Ahna Renee Skop is an American geneticist, artist, and a professor at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

. She is known for her research on the mechanisms underlying

asymmetric cell division An asymmetric cell division produces two daughter cells with different cellular fates. This is in contrast to symmetric cell divisions which give rise to daughter cells of equivalent fates. Notably, stem cells divide asymmetrically to give rise to ...

, particularly the importance of the midbody in this process.

Education

Skop grew up in New Haven, Connecticut and Fort Thomas, Kentucky. She earned a Bachelor of Science in biology and a minor in Ceramics from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

and before completing her Ph.D. in cellular and molecular biology at the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. She did postdoctoral work at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in the laboratories of Rebecca Heald, Barbara Meyer and John Yates (Scripps), after which she returned to the

where, as of 2018, she is a full professor of genetics.

Career

Skop is known for her work on ''

Caenorhabditis elegans ''Caenorhabditis elegans'' () is a free-living transparent nematode about 1 mm in length that lives in temperate soil environments. It is the type species of its genus. The name is a Hybrid word, blend of the Greek ''caeno-'' (recent), ''r ...

'', a free-living worm, and

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

ian

tissue culture Tissue culture is the growth of tissue (biology), tissues or cell (biology), cells in an artificial medium separate from the parent organism. This technique is also called micropropagation. This is typically facilitated via use of a liquid, semi-s ...

cells where she has studied the mechanisms that control

cell division Cell division is the process by which a parent cell (biology), cell divides into two daughter cells. Cell division usually occurs as part of a larger cell cycle in which the cell grows and replicates its chromosome(s) before dividing. In eukar ...

. Her early work was on the final stages of

in ''C. elegans'', and she identified the proteins in the midbody that are involved in cell division. Her more recent work examines defects that could be caused by problems in the mammalian midbody, where she has shown that midbody is an

organelle In cell biology, an organelle is a specialized subunit, usually within a cell (biology), cell, that has a specific function. The name ''organelle'' comes from the idea that these structures are parts of cells, as Organ (anatomy), organs are to th ...

that harbors translationally active

RNA Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule that is essential for most biological functions, either by performing the function itself (non-coding RNA) or by forming a template for the production of proteins (messenger RNA). RNA and deoxyrib ...

. As a faculty member, Skop guided the creation of a diversity committee within the genetics department in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Madison-Wisconsin and led the creation of their STEM Diversity Network. Skop collaborated with undergraduate students Elif Kurt and Caitlin Marks to release ''Genetics Reflections: A coloring book'' in 2020.

Artistic career

Skop has curated a scientific art show at the International

C. elegans ''Caenorhabditis elegans'' () is a free-living transparent nematode about 1 mm in length that lives in temperate soil environments. It is the type species of its genus. The name is a blend of the Greek ''caeno-'' (recent), ''rhabditis'' ( ...

meeting, the "Worm Art Show", and she worked with a Madison, Wisconsin artist, Angela Johnson to create an art installation called "Genetic Reflections".

Select publications

* * Park S, Patel SA, Torr EE, Dureke AN, McIntyre AM, Skop AR. A protocol for isolating and imaging large extracellular vesicles or midbody remnants from mammalian cell culture. STAR Protoc. 2023 Dec 15;4(4):102562. . Epub 2023 Sep 9. ; . * Park S, Dahn R, Kurt E, Presle A, VanDenHeuvel K, Moravec C, Jambhekar A, Olukoga O, Shepherd J, Echard A, Blower M, Skop AR. The mammalian midbody and midbody remnant are assembly sites for RNA and localized translation. Dev Cell. 2023 Oct 9;58(19):1917-1932.e6. . Epub 2023 Aug 7. ; . * * * * * PresidentBushAhnaSkop

Honors and awards

* 2006

Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor bestowed by the United States federal government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. T ...

, National Science Foundation * 2009 Honorary Doctorate of Science,

College of Saint Benedict The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University are two closely related Private college, private, Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts colleges in Minnesota. The College of Sai ...

, * 2015 Kavli Fellowship, National Academy of Sciences * 2016 Chancellor's Inclusive Excellence Award, University of Wisconsin-Madison * 2018 Prize for Excellence in Inclusivity,

American Society for Cell Biology The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) is a professional society that was founded in 1960. * 2019 IF/THEN Ambassador, American Association for the Advancement of Science * 2019-20 Outstanding Women of Color, University of Winsconsin-Madison * 2022 Vilas Faculty Mid-Career Investigator award, University of Wisconsin–Madison * 2024 Fellows Award, Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Skop, Ahna Living people American women geneticists American geneticists Artist authors Syracuse University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty American women scientists 1972 births Recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers