Anita Hopper is an American molecular geneticist who is a professor at the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

. She studies the mechanisms of distribution of

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 ...

between the nucleus and cytoplasm. She is a Fellow of the

American Academy of Microbiology American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

and the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

and was elected a Member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

in 2021.

Early life and education

Hopper was an undergraduate student at the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...

, where she studied biology. She moved to the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

for her graduate studies, where she specialized in cell biology. Hopper studied the replication of satellite

tobacco necrosis virus Tobacco necrosis virus A (TNV) is a plant pathogenic virus of the family ''Tombusviridae''. Hosts and symptoms Tobacco necrosis virus (TNV) can thrive on a handful of viable hosts. These hosts include tobacco, zucchini, cucumbers, carrots, Fre ...

. After completing her doctoral research she moved to the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

, where she spent four years as a postdoctoral research associate.

Research and career

Hopper joined the faculty at the

University of Massachusetts Medical School The UMass Chan Medical School is a public medical school in Worcester, Massachusetts. It is part of the University of Massachusetts system. It consists of three schools: the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, the Morningside Graduate School of Biom ...

, and was promoted to associate professor. She was appointed professor at the

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

in 1979, where she spent almost thirty years before joining the

as chair of the Department of Molecular Genetics. Hopper makes use of ''

Saccharomyces cerevisiae ''Saccharomyces cerevisiae'' () (brewer's yeast or baker's yeast) is a species of yeast (single-celled fungal microorganisms). The species has been instrumental in winemaking, baking, and brewing since ancient times. It is believed to have be ...

'' (yeast) as a model system to study processing and intracellular trafficking of

tRNAs Transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA), formerly referred to as soluble ribonucleic acid (sRNA), is an adaptor molecule composed of RNA, typically 76 to 90 nucleotides in length (in eukaryotes). In a cell, it provides the physical link between the genet ...

. She has shown that tRNA is transported from the nucleus into the cytoplasm, as well as from the cytoplasm into the nucleus. Almost all RNAs involved in protein synthesis are generated in the nucleus but function in the cytoplasm (and vice versa). Hopper both processes occur along nuclear export pathways, where export quality is controlled by the translation machinery itself. She showed that tRNAs from the cytoplasm accumulate in the nucleus under particular stress conditions. Hopper's area expertise include: intracellular trafficking of RNA and proteins, RNA processing and yeast genetics and genomics.

Awards and honors

* 1994 Elected Fellow of the

* 2003 President of the

RNA Society The RNA Society is a non-profit, international scientific society that serves to facilitate the dissemination of scientific results and concepts in ribonucleic acid (RNA) research. The society was founded in 1993 and currently consists of over ...

* 2008 Elected Fellow of the

* 2009 RNA Society Lifetime Achievement Award in Service * 2012

Distinguished Scholar Award * 2015 RNA Society Lifetime Achievement in Science Award * 2017 Undergraduate Mortar Board/Sphinx Honor Society * 2021 Elected Fellow of the

Selected publications

* * *

Personal life

Hopper was married to biochemist James Hopper, with whom she had one daughter. James Hopper died at his home in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

January 21, 2017.

References

Ohio State University faculty University of Illinois Chicago alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni American women geneticists American geneticists UMass Chan Medical School faculty Pennsylvania State University faculty Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Women molecular biologists American molecular biologists American women scientists Fellows of the American Academy of Microbiology Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 21st-century American biologists 21st-century American women scientists {{Improve categories, date=May 2021