skip to the content

Our Experts

Physician Profile

412-692-7280 Phone
412-692-6069 Fax

Douglas A. Potoka, MD, FACS, FAAP

Job Title Assistant Professor of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Division of Pediatric General & Thoracic Surgery
4401 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
412-692-7280 Phone
412-692-6069 Fax
Email douglas.potoka@chp.edu
Patient Appointment Information

Education and Training

Medical School:

1992-1996 Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Residency:

1996-2003 General Surgery Residency, University Health Center of Pittsburgh
1999-2001 Research Fellow, Surgery, University Health Center of Pittsburgh

Fellowship:

2003-2005 Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
 

Memberships

  • Association for Academic Surgery
  • American Pediatric Surgical Association
  • American Academy of Pediatrics, Section on Surgery
  • American College of Surgeons
  • American Thoracic Society
  • American Association of Anatomists

Board Certifications

  • The American Board of Surgery, General Surgery
  • The American Board of Surgery, Pediatric Surgery

Awards

  • 1999 Best Junior Resident (voted by finishing chief residents)
  • Phi Beta Kappa
  • Alpha Omega Alpha

Publications

  • Yu L, Wynn J, Ma L, Guha S, Mychaliska GB, Crombleholme TM, Azarow KS, Lim FY, Chung DH, Potoka D, Warner BW, Bucher B, Leduc CA, Costa K, Stolar C, Aspelund G, Arkovitz MS, Chung WK. De novo copy number variants are associated with congenital diaphragmatic hernia. J Med Genet. 2012; 49(10):650-9.
  • Yu L, Wynn J, Cheung YH, Shen Y, Mychaliska GB, Crombleholme TM, Azarow KS, Lim FY, Chung DH, Potoka D, Warner BW, Bucher B, Stolar C, Aspelund G, Arkovitz MS, Chung WK. Variants in GATA4 are a rare cause of familial and sporadic congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Hum Genet. 2012; 132(3):285-92.
  • Lath NR, Galambos C, Best Rocha A, Malek M, Gittes GK, Potoka DA. Defective pulmonary innervation and autonomic imbalance in congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2012; 302:L390-L398.
  • Shah SR, Esni F, Jakub A, Paredes J, Lath N, Malek M, Potoka DA, Prasadan K, Mastroberardino PG, Shiota C, Guo P, Miller KA, Hackam DJ, Burns RC, Tulachan SS, Gittes GK. Embryonic mouse blood flow and oxygen correlate with early pancreatic differentiation. Dev Biol. 2011; 349:342-349.
  • Shah SR, Wishnew J, Barsness K, Gaines BA, Potoka DA, Gittes GK, Kane TD. Minimally invasive congenital diaphragmatic hernia repair: a 7-year review of one institution's experience. Surg Endosc. 2009; 23:1265-7

Biography Summary

Douglas Potoka, MD, is an attending pediatric surgeon in the Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, and Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Potoka maintains an active basic science research program focusing on mechanisms of abnormal lung development in congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) and the role that defective embryonic pulmonary blood flow and pulmonary innervation play in lung maldevelopment in CDH. Dr. Potoka has been awarded a NIH/NICHHD K08 Career Development Award (HD061599-01A2) entitled, Pulmonary Blood Flow in Lung Development and Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia in support of this research.
 
Dr. Potoka is also collaborator on a NIH/NICHHD R01 grant entitled, Identification of Novel Genes for Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia by Characterizing Genetic Copy Number Alteration. Dr. Potoka is the study site PI for Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC for this multicenter study (DHREAMS study) designed to identify genetic defects contributing to CDH.  He is the central figure here at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC for the enrollment of patients into the Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Study Group; and is involved in clinical research and QI projects focusing on CDH.
 
Dr. Potoka has given lectures to the emergency department, pediatric surgery, surgical critical care fellows, general surgery residents, and medical students.  He is also an active member of the teaching faculty and participates in inpatient, outpatient and operative teaching of fellows, residents, and medical students.  He currently mentors student volunteers in the lab.
 
Dr. Potoka is published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery, Journal of Trauma and American Journal of Physiology, among others.

Active Research Projects / Grants

  • Impact of Pediatric Trauma Centers on Outcome for Pediatric Trauma in a Statewide System
  • Role of Peroxynitrite in Enterocyte Apoptosis and Cell Signaling
  • Pulmonary Blood Flow in Lung Development and Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia
  • Dr. Potoka has been awarded a NIH/NICHHD K08 Career Development Award (HD061599-01A2) entitled, “Pulmonary Blood Flow in Lung Development and Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia” in support of this research.
  • Dr. Potoka is also collaborator on a NIH/NICHHD R01 grant entitled, “Identification of Novel Genes for Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia by Characterizing Genetic Copy Number Alteration”. Dr. Potoka is the study site PI for Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC for this multicenter study (DHREAMS study) designed to identify genetic defects contributing to CDH.  He is the central figure here at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC for the enrollment of patients into the Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Study Group; and has facilitated the formation of a CDH database through collaborations with Neonatology to perform clinical research and QI projects.
Last Update
March 25, 2013
top
  • Increase/Decrease Text Size
  • Print This Page
top
Last Update
March 25, 2013
top