Developmental Biology
Potter Lab

Potter Lab Research

We use the mouse model system to study the principles of organogenesis. Much of our work is focused on the kidney, which employs many of the fundamental mechanisms used throughout development, including inductive interactions, mesenchyme to epithelia transformation, segmentation and differentiation along the length of the forming nephron.

We use a combination of laser capture microdissection, microarrays, organ culture, next-generation DNA sequencing, gene-targeted mice and single-cell gene-expression profile analysis to better define the gene-expression programs driving kidney development. We are also using recombineering technology to create sets of multiple Hox mutations to better understand these functionally redundant genes in development.

Another area of study for the lab is craniofacial development. The face is constructed primarily from neural crest cells. One project examines the function of a zinc finger transcription factor gene, Sp8, which when mutated gives a “faceless” phenotype. A second project is devoted to the construction of an atlas of gene-expression programs that direct craniofacial development.

Contact Us

S. Steven Potter, PhD.

S. Steven Potter, PhD
Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics

Phone: 513-636-4850
Fax: 513-636-4317
Email: steve.potter@cchmc.org

 

In the News

Research Horizons story image.
"Potter and a team of scientists defined the activity of nearly the entire kidney genome during normal development. It was a one-of-a-kind atlas, groundbreaking work. But it relied upon the law of averages, pooling data from groups of cells to provide an overview for that cell type. Potter’s recent work is like moving from a standard Google Map to street view, then looking inside houses."

Read the entire article in Research Horizons.