Ahna Skop

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Ahna Skop
Born1972[1]
New Haven, Connecticut
OccupationProfessor of Genetics
Academic background
EducationSyracuse University: B.S. Biology (1994)

University of Wisconsin-Madison: Ph.D. Cellular and Molecular Biology (2000)

UC Berkeley: Post Doctorate Work
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin Madison
ThesisStudies on cleavage plane orientation and daughter cell separation in Caenorhabditis elegans (2000)
Doctoral advisorJohn G. White
Other advisorsBarbara Meyer, Rebecca Heald
Academic work
DisciplineCell Biologist
Sub-disciplineArtist
InstitutionsUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison

Ahna Renee Skop is an American geneticist, artist, and a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She is known for her research on the mechanisms underlying asymmetric cell division, particularly the importance of the midbody in this process.

Education[edit]

Skop grew up in New Haven, Connecticut and Fort Thomas, Kentucky.[2] She graduated from Highlands High School in Fort Thomas, Ky[citation needed] before receiving a Bachelor of Science in biology and a minor in Ceramics from Syracuse University and went on to complete her Ph.D. in cellular and molecular biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She then did postdoctoral work at the University of California, Berkeley in the laboratories of Rebecca Heald, Barbara Meyer and John Yates (Scripps).[3] Skop then moved back to the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2004, where, as of 2011, is a Full Professor of Genetics.[2]

Career[edit]

Skop is known for her work on Caenorhabditis elegans, a free-living worm, and mammalian tissue culture cells where she has studied the mechanisms that control cell division. Her early work was on the final stages of cell division in C. elegans,[4][5] and she identified the proteins in the midbody that are involved in cell division.[6] Her more recent work examines defects that could be caused by problems in the midbody, where she has shown that midbody is an organelle that harbors translationally active RNA.[7]

Artistic career[edit]

Skop has curated a scientific art show at the International C. elegans meeting, the "Worm Art Show",[8] and she worked with a Madison, Wisconsin artist, Angela Johnson to create an art installation called "Genetic Reflections".[9]

Select publications[edit]

President Bush with the Skop and other recipients of the 2006 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers

Honors and awards[edit]

Skop was a 2006 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers award winner.[10] In 2009 Skop received an honorary Doctorate of Science from the College of Saint Benedict,[11] and in 2018 Skop was awarded by the American Society for Cell Biology for her work in inclusivity, the first time this prize was given.[2][1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Skop, Ahna R. (2018-11-01). "The entrance: how life experience shaped my passion for diversity and inclusion". Molecular Biology of the Cell. 29 (22): 2608–2610. doi:10.1091/mbc.E18-07-0431. ISSN 1059-1524. PMC 6249843. PMID 30376436.
  2. ^ a b c "Meet Ahna Skop". www.asbmb.org. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  3. ^ "Ahna Skop". Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. 2018-04-04. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  4. ^ Skop, Ahna R.; Bergmann, Dominique; Mohler, William A.; White, John G. (2001-05-15). "Completion of cytokinesis in C. elegans requires a brefeldin A-sensitive membrane accumulation at the cleavage furrow apex". Current Biology. 11 (10): 735–746. doi:10.1016/S0960-9822(01)00231-7. ISSN 0960-9822. PMC 3733387. PMID 11378383.
  5. ^ Skop, Ahna R.; White, John G. (1998-10-08). "The dynactin complex is required for cleavage plane specification in early Caenorhabditis elegans embryos". Current Biology. 8 (20): 1110–1117. doi:10.1016/S0960-9822(98)70465-8. ISSN 0960-9822. PMC 3690630. PMID 9778526.
  6. ^ Skop, Ahna R.; Liu, Hongbin; Yates, John; Meyer, Barbara J.; Heald, Rebecca (2004-07-02). "Dissection of the Mammalian Midbody Proteome Reveals Conserved Cytokinesis Mechanisms". Science. 305 (5680): 61–66. Bibcode:2004Sci...305...61S. doi:10.1126/science.1097931. ISSN 0036-8075. PMC 3679889. PMID 15166316.
  7. ^ Gnazzo, Megan M.; Uhlemann, Eva-Maria E.; Villarreal, Alex R.; Shirayama, Masaki; Dominguez, Eddie G.; Skop, Ahna R. (2016-10-15). "The RNA-binding protein ATX-2 regulates cytokinesis through PAR-5 and ZEN-4". Molecular Biology of the Cell. 27 (20): 3052–3064. doi:10.1091/mbc.e16-04-0219. ISSN 1059-1524. PMC 5063614. PMID 27559134.
  8. ^ Hopkin, Karen (April 2012). "Truth and Beauty". The Scientist; Midland. 26 (4): 56–58 – via ProQuest.
  9. ^ "'Genetic Reflections' exhibit at LU inspires related art and science events". The Post - Crescent; Appleton, Wis. [Appleton, Wis]. 10 November 2019. pp. C.1 – via ProQuest.
  10. ^ "The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers: Recipient Details | NSF - National Science Foundation". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  11. ^ "Awards - CSB & Joint". College of Saint Benedict & Saint John's University. Retrieved 2022-12-14.

External links[edit]