JR Caldera, PhD, D(ABMM), MLS(ASCP)^CM, is an associate science director in Infectious Disease at Quest Diagnostics – Nichols Institute in San Juan Capistrano, CA. He received his bachelor's degree in microbiology at California State University, Long Beach, then trained as a clinical laboratory scientist at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. After a few years as a CLS in microbiology, he pursued a doctorate in biomedical and translational sciences at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he investigated host-immune interaction and vaccine-derived antibody development against Staphylococcus aureus. He completed a Medical and Public Health Microbiology fellowship at UCLA, where his research focused on the development and implementation of next-generation sequencing-based assays for clinical applications.  

Dr. Caldera is an ASCP-certified medical laboratory scientist and is a diplomate of the American Board of Medical Microbiology. In his current role, he provides scientific guidance and technical oversight in the Infectious Disease Serology and Molecular Infectious Disease laboratories at Quest Diagnostics. Among his clinical interests, Dr. Caldera is committed to increasing access to advanced molecular techniques, particularly next-generation sequencing, towards improving laboratory diagnostics and patient care.