Dr. Potter grew up in sunny Orange County, California and became fascinated with microbiology after a brief hospitalization due to parainfluenza virus in fifth grade. He got started in science by performing undergraduate research with Dr. Sarah Stanley at the University of California, Berkeley studying Mycobacterium-host interactions. Dr. Potter then moved to Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (WUSM) and completed a PhD in the Molecular Microbiology & Microbial Pathogenesis program under the supervision of Dr. Gautam Dantas. While a member of the Dantas Laboratory, Dr. Potter became enamored by the ability of Illumina Next-Generation sequencing to understand features of microbial evolution. Following completion of his PhD in 2020, Dr. Potter became a Clinical & Public Health Microbiology Fellow at WUSM under Dr. Carey-Ann Burnham and Dr. Melanie Yarbrough.

As a microbiology fellow in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Potter received a once-in-a-lifetime experience in molecular diagnostic assay development, validation/verifications, and regulatory issues. During his time as a microbiology fellow, Dr. Potter became interested in how intra-species genetic differences contribute to infection outcomes and was awarded a Paul E. Strandjord Young Investigator Award from Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists to study this paradigm in the uropathogen Proteus mirabilis. Dr. Potter gained further research training as a postdoctoral research fellow, supported by an American Urologic Association Research Scholar Award, in Dr. David Hunstad's laboratory. While in the Hunstad Laboratory, Dr. Potter successfully applied reverse genetic approaches to functionally abrogate genes of interest in Proteus mirabilis.

Currently, Dr. Potter is using his training to develop an independent research program focused on genomic and functional analysis of of medically important bacteria, viruses, and fungi as well as contributing to oversight of the Infectious Disease Diagnostics Laboratory.

Fellowship, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (Clinical and Public Health Microbiology), 2022

PhD, Washington University in St. Louis (Molecular Microbiology), 2020

BA, University of California, Berkeley (Molecular and Cell Biology), 2015

Assistant Director, Infectious Disease Diagnostics Laboratory

Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Director of Outbreak Investigations, Center for Microbial Medicine

American Board of Medical Microbiology Validation Committee, 2023

Urinary Tract Infection Global Alliance, 2023-2024

American Urologic Association, 2022-2024

Endourological Society, 2022-2024

Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists, 2020-2022

American Society for Microbiology, 2017

Scholar Travel Support, Urology Care Foundation, 2023

Travel Award, Urinary Tract Infection Global Alliance, 2023

Research Scholar Award, American Urologic Association, 2022-2024

Best Grand Rounds During 2020-2021 Academic Year, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Department of Pathology and Immunology, 2022

Paul E. Standjord Young Investigatory Grant, Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists, 2021-2022

Best Rapid Fire Presentation, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Pathology and Immunology Trainee Research Day, 2021

Bayer Graduate Fellowship, Bayer/Washington University in St. Louis, 2017-2020

Best Trainee Presentation, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis 5th Annual Global Health & Infectious Disease Oral Symposium, 2017

Travel Grant, American Society for Microbiology Conference on Next-Generation Sequencing, 2017

BA with Honors, University of California, Berkeley, Molecular and Cell Biology Department, 2015

Poster Award, University of California, Berkeley, Molecular and Cell Biology Department Honors Symposium, 2015

UC-Berkeley/Rose Hills Foundation Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, 2014

UC-Berkeley/Rose Hills Foundation Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, 2013