Education

• B.S., Chemistry, Wisconsin Lutheran College
• Ph.D., Biochemistry, University of Texas at Austin

Background

Growing up I never thought I’d leave Wisconsin. Then I met my wife, Christa, a biology major at WLC and a Texas resident while I was studying chemistry at WLC. (Yes, our first class together was biochemistry.) Before I knew it, I was far from home at the University of Texas at Austin studying biochemistry in graduate school. After graduating from UT-Austin, gaining employment as a teaching post-doc of chemistry at a university in the city, and having my first child born there, I never thought I’d leave Texas. The lure of a long-term faculty position and the willingness of my wife to accept a life of cold weather is what brought us back to Wisconsin. Since our return we’ve been blessed with three more children.

WLC is the third institution at which I have taught collegiate science courses. All three share the commonalities of being smaller, private institutions based in the liberal arts and rooted in Christian teachings. What a privilege it has been to not only assist students in their understanding of the natural world, but to be able to engage in even more meaningful conversations with them.

Teaching

• General Chemistry 1
• General Chemistry Lab 1
• General Chemistry Lab 2
• Biochemistry 1
• Biochemistry Lab

Research Interests

My lab-based research centers around the process and kinetics of RNA folding. Undergraduate students who assist in this area are exposed to biochemical techniques, experimental design, data acquisition on quantitative instrumentation and data analysis. During a sabbatical in 2023 at the University of Texas at Austin, I converted a tried and true radioactivity-based assay into a fluorescence-based version. This allows the assay to be utilized at institutions like WLC.

Another area of interest is biochemical education, specifically technology in the classroom. Currently, I am pursuing how to best unleash the power of Desmos classroom in the biochemistry curriculum. While designed for K-12 math education, Desmos classroom has great utility for biochemistry concepts. Undergraduate students who participate in this research help refine interactive activities used in the classroom/lab and get to experience the arduous process of turning an idea into a published journal article.

Scholarly Works

Select Publications

(Undergraduate student authors in bold)

Potratz, J., Russell, R. Tracking Native Tetrahymena Ribozyme Folding with Fluorescence. Biochemistry, 62(22), 3173-3180. (2023).

Russell, P. M., Potratz, J. Binding Interaction Activities Powered by Desmos. Journal of Chemical Education. (2023).

Mowrer, E. R., Potratz, J. Structural Insights into tRNA via Hypochromism. Journal of Chemical Education, 97(11), 4179-4183. (2020).

Potratz, J. Making Enzyme Kinetics Dynamic via Simulation Software. Journal of Chemical Education, 95(3), 482-486. (2018).

Pan, C., Potratz, J., Cannon, B., Simpson, Z. B., Ziehr, J. L., Tijerina, P., Russell, R. DEAD-box helicase proteins disrupt RNA tertiary structure through helix capture. PLoS biology, 12(10). (2014).

Contreras, L. M., Huang, T., Piazza, C. L., Smith, D., Qu, G., Gelderman, G., Potratz, J., Russell, R., Belfort, M. Group II intron-ribosome association protects intron RNA from degradation. RNA (New York, N.Y.), 19(11), 1497-509. (2013).

Potratz, J., Russell, R. RNA catalysis as a probe for chaperone activity of DEAD-box helicases. Methods in enzymology, 511, 111-30. (2012).

Potratz, J., Del Campo, M., Wolf, R. Z., Lambowitz, A. M., Russell, R. ATP-dependent roles of the DEAD-box protein Mss116p in group II intron splicing in vitro and in vivo. Journal of molecular biology, 411(3), 661-79. (2011).

Chen, Y., Potratz, J., Tijerina, P., Del Campo, M., Lambowitz, A. M., Russell, R. DEAD-box proteins can completely separate an RNA duplex using a single ATP. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105(51), 20203-8. (2008).

select presentations

(Undergraduate student authors in bold)

Potratz, J., St. Edward's University, "Tracking Tetrahymena Ribozyme Folding with Fluorescence," St. Edward's University, Austin, TX. (April 21, 2023).

Potratz, J., Association of Lutheran College Faculties (ALCF) 85th Annual Conference, "A Card Game Reveals the Scientific Method," Association of Lutheran College Faculties (ALCF), Austin, TX. (October 2, 2021).

Potratz, J., National ACS Meeting, "KinTek Explorer: Getting the students' feet wet," American Chemical Society, Boston, MA. (August 19, 2018).

Pfeilstifter, J. (Author & Presenter), Schaller, A. (Author), Potratz, J. (Author), 255th National ACS Meeting, "FRET-detected catalysis as a method to study RNA folding," American Chemical Society, New Orleans, LA. (March 19, 2018).

Potratz, J. (Author & Presenter), 249th National ACS Meeting, "Organic Lab Transformation," American Chemical Society, Denver, CO. (March 25, 2015).

Soares, C. (Author & Presenter), Potratz, J. (Author), 247th National ACS Meeting, "Development of a ribozyme from the bI1 group II intron for use in RNA folding studies," American Chemical Society, Dallas, TX. (March 17, 2014).

Service

• Chemistry High School Teacher Workshop Coordinator
• Peer Reviewer

professional Memberships

• American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• American Chemical Society