Andy Potter

Biography

Dr. Andy Potter first joined VIDO in 1985 as a research scientist when he was recruited from Health Canada in Ottawa. In 1994 he was appointed as VIDO’s Associate Director of Research. Since 2007 he has been the CEO and Director of VIDO. In 2011, Dr. Potter was elected a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Science (CAHS). The CAHS works in partnership with the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society of Canada to form the Council of Canadian Academies. Comprised of Canada's leading minds in health research and practice, the Council provides assessments and advice on key issues relevant to the health of Canadians. Dr. Potter has served on a number of public and private sector committees, and has been instrumental in transferring technology from the VIDO laboratories to the private sector. He interacts frequently with major animal health companies and serves as a consultant to numerous smaller ones. Dr. Potter is internationally recognized for his visionary research into how bacteria cause disease. His work at the interface of human and animal health has bolstered VIDO-InterVac's international reputation in this critical area of research. His ground-breaking projects have contributed to several "world firsts", including the world's first genetically engineered animal vaccine. He currently runs a successful research program that is well-funded by competitive grants at the national level. Recently, he has been working on the application of genomics to the animal health field and is forging links between the animal and human infectious disease research communities to ensure that technologies common to both fields can be leveraged to their greatest benefit. Dr. Potter completed his undergraduate studies at CARLETON University and received his Ph.D. in microbiology from the university of Otago (New Zealand) in 1981. He has mentored more than 30 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows who currently hold positions in industry, academia and government worldwide. He has also contributed to more than 50 patents for human and animal vaccines and therapeutics. 

Research Interest

 Microbiology