Education

• Ph.D., Anatomy/Cell Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
• B.A., Biology/Chemistry, Wartburg College, Waverly, IA

Research Overview

The prevalence of congenital cardiac malformations places an extreme sociological and personal burden. There are a myriad of congenital cardiac defects but the majority involve a region known as the atrioventricular canal (AV). The AV canal is responsible for the production of the AV valves and membranous portion of the interventricular septum. This is accomplished through a process known as "epithelial-mesenchymal cell transformation". Understanding how the early heart and in particular the AV canal is formed is critical to building the foundation for future therapeutic measures.

Selected Publications

Norris, RA, Potts, JD, Yost, MJ, Junor, L, Brooks, T, Tan, H,   Hoffman, S, Hart, MM, Damon, B, Markwald, RR, Goodwin, RL. 2009. Periostin   promotes a fibroblastic lineage pathway in atrioventricular valve progenitor   cells. Dev. Dyn. 238:1052-1063.

Goldsmith, E, A Hoffman, A Jacobs, JP Watson and JD Potts.    2009.  The collagen receptor DDR2 is a marker for the transformed phenotype   produced during cardiac epithelial-mesenchymal cell transformation.  Anatomical   Record.  EPub ahead of Print.

Nesbitt,T, Tan, H, Junor, L., Yost, M., Dettman, R., Franco-Roberts, A., Potts, JD, Goodwin, RL. 2009. Coronary endothelial   proliferation and morphogenesis are regulated by a VEGF-mediated pathway. Dev   Dyn. 238:423-430.

Valarmathi MT, Davis, J, Yost MJ, Goodwin RL, Potts JD. 2009. A   Three-Dimensional Model of Vasculogenesis. Biomaterials. 30:1098-1112.