Michael Suits, PhD

Michael Suits, PhD

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Wilfrid Laurier University –


Protein structure-function relationships in periodontal disease

Suits_cropped 300wIn the mouth, a wide variety of microorganisms are embedded in biofilms that contribute to periodontal diseases such as gum disease and tooth decay. To understand the contribution of a consortium of periodontal pathogens, including Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, and Treponema denticola, to biofilm formation and dental diseases, Dr Suits’ research group will clone, produce and isolate ~40-50 proteins of interest for structure-function characterization.

These proteins have been selected using a bioinformatics-based approach to identify similarities with carbohydrate-processing, extracellular factors, and upregulated gene products during collaborative growth conditions. In this way, they will characterize novel factors that contribute to biofilm formation and immune evasion.

Michael Suits, with his lab group...
Suits lab group, left to right, Rachael Horne, Nicole Kteily, Maria Ngo, Negeen Foroughian, Brigitte Hudy, and Michael Suits