“The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ but ‘That’s funny…'”
– Isaac Asimov
Welcome to the SB Peters lab in the Division of Biosciences, College of Dentistry, at The Ohio State University (Columbus, OH). I have over 15 years of experience developing new methods and materials in a wide range of laboratory settings. My projects have varied considerably, leaving me with a broad scientific background and diverse skill set. My master’s degree from the State
University at Albany (SUNYA) is in atmospheric science where I helped develop machinery to collect and analyze atmospheric particulate matter in remote and urban environments. My PhD from SUNYA focused on fine-tuning and measuring mechanical and biological substrates to study salivary gland development, and my postdoctoral years at The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) were aimed at investigating sensory tooth innervation and streamlining in vitro co-culture assays to investigate the neuronal-mesenchymal cross talk contributing to this.
Now at The Ohio State University (OSU), we developed and are utilizing a murine surgical model to investigate the role of neurovascular signaling in tooth maintenance and repair. My overarching goal as a researcher in the dental-craniofacial field is to understand the molecular signals within the dental pulp of teeth that drive the accurate development and long-term maintenance of our teeth. My research has focused on what internal and external factors regulate the coordination of organ development and regeneration. Techniques routine to my research include histology, microcomputed tomography (micro CT), immunocytochemistry, cell culture, confocal microscopy, RNA Sequence analysis, proteomics analysis, quantitative and semi-quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), in situ hybridization and genotyping to maintain multiple genetically modified mouse models.
Due to the multidisciplinary nature of my research interests, I have developed collaborative skills working with mechanical engineers, tissue engineers, pain researchers, and soft and
hard tissue researchers. As a result, we are broadening our interests to investigate the sexual divergence of tooth maintenance as well as investigating the link between periodontal disease and Alzheimer ’s disease. Our main goal is to utilize our findings to help maintain our oral health, and therefore overall health, into old age.