Robert Fredrick Potter, PhD, D(ABMM)
Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Assistant Director, Infectious Disease Diagnostics Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Director of Outbreak Investigations, Center for Microbial Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Department: Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Contact information
3401 Civic Center Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Education:
BA (Molecular & Cell Biology)
University of California - Berkeley, 2015.
PhD (Molecular Microbiology & Microbial Pathogenesis)
Washington University St. Louis, 2020.
Permanent linkBA (Molecular & Cell Biology)
University of California - Berkeley, 2015.
PhD (Molecular Microbiology & Microbial Pathogenesis)
Washington University St. Louis, 2020.
Description of Clinical Expertise
NGS informed infection prevention, NGS diagnostics, antimicrobial resistance, assay developmentDescription of Research Expertise
next-generation sequencing, microbial genomics, host-microbe interactions, antimicrobial resistanceSelected Publications
Kumar L, Whang SN, Verges DK, Potter RF, Gilbert NM.: Strain-level heterogeneity in Gardnerella urinary tract persistence and pathogenesis in an in vivo model is consistent with comparative phylogenomic analyses. BMC Microbiol Feb 2026.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.: Rapid dissemination of Staphylococcus aureus in the neonatal intensive care unit is associated with invasive infection. Nat Commun Feb 2026.
St Cyr G, Potter RF, Halabi KC, Del Valle Mojica C.: Legionella bozemanii lymphadenitis in an immunocompetent child and the role of sequencing in the diagnostic evaluation of culture-negative pediatric lymphadenitis: a case report. ASM Case Rep 1: e00071-24, Jul 2025.
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.: Conformational ensembles in Klebsiella pneumoniae FimH impact uropathogenesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 121: e2409655121, Sep 2024.
Pardue EJ, Sartorio MG, Jana B, Scott NE, Beatty WL, Ortiz-Marquez JC, Van Opijnen T, Hsu FF, Potter RF, Feldman MF.: Dual membrane-spanning anti-sigma factors regulate vesiculation in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 121: e2321910121, Mar 2024.
Potter RF, Marino J, Muenks CE, Lammers M, Wallace MA, Bard JD, Dingle TC, Humphries R, Westblade LF, Burnham CD.: 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. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 2024.
Zhang K, Potter RF, Marino J, Muenks CE, Lammers MG, Dien Bard J, Dingle TC, Humphries R, Westblade LF, Burnham C-AD, Dantas G.: Comparative genomics reveals the correlations of stress response genes and bacteriophages in developing antibiotic resistance of Staphylococcus saprophyticus. mSystems 8: e0069723, Dec 2023.
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.: Uncharacterized and Lineage-Specific Accessory Genes within the Proteus mirabilis Pan-Genome Landscape. mSystems 8(4): e0015923, August 2023.
Tarlton N, Wallace MA, Potter RF, Zhang K, Dantas G, Dubberke E, Burnham CA, Yarbrough ML: Evaluation of the NG-Test CARBA 5 Lateral Flow Assay with an IMP-27-Producing Morganella morganii and Other Morganellaceae. Microbiology Spectrum 11(3): e0079323, June 2023.
Potter RF, Wallace MA, Muenks CE, Alvarado K, Yarbrough ML, Burnham CA: Evaluation of Variability in Interpretation of Disk Diffusion Testing for Cefiderocol Using Different Brands of Mueller-Hinton Agar. Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine 8(3): 523-534, May 2023.