Justin North, Ph.D.
north.62@osu.edu
Lab Office: 468 Biological Sciences
Lab Phone: (614) 292-4313
Justin is an Assistant Professor and former NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Fellow. His research focuses on discovery of novel organic-sulfur, carbon, and nitrogen cycling pathways and understanding how bacteria metabolize sulfur compounds otherwise wasted by other species.
Fun Fact: Justin’s hobbies include Jazz trumpet, brewing beer and fermenting food. If you are an undergraduate student interesting in learning how to brew beverages and handle yeast like the pros do in the industry, check out Micro 2100 – Yeast Discovery and Fermentation
Education: Justin has always been fascinated by the intersection of the biological and physical sciences. He received his B.S. in Physics and B.S. in Biology from Butler University in 2006. He then received his Ph.D. in Physics from The Ohio State University in 2012 specializing in biophysics and spectroscopy in the lab of M.G. Poirier. Justin did his postdoctoral work on microbial metabolism, genetics, and protein structure function in the lab of the late F.R. Tabita Lab from 2013-2018 where he was a Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Fellow (2014-2016).
—Professional Scientists —
Sarah Young, Lab Manager
young.1517@osu.edu
Lab Office: 423 Biological Sciences
Lab Phone: (614) 292-4313
Sarah is a Research Associate who focuses on synthetic biology and gene expression optimization in photosynthetic bacteria for the production of biofuels and biomaterial such as butanol and ethylene.
Kamal Deep, Postdoctoral Scientist
deep.26@osu.edu
Lab Office: 423 Biological Sciences
Lab Phone: (614) 292-4313
Kamal is a postdoctoral scientist working the synthetic regulation of ethylene synthesis genes in photosynthetic and lignocellulosic bacteria in order to engineer strains that can sustainably produce ethylene for bioplastics from CO2 and lignocellulose.
Peng Hu, Senior Research Associate
peng.hu@osumc.edu
Lab Office: 420 Biological Sciences
Lab Phone: (614) 292-4313
Peng is a Senior Research Associate working on uncovering the mechanism of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii growth on acetate-lacking media with different carbon sources. He also studies the function of nitrogenase-like catalytic components in Rhodobacter capsulatus.
—Graduate Students—
Caitlin Wingerd, PhD candidate
wingerd.3@osu.edu
Lab Office: 420 Biological Sciences
Lab Phone: (614) 292-4313
Caitlin is working to uncover the variable enzymatic activity of carbon assimilation enzyme homologs from various pathogenic bacteria, focusing on their role in utilizing 5-deoxy-pentose sugars as energy and carbon sources. Additionally, she is working to isolate the transcription factor(s) in E. coli that regulate the expression of these carbon metabolism genes. Caitlin is originally from Bend, Oregon and is always looking for new outdoor adventures here in Ohio. When she is not in the lab, Caitlin is biking, hiking, or reading a book with her cats.
Joshua Groves, PhD candidate
groves.252@osu.edu
Lab Office: 420 Biological Sciences
Lab Phone: (614) 292-4313
Joshua is working to uncover the genes and proteins in extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli required for the genetic regulation, transport, and metabolism of carbon substrates. As part of his master’s thesis Joshua has adapted a transposon mutagenesis library development protocol for extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli. In his spare time, Joshua enjoys going to the movies, messing around on the banjo, and shooting pool with Kamal Deep.
Ana Arroyo Carriedo, PhD candidate
arroyocarriedo.1@osu.edu
Lab Office: 420 Biological Sciences
Lab Phone: (614) 292-4313
Ana is a PhD student working on understanding nitrogen fixation-like systems in Rhodospirillum rubrum and Rhodopseudomonas palustris. These systems are part of a sulfur salvage pathway, which allows the release of byproducts widely used in industrial settings. Our objective is to understand the function of unknown enzymes from this superfamily, their physiological relevance, and the potential industrial applications of these systems. Ana is from Madrid, Spain, however she got her bachelor’s degree in biology in Missouri, where she also was part of the basketball team.
