Lakshmyya Kesavalu

Periodontics
Associate Professor

Phone: 352- 392-3278
E-mail: kesavalu@dental.ufl.edu
Room D11-24
PO Box 100434
Gainesville, FL 32610-0434

B.V.Sc., Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, Madras University, 1971
S.C.C., Advnced Statistics, Institute of Agricultural Research Statistics, New Delhi, 1975
M.Sc., Medical Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, 1979.

Previous Positions

Associate Research Professor, Department of Oral Health Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 2003-2006
Assistant Research Professor, Department of Oral Health Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 2000-2003
Assistant Research Professor, Department of Periodontics, College of Dentistry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, TX 1999-2000.

Main Interests

Major interests are to examine the role of oral periodontal bacteria specifically Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, and Treponema denticola in the initiation, progression of periodontal disease, inflammation, immunity, gene expression, and alveolar bone resorption.

Selected Publications

Kesavalu, L., S. Sathishkumar, B. Vasudevan, C. Mathews, D. Dawson, M. J. Steffen, J. L. Ebersole. 2007. Rat model of polymicrobial infection, immunity, and alveolar bone resorption in periodontal disease. Infect. Immun. 75:1704-1712.
Kesavalu, L., B. Vasudevan, B. Raghu, E. Browning, D. Dawson , M. J. Novak, M. C. Correll, M. Steffen, A. Bhattacharya, G. Fernandes, and J. L. Ebersole. 2006. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid effect on alveolar bone loss in rats. J. Dent. Res. 85:648-652.
Ebersole, J. L., A. Meka, A. Stromberg, C. Saunders, and L. Kesavalu. 2005. Host gene expression in local tissues in response to periodontal pathogens. Oral. Biosci. Medicine. 2:175-184.
Kesavalu, L., S. C. Holt and J. L. Ebersole. 2003. In vitro environmental regulation of Porphyromonas gingivalis growth and virulence. Oral. Microbiol. Immunol. 18:226-233.
Kesavalu, L., B. Chandrasekar, and J. L. Ebersole. 2002. In vivo induction of proinflammatory cytokine in mouse tissue by Porphyromonas gingivalis and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans. Oral. Microbiol. Immunol. 17:177-180.

Kesavalu, L., C. W. Falk, K. J. Davis, M. J. Steffen, X. Xu, S. C. Holt, and J. L. Ebersole. 2002. Biological characterization of lipopolisaccharide from Treponema pectinovorum. Infect. Immun. 70:211-217.
Ebersole, J. L., D. Cappelli, G. Mott, L. Kesavalu, S. C. Holt, R. E. Singer. 1999. Systemic manifestations of periodontitis in nonhuman primate. J. Periodont. Res. 34:358-362.
Kesavalu, L., S. C. Holt, and J. L. Ebersole. 1999. Lack of humoral immune protection against Treponema denticola virulence in a murine model. Infect. Immun. 67: 5736-5746.
Holt, S. C., L. Kesavalu, S. G. Walker, C. A. Genco. 1999. Virulence factors of Porphyromonas gingivalis. Periodontology 2000. 20: 168-239.

Research

Modulation of immunoinflammation in periodontal disease with dietary Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid and/or universal antioxidants.
Polymicrobial virulence interactions and global gene expression in inflammation and bone resorption model.
Polymicrobial periodontal infection and induction of atherosclerosis.
Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) in regeneration of alveolar bone following experimental periodontal disease.