Ellen Potter, Ph.D.

Co-Team Leader for Recombinant DNA Labs

Ellen Potter is presently in charge of the education outreach programs for the Salk Institute. She received her Ph.D. in Physiology and Pharmacology in 1991 and her BA. biology in 1978 from the Univ. of Calif. San Diego. Dr. Potter was a NIH postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute where her research involved determining the genes involved in the early aspects of dorsoventral patterning of the spinal cord, specifically examining the paired-box-containing Pax 3 gene expression in the neural tube. Her thesis work was in the field of neuroendocrinology, trying to understand how the brain controls chronic stress.

Dr. Potter is the author or co-author of numerous scientific papers in the fields of neurobiology, development and endocrinology. She is a full member of the Society for Neuroscience, Endocrine Society and AAAS.

Dr. Potter helped to develop the "Recombinant DNA Lab: Basic Tools for the Molecular Biologists" module in collaboration with the San Diego Science Alliance and General Atomics. In addition, she is working with local middle school teachers in expanding a module entitled "Eavesdropping on the Brain" which was developed at the Salk Institute and General Atomics. This module presents introductory neuroscience concepts for middle school grades. She has given teacher in-services on both modules and will be conducting a workshop on "Eavesdropping on the Brain" at the Calif. Science Teachers Association conference in Oct. 1997.