrative health (mind-body interventions), Obesity prevention, Mental health, Spirituality

Biography

Manoj Sharma is a professor and chair of the Social and Behavioral Health Department in UNLV's School of Public Health. His research interests are in developing evidence-based health promotion interventions, stress-coping, mental health, obesity prevention, integrative health, and community-based participatory research.

Sharma, a public health physician, is a master certified health education specialist with certification from the National Commission on Health Education Credentialing.  In his career, spanning over 35 years, he has trained or taught over 6,000 health professionals at 13 national and international universities. 

He is also a prolific researcher who has published 16 books, over 400 peer-reviewed research articles, and more than 500 other publications. Sharma is ranked in the top one percentile of scientists globally from 176 subfields and in the top 300 in public health by the prominent academic journal Elsevier.

Sharma has been awarded several prestigious honors, including the American Public Health Association’s J. Mayhew Derryberry Award, which honors outstanding contributions to health education research theory and recognizes outstanding behavioral scientists, as well as the organization's Lyndon Haviland Mentoring Award and Integrative, Complementary and Traditional Health Practices Impact Award. He is also the recipient of UNLV's 2024 Harry Reid Silver State Award.

Education

  • MBBS, University of Delhi
  • Ph.D., Preventive Medicine (Public Health), The Ohio State University

Search For Other Experts On

health & medicine

Manoj Sharma In The News

IndiaCurrents
Fatima* (name changed upon request) and Salman* are new immigrants to the United States. They have a son Idris, in fourth grade, who is having a difficult time in school. His teacher, during the parent-teacher meeting, pointed out that he has difficulty reading aloud, has slow belabored reading, is poor with spelling, and is finding it hard to learn in school.
IndicaNews
Depression, which is characterized by sustained deep feelings of sadness and melancholy, and bipolar disorder which is marked by mood swings between extreme elation and severe depression are two distinct but serious causes of disability. Both require correct diagnosis and distinct treatments. Bipolar illness usually starts in the early 20s but on average takes 8-10 years, often longer, for a correct diagnosis. Needless to say, this delay prolongs the agony of the patient and increases the negative sequelae for the patient and their families. Depression usually starts in adulthood but can occur at any age.
Indica News
A recent review published by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) compared the updated blood pressure guidelines from the European Society of Hypertension (ESH). The chief difference between the criteria for the cutoff for hypertension in the US was ≥130/80 while in Europe was ≥140/90 mmHg. The guidelines in India are also akin to the European guidelines.  This has caused some confusion.
The Daily Guardian
One popular school of yoga is Kundalini yoga. However, there is a lot of mystery, myths, misperceptions, and commercialization associated with it. Here I present a scientific demystification of this system of yoga. This system of yoga begins with the seventh limb of Ashtanga yoga, that of Dhyana or meditation. The purpose of this yoga is to purify the self and make the electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings of the brain subtler while one is awake so that one attains complete harmony with the environment.

Articles Featuring Manoj Sharma

Scarlet and Gray, “REB's Glitter Squad”, Lester Cruz and Isabel Ferguson, take pictures and hype up students and families during the October 2022 homecoming football game.
Campus News | November 8, 2022

A collection of news stories highlighting UNLV students and faculty who made headlines locally, regionally, and internationally.