I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Oral Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the University of Louisville School of Dentistry and Director of the Ghods Laboratory. My research program centers on defining how nutritional and metabolic cues shape host–microbiome interactions in oral and systemic inflammatory diseases. By integrating molecular microbiology, immunology, and translational analyses of patient-derived specimens, my work bridges mechanistic discovery with clinically relevant outcomes. A major emphasis of my laboratory is understanding how micronutrients—particularly vitamin B12—and other metabolites function not only as cofactors, but as regulatory signals that reprogram microbial virulence and host inflammatory pathways. Through interdisciplinary collaborations and federally supported projects, I aim to establish a systems-level framework that connects metabolic environments to disease susceptibility, progression, and therapeutic potential.