Samuel Adu Fosu, PhD candidate
adufosu.1@osu.edu
Lab Office: 420 Biological Sciences
Lab Phone: (614) 292-4313
Samuel Adu Fosu is a Ph.D. student working on characterizing how Rhodopseudomonas palustris breaks down lignin fractions derived from hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). At the same time, Samuel is working on the in vitro enzymatic activity of the nitrogenase-like enzyme, Methylthio-alkane reductase in Rhodospirillum rubrum to uncover its substrate specificity, kinetic parameters, hydrocarbon byproducts, and the mechanisms and regulation for hydrocarbon synthesis. Samuel is originally from Ghana, West Africa, where he got his bachelor’s degree in biological sciences. He also has a master’s degree in environmental studies from Ohio University.
Olivia Weaver, Masters student
weaver.1198@osu.edu
Lab Office: 420 Biological Sciences
Lab Phone: (614) 292-4313
Olivia received her BS in Biology from The Ohio State University in 2024. She joined the North Lab in 2023 as a lab technician and is now studying active site amino acid residues and their functions in the methylthio-alkane reductase enzyme. Outside of the lab, Olivia enjoys hiking, rock climbing, and exploring Columbus.
Calissa Carlisle, BS/MS Candidate
carlisle.176@osu.edu
Lab Office: 420 Biological Sciences
Lab Phone: (614) 292-4313
Cal is a BS/MS candidate in the department of microbiology with a focus on transcriptomics and bioinformatics. She conducts differential expression analyses on certain environmental bacteria such as Rhodopseudomonas palustris and Rhodospirillum rubrum. Outside of the lab, she likes to cross stitch and play recreational sports like archery, boxing, and hiking.
—Undergraduate Students —
Meredith Lorence, Undergraduate Research Assistant
lorence.12@osu.edu
Lab Office: 420 Biological Sciences
Lab Phone: (614) 292-4313
Anastas Raykov, Undergraduate Research Assistant
raykov.3@osu.edu
Lab Office: 420 Biological Sciences
Lab Phone: (614) 292-4313
Sydney Endsley, Lab Assistant
Lab Office: 420 Biological Sciences
Lab Phone: (614) 292-4313
Sydney is a third-year environmental science major with a minor in GIS. She is also in a hydrogeology graduate certificate program. Sydney helps manage the lab through cleaning and calibrating instruments as well as general organization. She also assists researchers whenever it is necessary. Outside of the lab, Sydney is a trip leader with the OSU Mountaineering Club and the vice president of Students for Sustainable Fashion.
—Former Members—
Katie Huening, Postdoctoral Scientist
huening.1@osu.edu
Katie received her Ph.D. in microbiology from The Ohio State University (Krzycki Lab) in 2020. She was a postdoctoral scientist in the lab studying the role of carbon metabolism via the DHAP shunt in extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli. She was also investigating the regulation of this pathway.
Jeffry Cheng, Undergraduate Research Assistant
Jeffrey is graduated in May 2025 and is attending medical school at The Ohio State University. In the North lab, he was working to working optimize ethylene synthesis by bacteria for bioplastics production by finding optimal enzymes that convert methionine to ethylene. Outside of the lab, Jeffrey enjoys spending time outdoors by running or exploring national parks. He is currently training for the Columbus marathon in 2025.
Katelyn Kapusta, Undergraduate Research Assistant
Katelyn is from Olmsted Falls, Ohio. She graduated in Autumn 2024 with an Honors research distinction in biology and a minor in Spanish. She is planning to attend medical school. Outside of the lab, she is a Head TA for the Chemistry department and an STNA at a local rehabilitation center. Katelyn’s research was focused on the dihydroxyacetone phosphate shunt that is present in some extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli. She focused on the transcriptional regulation of this pathway as well as identifying other genes in the genome that are related to the cell’s ability to survive using 5-deoxyribose.
Sreya Kesarla, Undergraduate Research Assistant
Sreya graduated in Spring 2025 with a degree in microbiology and a minor in mycology. Sreya was working with PhD candidate Joshua Groves on creating a transposon mutagenesis library to study the S-Adenosylmethionine pathway and how it contributes to the survival of extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli. During her first year at the Ohio State University, she worked with Post Doctorate Kamal Deep on engineering Clostridium cellulolyticum to convert cellulose plant mass into ethylene for renewable bioplastics.
Laiba Kahn, Undergraduate Research Assistant
Laiba graduated in Spring 2025.
Elizabeth Morgan, Undergraduate class of ’24
Matt Monago, Undergraduate class of ’24
Katy Byerly, Undergraduate class of ’21
Srividya Murali, MS, Research Associate