Lab Members
Justin R. Kaspar
Assistant Professor, Principal Investigator
Justin grew up in Blessing, Texas. Justin is supported by his two amazing parents, Steven and Susan Kaspar, and a younger sister Lani who is a practicing veterinarian in Needville, Texas.
Justin graduated from Texas A&M University (Class of 2011) with a BS in Microbiology before attending the University of Florida College of Medicine Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences to obtain a PhD (graduated in August 2016).
With a love for College Football, Justin continued his football powerhouse tour around the country by accepting an assistant professor position at Ohio State in the spring of 2020.
On other weekends during the year, Justin loves to BBQ pretending he is a pitmaster, collecting sports cards and enjoys visiting state/national parks or other historical locations. Justin is married to his beautiful wife Feliciana, and together they raise three fur children consisting of Ollie (toy Australian Shepard), Bella and Bandit (two adopted cats).
Dan Peters
Research Technician / Lab Manager
Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
Career goal: Medical School
Interest(s): Basketball, traveling, scuba diving, music
Project/Research question: Evaluating Streptococcus mutans cocultures with commensal streptococci
Something I'll always remember about the Kaspar Lab: I will always remember the dentist-themed Play-Doh gift during our white elephant holiday gift exchange
Kevin Dong
Undergraduate Researcher
Major: Biology
Hometown: Upper Sandusky, Ohio
Career goal: Dentist
Interest(s): Dentistry, Fitness, Outdoor activities
Project/Research question: Growth environment impacts interspecies interactions between oral streptococci
Something I'll always remember about the Kaspar Lab: Lab gathering at Shake No. Eight to nourish our oral microbiome
Emily Williams
Undergraduate Researcher
Major: Neuroscience
Hometown: Powell, Ohio
Career goal: Dentist
Interest(s): Snowboarding, reading mystery books, and cooking with roommates
Project/Research question: Growth environment impacts interspecies interactions between oral streptococci
Something I'll always remember about the Kaspar Lab: When I first started in the lab, there was a severe shortage of pipet tips. Naturally, I happened to knock over and spill and entire container of them. My roommate, who also worked in the lab, accidentally exposed my fault to Dr. Kaspar and we all had a good laugh
Robbie Bettinger
Undergraduate Researcher
Major: Microbiology
Hometown: Bowling Green, Ohio
Career goal: General dentist with a focus on cosmetic dentistry
Interest(s): Golf, skiing, Ohio State athletics
Project/Research question: Identification of genes impacting the fitness of Streptococcus gordonii during interspecies interactions
Something I'll always remember about the Kaspar Lab: Dr. Kaspar asking us to calculate concentrations of reagents needed for a master mix and trying to recall basic chemistry formulas to set up an experiment
