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 Science Building
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.
Katie Huening, Postdoctoral Scientist
huening.1@osu.edu
Lab Office: 423 Biological Sciences
Lab Phone: (614) 292-4313
Katie received her Ph.D. in microbiology from The Ohio State University (Krzycki Lab) in 2020. Her research focuses on the role of sulfur and carbon salvage in extraintestinal pathogenic e. coli. She is also investigation the regulation of these pathways.
— Graduate Students —
Caitlin Wingerd, PhD candidate
wingerd.3@osu.edu
Lab Office: 468 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: 468 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.
— Undergraduate Students —
Jeffry Cheng, Undergraduate Research Assistant
Lab Office: 423 Biological Sciences
Lab Phone: (614) 292-4313
Jeffrey is currently a senior at Ohio State majoring in biochemistry. He is 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
Lab Office: 468 Biological Sciences
Lab Phone: (614) 292-4313
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 is focused on the dihydroxyacetone phosphate shunt that is present in some extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli. She focuses 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.
Olivia Weaver, Undergraduate Research Assistant
Lab Office: 468 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.
Sreya Kesarla, Undergraduate Research Assistant
Lab Office: 468 Biological Sciences
Lab Phone: (614) 292-4313
Sreya is 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. She is a third-year microbiology major with a minor in mycology. 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.
Former Members
Elizabeth Morgan, Undergraduate class of ’24
Matt Monago, Undergraduate class of ’24
Katy Byerly, Undergraduate class of ’21
Srividya Murali, MS, Research Associate