Suresh Joshi, MD, PhD, MSc

Faculty

Specialties: Medical Microbiology, Infection Control

Education

Pune, New Delhi, Philadelphia

Dr. Joshi is an adjunct professor at the A.J. Drexel Plasma Institute, as well as Drexel's School of Biomedical Engineering. He has a special interest in emerging bacterial infections, disinfection and sterilization, and biodefense.

Since 1987, Dr. Joshi has taught undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students and trained doctoral and postdoctoral fellows in research. He has been mentoring graduates and medical students, who now have successful careers in medicine, academia and the pharmaceutical industry. Since 2004, he has been a member of international mentoring program and minority mentoring program of American Society of Microbiology (ASM), and Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA).

Subjects taught: Medical microbiology, pathology, parasitology, communicable diseases, hospital-acquired infections and infection control methods.
Visiting department faculty fellow: University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, N.Y.
Senior research fellowship and adjunct faculty: Thomas Jefferson University Medical College, Philadelphia, Pa.
Certification: Infection control, State of New York
Board eligible: American Board of Medical Microbiology
Postgraduate training (master's and doctoral): Medical microbiology and cellular biology
Medical training: Medical microbiology, as well as family physician. Practicing physician since 1986

Research Interests

Bacterial pathogenesis and biofilms; wound infection and healing

Research

Research Fellows with Dr. Joshi
Bhaswati Sen, PhD; Rubina Narang (PhD student); Jennifer Scotti (rotation) and Peter Huh (MD students); Priya Dhagat, Brandon Fong and Rachel Figaro (MS students)

Dr. Joshi’s research areas are related to bacterial pathogenesis and biofilms, and wound infection and healing . He has extensive experience in the areas of antimicrobial resistance, nosocomial infection control strategies, and molecular and clinical epidemiology, drug development and animal infection models. He has also worked in the area of host cellular responses (with a special focus on apoptosis and mediation of NFkB and caspases) to bacterial pathogens and/or their virulence products. Joshi has developed several in vitro and in vivo assays, and has expertise in immunocytochemical (ICC) and immunohistochemical (IHC) detection systems and microscopies. He has initiated Surgical Infections Research (SIR) program at this institute, with a special emphasis to multi-drug resistant (MDR)- Acinetobacter and MRSA infection, runs biosafety level-2 plus (BSL2 +) bacteriology laboratory. The major current topics of research in Dr. Joshi's lab are:

Carbapenem resistant-Acinetobacter baumannii: antibiotic resistance mechanisms, and pathogenesis of infection.
Antimicrobial and anti-biofilm strategies: using atmospheric non-thermal plasma, novel antimicrobial sustained release, antimicrobial augmentation.
Molecular diagnostic strategies for detection of multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens and their virulence factors.
Botulinum toxin: host responses, vaccine development, novel diagnostic techniques.

Clinical Trials

Novel beta-lactamase inhibitors with carbapenems against complicated intra-abdominal infection.
Clinical response and efficacy of novel beta-lactamase inhibitor in urinary tract infection therapeutic regime.
Effect of novel antimicrobial solution and its clinical efficacy in the management of atopic dermatitis (being submitted).

Collaborations

A.J. Drexel Plasma Institute, Drexel University, Philadelphia
Center for Botulism and Biodefense Research (CBBR), Thomas Jefferson University
Institute of Molecular Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Dexel University College of Medicine
School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, Drexel University
KEM Hospital & Research Center, Pune, and University of Pune, Pune (India)
Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem (Israel)

Honors

UNESCO-ASM Visiting Resource Person, 2002, 2004
National Judge & Evaluator for Annual Biomed Research Conf for Minority Students (ABRCMS), 2008, 2009, 2010
International Mentoring Program & Minority Mentoring Program, American Society for Microbiology, and Infect Dis Society of America.
Editorial Board Service to BMC Infectious Diseases (Associate Editor); Surgery: Current Research; World Journal of Clinical Infectious Diseases; Afr Journal of Infectious Diseases, International Journal of Bacteriology, ISRN Infectious Diseases, and Journal of Drug Development, Journal of Antibiotics Research, Journal of Immunology and Vaccination.