Robert Fredrick Potter, PhD, D(ABMM)
Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Children's Hospital of PhiladelphiaPerelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Contact Information3401 Civic Center Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA, 19104
Research Expertise
next-generation sequencing, microbial genomics, host-microbe interactions, antimicrobial resistance
Clinical Expertise
NGS informed infection prevention, NGS diagnostics, antimicrobial resistance, assay development
Education
BA (Molecular & Cell Biology), University of California - Berkeley, 2015
PhD (Molecular Microbiology & Microbial Pathogenesis), Washington University St. Louis, 2020
Specialty Certification
Postgraduate Training
Clinical & Public Health Microbiology Fellowship, Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, 2020-2022
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, 2022-2024
Awards and Honors
Rose Hills Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Rose Hills Foundation, Whittier, CA, University of California – Berkeley, Berkeley, CA., 2013
Rose Hills Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Rose Hills Foundation, Whittier, CA, University of California – Berkeley, Berkeley, CA., 2014
Outstanding Poster Distinction, Molecular & Cell Biology Department Honors Symposium, University of California- Berkeley, CA., 2015
Bayer Crop Science Graduate Fellowship, Bayer Crop Science, St. Louis, MO, Washington University in St, Louis, St. Louis, MO., 2017-2020
Best Trainee Presentation, 5th Annual Global Health and Infectious Disease Trainee Oral Symposium, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO., 2017
Travel Grant, 2nd American Society For Microbiology (ASM) Conference on Rapid Applied Microbial Next-Generation Sequencing and Bioinformatics Pipelines, ASM, Washington, DC., 2017
Paul E. Strandjord Young Investigator Research Grant, Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians & Scientists., 2021-2022
Best 2020-2021 Grand Rounds Talk, Division of Laboratory & Genomic Medicine, Washington University school of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO., 2021
Best Lightning Talk, Trainee Research Day, Division of Laboratory & Genomic Medicine, Washington University school of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO., 2021
Journal of Clinical Microbiology
Top Five Contributing Ad Hoc Reviewer, 2022-2023
Research Scholar, American Urologic Association., 2022
Scholar Travel Support, Urology Care Foundation, 2023
Travel Award, Urinary Tract Infection Global Alliance, 2023
Peggy Cotter Award - Eastern PA ASM Branch, 2025
Memberships and Professional Organizations
American Society for Microbiology, 2017 - Present
Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists, 2020 - Present
American Urologic Association, 2022 - Present
Endourological Society, 2022 - Present
Urinary Tract Infection Global Alliance, 2023 - Present
Eastern PA ASM Branch, 2025 - Present
Web Links
Selected Publications
Strain-level heterogeneity in Gardnerella urinary tract persistence and pathogenesis in an in vivo model is consistent with comparative phylogenomic analyses
Kumar L, Whang SN, Verges DK, Potter RF, Gilbert NM., BMC Microbiol, 2026, PMID:41721237
Rapid dissemination of Staphylococcus aureus in the neonatal intensive care unit is associated with invasive infection
She Q, Srinivasan L, Theiller E, Galis BE, Napper T, Feder A, Arvanitis A, Jones SM, Hayes E, Puopolo KM, Baldassano RN, David MZ, Coffin SE, Gibbs KA, Potter RF, Smith KP, Harris RM, Zackular JP, Moustafa AM, Planet PJ., Nat Commun, 2026, PMID:41663361
Legionella bozemanii lymphadenitis in an immunocompetent child and the role of sequencing in the diagnostic evaluation of culture-negative pediatric lymphadenitis: a case report
St Cyr G, Potter RF, Halabi KC, Del Valle Mojica C., ASM Case Rep 1(): e00071-24, 2025, PMID:41244970
Conformational ensembles in Klebsiella pneumoniae FimH impact uropathogenesis
Lopatto EDB, Pinkner JS, Sanick DA, Potter RF, Liu LX, Bazán Villicaña J, Tamadonfar KO, Ye Y, Zimmerman MI, Gualberto NC, Dodson KW, Janetka JW, Hunstad DA, Hultgren SJ., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 121(): e2409655121, 2024, PMID:39288182
Dual membrane-spanning anti-sigma factors regulate vesiculation in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron
Pardue EJ, Sartorio MG, Jana B, Scott NE, Beatty WL, Ortiz-Marquez JC, Van Opijnen T, Hsu FF, Potter RF, Feldman MF., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 121(): e2321910121, 2024, PMID:38422018
Detection of mecA-mediated methicillin resistance and evaluation of disk-diffusion antimicrobial susceptibility characteristics of Staphylococcus saprophyticus isolates from geographically diverse locations: Staphylococcus saprophyticus antibiotic susceptibility testing
Potter RF, Marino J, Muenks CE, Lammers M, Wallace MA, Bard JD, Dingle TC, Humphries R, Westblade LF, Burnham CD., Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis, 2024, PMID:39298933
Comparative genomics reveals the correlations of stress response genes and bacteriophages in developing antibiotic resistance of Staphylococcus saprophyticus
Zhang K, Potter RF, Marino J, Muenks CE, Lammers MG, Dien Bard J, Dingle TC, Humphries R, Westblade LF, Burnham C-AD, Dantas G., mSystems 8(): e0069723, 2023, PMID:38051037
Uncharacterized and Lineage-Specific Accessory Genes within the Proteus mirabilis Pan-Genome Landscape
Potter RF, Zhang K, Reimler B, Marino J, Muenks CE, Alvarado K, Wallace MA, Westblade L, McElvania E, Yarbrough ML, Hunstad DA, Dantas G, Burnham CA., mSystems 8(4): e0015923, 2023, PMID:37341494
Evaluation of the NG-Test CARBA 5 Lateral Flow Assay with an IMP-27-Producing Morganella morganii and Other Morganellaceae
Tarlton N, Wallace MA, Potter RF, Zhang K, Dantas G, Dubberke E, Burnham CA, Yarbrough ML, Microbiology Spectrum 11(3): e0079323, 2023, PMID:37199652
Evaluation of Variability in Interpretation of Disk Diffusion Testing for Cefiderocol Using Different Brands of Mueller-Hinton Agar
Potter RF, Wallace MA, Muenks CE, Alvarado K, Yarbrough ML, Burnham CA, Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine 8(3): 523-534, 2023, PMID:36738243
