Suresh C. Sikka, PhD, HCLD/CC (ABB)

Dr. Suresh C. Sikka is currently a Professor of Urology, the Director of Urology Research Laboratories, and the Director of the Andrology Clinic and Research Laboratories at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, USA, where he has worked for the past 34 years. He received his B.Sc. (Hons) and M.Sc. (Hons) in Biochemistry from the Panjab University in Chandigarh, India, and his Ph.D. from the Pharmacology Department at Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh, India (1977). He then completed his two postdoctoral fellowships at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, India (1979), and at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, California, USA (1982). After these fellowships, he joined the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) as an Assistant Professor (Adjunct) and as the Director of Urology/Andrology Research Lab at their Harbor-UCLA Medical Center campus in California, USA.

In December 1988, Dr. Sikka moved to Tulane University as a tenured-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Urology, where he was responsible for developing an andrology research program and  a CLIA-approved andrology clinical laboratory. For this, he passed his board certifications as High-complexity Clinical Lab Director (HCLD) and Clinical Consultant (CC/ABB). In 1994, he was promoted to Associate Professor and then rose to the rank of full Professor of Urology at Tulane University. In 1999, Dr. Sikka set up a state-of-the-art standardized semen analysis (SA) training program with quality control management and troubleshooting. He also developed a Central Reader facility for sperm morphology evaluation using strict & nonstrict criteria. Over the years, this program has catered to the needs of many pharmaceutical companies for their multicenter male reproductive toxicity studies, as per the FDA guidelines. Dr. Sikka has thus far taught, trained, and certified more than 1,100 technicians across the globe, using these standardized SA techniques and managing their quality control throughout these reproductive toxicity studies. These standardized SA techniques are also used for diagnostic purposes and patient care at Tulane Medical Center’s CLIA-certified Andrology Clinical Laboratory.

Dr. Sikka has also set up a standardized color Penile Duplex Doppler ultrasound (PDDU) technique for erectile dysfunction (ED) and Peyronie’s disease (PD) patients at Tulane Medical Center’s Andrology Clinic. After many such evaluations (over 6,000), he was invited to write a standardized operating procedure (SOP) for this unique noninvasive technique, which is now published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine (JSM). He has demonstrated & taught this technique at many national and international sexual medicine and andrology workshops.

Over the past 40 years, both at UCLA and at Tulane, Dr. Sikka successfully developed andrology research programs focused in areas of male reproduction, ED, and PD. His current research interests center around understanding the role of oxidative stress and genitourinary inflammation related to such urological disorders, employing many technologically advanced cellular and molecular tools. He has trained many students, residents, & fellows in his labs, and he has so far published more than 220 peer-reviewed articles, many book chapters, and numerous abstracts. He recently wrote a book entitled, Bioenvironmental Issues Affecting Male Reproductive & Sexual Health. He has also served as a Study Section reviewer for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other agencies in this area of male reproductive toxicology. His invited presentations delivered in these areas at many national and international meetings are well acknowledged.