Hanna Kokko (born 1971) is a scientist and full professor at the

University of Zurich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

. She works in the fields of

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

and

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...

and is known for her research on the evolution and maintenance of

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

, the feedback between ecology and evolution, and the evolutionary ecology of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

Career

Kokko attended the

Helsinki University of Technology Helsinki University of Technology (TKK; fi, Teknillinen korkeakoulu; sv, Tekniska högskolan) was a technical university in Finland. It was located in Otaniemi, Espoo in the metropolitan area of Greater Helsinki. The university was founded in ...

for her undergraduate engineering degree. While there, she became interested in biology and decided to complete a one-year biology research Master's degree. She completed her Ph.D. at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

on the topic of

sexual selection Sexual selection is a mode of natural selection in which members of one biological sex choose mates of the other sex to mate with (intersexual selection), and compete with members of the same sex for access to members of the opposite sex ( ...

and the evolution of mate choice in 1997. During this time, she was mentored by William Sutherland. Kokko has since held positions at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, the

University of Jyväskylä The University of Jyväskylä ( fi, Jyväskylän yliopisto) is a research university in Jyväskylä, Finland. It has its origins in the first Finnish-speaking Teacher Training College (the so-called Teacher Seminary), founded in 1863. Ar ...

, the

, and the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

, and she is currently a professor in evolutionary ecology at the

University of Zürich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

. From 2008 to 2009 she served as co-chair of .

Awards and honors

Kokko's book ''Kutistuva turska'' (Shrinking Cod) was awarded the Finnish State Award for Public Information () in 2009. She received the 2010 and the

British Ecological Society The British Ecological Society is a learned society in the field of ecology that was founded in 1913. It is the oldest ecological society in the world. The Society's original objective was "to promote and foster the study of Ecology in its widest ...

's Founder's Prize. In 2010, she was awarded an Australian Laureate Fellowship. She became a Fellow of the

Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soc ...

in 2014 and won the

Finnish Cultural Foundation Finnish Cultural Foundation ( fi, Suomen Kulttuurirahasto) is a private nonprofit foundation dedicated to the promotion of culture and science in Finland. The foundation's assets are about 1.1 billion euros, which makes it one of the largest priva ...

's outstanding cultural achievement award in 2016. In 2020, she became an International Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

Selected publications

* Bargum, K. & Kokko, H. (2008). ', WSOY ( fi). * Kokko, H. (2007)
''Modelling for Field Biologists (and Other Interesting People)''

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...

. .

References

External links

Homepage
at University of Zurich
Lab team website

Google Scholar

Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kokko, Hanna Evolutionary biologists Women evolutionary biologists Mathematical ecologists Finnish ecologists Finnish skeptics 1971 births Living people Theoretical biologists Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Academic staff of the University of Helsinki Academic staff of the Australian National University Academic staff of the University of Zurich Finnish women academics