Kurt Potgieter, Ph.D.

General Interest - Detection of serotonin and NO released from single neurons involved with the feeding network in the sea-slug Pleurobranchaeae using Electrochemical and CE-LIF techniques; elucidation of signal transduction pathways involved with increased NO production in response to elevated serotonin levels; and the assessment of feeding network arousal as a function of intracellular serotonin/NO.   Click for Research

Education

• University of Illinois, Urbana, Postdoctorate, 1999-present, Molecular and Integrative Physiology
• University of Illinois, Urbana, Ph.D., 1999, Plant Biology
• University of California, Irvine, B.Sc., 1992, Biological Sciences
  
• University of California, Irvine, B.Sc., 1992, Chemistry
  

Academic Honors

• List of Excellent Teachers Fall 1998 University of Illinois, Urbana
• List of Excellent Teachers Spring 1998 University of Illinois, Urbana
• Visiting Scholar Summer 1997 New York Botanical Garden, American Museum of Natural History, New York
• Visiting Scholar Summer 1996 New York Botanical Garden, American Museum of Natural History, New York
• Organization for Tropical Research Participant Summer 1994 University of Illinois, Urbana & University of Costa Rica
• Field Assistant Summer 1993 University of Illinois, Urbana
• List of Excellent Teachers Spring 1993 University of Illinois, Urbana
• Golden Key Honor Society Fall 1992 University of California, Irvine
  

Employment and Experience

• Post-doctoral Fellow, 1999-present, University of Illinois, Urbana - Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology
  
• Graduate school, 1993-1999, University of Illinois, Urbana - Department of Plant Biology
  • Teaching Assistant S & F 1998, S & F 1997, S & F 1996, S & F 1994, and S 1993, University of Illinois, Urbana
  • Research Assistant S & F 1995, University of Illinois, Urbana

Publications

• Zhang, X., Fuller, R. R., Dahlgren, R., Potgieter, K., Gillette, R. and Sweedler, J. V. 2001. Neurotransmitter sampling and storage for capillary electrophoresis analysis. Fresenius' Journal of Analytical Chemistry (in press).
• Potgieter, K. and V. A. Albert. (in review). Phylogenetic relationships within the Apocynaceae s.l. based on trnl intron and trnl-f spacer sequence, and on propagule characters. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden (in review).
• Struwe, L., M. Thiv, J. W. Kadereit, A. S.R. Pepper, T. J. Motley, P. J. White, J. H. E. Rova, K. Potgieter, and V. A. Albert. 1998. Saccifolium (Saccifoliaceae), an endemic of Sierra de la Neblina on the Brazilian-Venezuelan frontier, is related to a temperate-alpine lineage of Gentianaceae. Harvard Papers in Botany 3(2): 199-214.
• Potgieter, K. (in review). Aspidosperma. Flora of Mesoamerica

Publications (in progress)

• Phylogenetic analysis of Apocynaceae s.l. II. Comparison of evolutionary histories of the chloroplast trnL intron and the trnL-F spacer regions.
• Natural History and ecology of Aspidosperma (Apocynaceae).
• Morphological analyses of Aspidosperma (Apocynaceae) using multivariate techniques.
• Monographic study of the genus Aspidosperma (Apocynaceae).
  
• Phylogenetic analysis of Aspidosperma (Apocynaceae) using combined macromorphology and molecular (ITS-1, ITS-2, trnL intron, and trnL-F spacer sequence) characters.
  

Invited Talks

• Phylogenetic relationships within the Apocynaceae s.l. (including periplocs and asclepiads) based on trnL-F sequences. 1999. International Botanical Congress, St. Louis.
  
• Systematics of the genus Aspidosperma using ITS and morphological characters. 1996. Flora of the Guianas, New York Botanical Garden, New York.
  

Talks

• The nature of appetite and the role of serotonin in feeding motor activity in the predatory mollusc Pleurobranchaea. 2001. NPA seminar, University of Illinois, Urbana.
• Non-floral morphological correlates of the Apocynaceae s.s.-Periplocaceae-Asclepiadaceae transition (i.e., dispersal traits) mapped onto a trnL-F derived consensus tree. 1998. American Institute for Biological Sciences, Baltimore.
• Aspidosperma evolution based on cladistic analyses of morphological and molecular (ITS, trnL-F) sequence data. 1998. American Institute for Biological Sciences, Baltimore.
• Preliminary phylogenetic study of the genus Aspidosperma (Apocynaceae) and closely related genera using ITS and trnL-F sequence data. 1997. American Institute for Biological Sciences, Montreal.
• Preliminary phylogenetic study of the genus Aspidosperma (Apocynaceae) using ITS sequence data. 1996. American Institute for Biological Sciences, Seattle.
  

Posters

• Zhang, X., Hatcher, N., Potgieter, K., Gillette, R. and Sweedler, J. 2001. Wavelength-resolved fluorescence detection in capillary electrophoresis: application to single cell analysis of neurotransmitters. PittCon Abstract.

Hobbies

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