Marti Sharkey

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT MARTI SHARKEY

Dr. Sharkey was born and raised in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She obtained her undergraduate degrees in English and Human Physiology at Rice University in Houston, Texas. As an undergraduate student, Dr. Sharkey was engaged in research on the effects of cellular metabolism on the survival rate of the then emerging HIV epidemic. Upon graduation, she worked briefly as an international tax accountant at the accounting house of Price Waterhouse prior to attending Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee. While at Vanderbilt, Dr. Sharkey pursued her academic interested in both infectious diseases and vaccinology. She was awarded the Merck Award for Excellence in Infectious Diseases based upon her research into tuberculosis, the BCG vaccine, hepatitis B, and the hepatitis B vaccine. After receiving her doctorate in medicine, Dr. Sharkey completed both her internship and residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. While at Hopkins, she continued to pursue research in vaccines, including participating in research into respiratory syncytial virus vaccines. At the end of her residency, Dr. Sharkey returned to her hometown of Fayetteville. She joined and was a partner at the Northwest Arkansas Pediatric Clinic for many years prior to opening her own pediatric clinic. She has remained involved in vaccine research and was the lead investigator for the first quadrivalent meningitis vaccine to come to market. In addition, she was the first Pediatric Director for UAMS-NW, helping to start the first medical school in northwest Arkansas. During this time, she also attended Emory School of Public Health for her Master’s in Public Health. Her thesis was on the media’s impact on MMR vaccine hesitancy.During the very early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Sharkey was called on by the City of Fayetteville to lead the public health effort to confront the novel coronavirus. During the pandemic, she dedicated her time to studying the local epidemiology of the pandemic, public health messaging, and leading mass vaccination efforts. She served on multiple COVID-19 task forces at the local, regional, and state levels. She was continually called upon to address public health concerns by the Mayor, regional business leaders, and private citizens. She was subsequently recruited to work as a consultant to the CDC in the Immunization Safety Office. Her work has led to numerous publications and multiple awards.