Dr. Sapna Sharma
🔬 Research Focus
Dr. Sapna Sharma is an internationally recognized leader in global change biology. Her work focuses on understanding and predicting how environmental stressors—such as climate change, invasive species, and habitat alteration—are transforming freshwater ecosystems. She uses large-scale data and machine learning to uncover global patterns of lake ice loss, warming water temperatures, water quality degradation, and shifts in fish distributions.
🧪 Featured Projects & Innovations
- Forecasting the global loss of lake ice under climate warming scenarios
- Investigating the cascading effects of shorter ice seasons on aquatic ecosystems
- Analyzing long-term water quality trends in response to multiple environmental stressors
- Predicting shifts in fish populations and community structures using big data
- Developing quantitative ecological models to guide global conservation efforts
🚀 Group Achievements and Future Directions
Dr. Sharma’s research group has made groundbreaking contributions to understanding the resilience and vulnerability of lakes in a changing climate. Their work spans continents, using interdisciplinary methods that blend ecology, climatology, and data science. The group’s research has led to over 100 publications, global media coverage, and strong international collaborations. Moving forward, the Sharma Lab continues to refine predictive models of ecosystem change, advise global water policy through the UNITAR Global Water Academy, and train the next generation of aquatic ecologists.
Dr. Sapna Sharma
Professor, Department of Biology, York University
🎓 Career Highlights
- Elected to the Royal Society of Canada – College of New Scholars, Scientists and Artists
- Awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal
- Named one of Canada’s Top 10 Women Water Scientists
- Inaugural Director of the UNITAR Global Water Academy
- Highly cited scholar with research featured in Nature, Science, and National Geographic
💬 Why She’s Featured
Dr. Sharma exemplifies the mission of the One WATER Institute through her commitment to advancing water science at both local and global scales. Her innovative research is helping communities understand and prepare for the ecological consequences of climate change, making her a vital voice in freshwater sustainability.
“Dr. Sharma’s work brings clarity to the future of lakes in a warming world—combining science, policy, and public engagement to protect water ecosystems for generations to come.”
🎥 Meet Dr. Sapna Sharma and Her Research Team
Watch this video to learn how Dr. Sharma and her team are using data-driven ecology to illuminate the impacts of global change on freshwater systems:
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