Sukirth Ganesan, PhD

Contact Information 

Office: S448 DSB
Phone: 467-1475
Faculty Profile 


Brief description of current research: 

Dr.Ganesan is an investigative dentist-scientist formally trained in clinical translational research, oral microbiology, bioinformatics, host-microbiome interactions, clinical periodontology and dental implant surgery. His expertise involves characterizing the oral microbiome using an integrated -omics approach with basic, clinical, and translational arms. His laboratory research is focused on exploring the perturbations in the oral microbial ecosystem and changes in their interactions with the host immune responses in the background of chronic inflammatory states such as Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolic Syndrome. The long-term goal is to identify precision and potential microbial biomarkers that would aid in prevention, treatment, and maintenance of oral and systemic health in patients with these chronic inflammatory states.

3 most influential diabetes/obesity/metabolism publications:

  • Ganesan SM, Joshi V, Fellows M, Dabdoub SM, Nagaraja HN, O'Donnell B, Deshpande NR, Kumar PS. A tale of two risks: smoking, diabetes and the subgingival microbiome. ISME J. 2017 Sep;11(9):2075-2089. PubMed PMID: 28534880; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5563960.
  • ​Shah SA, Ganesan SM, Varadharaj S, Dabdoub SM, Walters JD, Kumar PS. The making of a miscreant: tobacco smoke and the creation of pathogen-rich biofilms. NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes. 2017;3:26. PubMed PMID: 29081982; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5655325.
  • Dabdoub SM$, Ganesan SM$, Kumar PS. Comparative metagenomics reveals taxonomically idiosyncratic yet functionally congruent communities in periodontitis. Sci Rep. 2016 Dec 19;6:38993. PubMed PMID: 27991530; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5172196. $Co-first author

Quote: 

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” – Benjamin Franklin