Rate My Professor Matthew Potthoff

Matthew Potthoff, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Physiology at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and serves as Deputy Director of the Harold Hamm Diabetes Center, where he also holds the Harold Hamm Endowed Chair in Clinical Diabetes Research. He earned a B.S. in Zoology/Biology summa cum laude from the University of Oklahoma in 2003. He received his Ph.D. in Genetics and Development from UT Southwestern Medical Center in 2007, followed by postdoctoral research as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellow at UT Southwestern from 2007 to 2012. Prior to his current appointments at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Potthoff served as the Roy J. Carver Professor of Neuroscience and Pharmacology at the University of Iowa.

Potthoff’s research focuses on the endocrine regulation of metabolism, including the roles of hepatokines such as FGF21 in energy homeostasis, macronutrient intake, and related pathways, as well as epigenetic mechanisms influencing metabolism, neurodegeneration, and aging. His laboratory integrates biochemistry, proteomics, metabolomics, and mouse genetics to investigate these processes. He has received numerous honors, including the University of Iowa Distinguished Scholar Award in 2020, the Early Career Scholar Award in 2016, the American Diabetes Association Junior Faculty Award in 2013, and an NIH/NIDDK R01 grant as principal investigator. Key publications include studies on FGF21 signaling in Cell Metabolism (2017, 2020, 2022, 2025) and related work in Molecular Metabolism (2025). Potthoff contributes to editorial and committee roles through his research leadership and funding from NIH and VA Merit awards.