Dr. Ann Griffen received her dental and pediatric dental training at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, and her molecular genetics training at Ohio State. She is currently Professor and Director of Research in the Section of Pediatric Dentistry.

Office: 4126 Postle Hall
Phone: (614) 292-1150

Dr. Eugene Leys is an associate professor in the Department of Oral Biology. He did his graduate work at Baylor College of Medicine and his postdoctoral work at the Carnegie Institute at Johns Hopkins.

Office: 3185 Postle Hall
Phone: (614) 292-5273

Ashley Beroske is a first year dental student who has been working in the lab for two years. She studied biology as an undergraduate at Ohio State.

Daniel Claman
claman.5@osu.edu

Daniel Claman is a 3rd year undergraduate at Ohio State pursuing a degree in zoology. He will be entering dental school in autumn of 2005.

Erin Gross
mcilvaine.7@osu.edu

Erin Gross is a second year dental student who has been working in the lab since she was an undergraduate at Ohio State. She recently got married and loves shopping with her husband and decorating their new home.

Christina Igboin
igboin.2@osu.edu

Christina joined the lab in June of 2000 after graduating with a B.S. in Microbiology from Ohio State, and worked as a research assistant from 2000 until June of 2002. She is currently in graduate school
where she is working towards her PhD in biomedical science. She chose to remain in the lab to do her dissertation work, and her research interest is in bacterial pathogenesis. Her interests outside work include working out, Aikido, reading and travelling.

Dr. Purnima Kumar is a graduate student in the lab. She received her dental training in Chennai, India and is pursuing a residency program in Periodontology along with a PhD in Oral Biology.

"Pakito" Francisco Martinez
martinez.97@osu.edu

Pakito attended and graduated from Ohio State with a BS in microbiology. He has been a research assistant in the Griffen/Leys lab since 2000 and is working on a 4 year long longitudinal dental study. Pakito and his wife, Tracy, just welcomed their first child, a beautiful daughter named Katalena.

Marina Schleicher
schleicher.7@osu.edu

Marina began working in the lab in July 2004. She is an undergraduate at Ohio State, majoring in biology. She will be entering dental school in autumn 2005. She is interested in wall climbing, reading, and spending time with her son, Edward.

Stephen Gasparovich
GasparoS@chi.osu.edu

Stephen is currently a Captain in the United States Air Force.  He completed an AEGD residency at Keesler AFB in 2003, and he was stationed at Tyndall AFB, Panama City, FL, prior to starting the pediatric dental residency.  His research in dental school involved identification of Lactobacilli species in carious lesions and saliva of caries free patients.  This previous experience should complement his current research in identifying bacterial species associated with childhood caries and health with an open ended molecular approach.

Stacey Kutsch
kutsch.1@osu.edu

Stacey is currently a first year pediatric dental resident at OSU/Columbus Children's Hospital. She was raised in South Dakota, on a farm that has been in her family for 3 generations.  She attended the University of Washington for dental training, followed by a general practice residency at the UW Medical Center.  After residency, she moved to Phoenix and worked in an inner-city clinic, providing comprehensive dental care to underprivileged children.  Her husband, Duane, and she, recently bought a home in New Albany and have fallen in love with Ohio!!  

Jackie Martin
smilekids8@hotmail.com

Jackie was born and raised in Wisconsin.  She attended Marquette University for dental school and moved to Columbus for her pediatric dentistry residency.  She is married and loves to play tennis, watch movies, and shop.  Her research project involves sampling young children with early childhood caries to determine the bacterial species present in the plaque overlying intact enamel, early cavitation, and deeply cavitated lesions.