Jan Skotheim
Stanford University · Biology
Active 2000–2024
About
Jan Skotheim is a Professor of Biology at Stanford University and, by courtesy, of Chemical and Systems Biology. He holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Cambridge (2004), and completed his undergraduate studies at MIT with BS degrees in Mathematics and Physics (1999). His interdisciplinary research group focuses on understanding how growth drives cell division, drawing on diverse scientific backgrounds including mathematics, physics, engineering, biochemistry, genetics, and cell, molecular, and systems biology. Skotheim's work reflects his interdisciplinary training and aims to develop a creative, rigorous, and quantitative approach to fundamental biological questions related to cell cycle control and systems biology.
Research topics
- Computer Science
- Biology
- Biochemistry
- Chemistry
- Cell biology
- Business
Selected publications
Whi5 is diluted and protein synthesis does not dramatically increase in pre- <i>Start</i> G1
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2020 · 1 citations
Senior authorCorresponding- Computer Science
- Chemistry
- Cell biology
In their manuscript, Litsios et al. 1 report a new model for how cell growth and biosynthetic activity control the G1/S transition in budding yeast. In essence, Litsios et al. claim that Start is driven by an increasing concentration of the G1 cyclin Cln3 due to a dramatic acceleration of protein synthesis in pre- Start G1 and not by the dilution of the cell cycle inhibitor Whi5. While we previously reported that Start was in part driven by cell growth during G1 diluting out the Start inhibitor Whi5 2 , Litsios et al. report that Whi5 remains at constant concentration during G1, and changes in Whi5 concentration therefore do not contribute to Start . Since Litsios et al. directly contradict several key points of our own model of how cell growth triggers Start , we decided to investigate their claims and data. More specifically, we decided to investigate Litsios et al.’s three major claims: Whi5 concentration remains constant during G1 Cln3 concentration strongly increases prior to Start Global protein synthesis rates increase by 2-3 fold prior to Start We investigated each of these three claims and found that the evidence presented by Litsios et al. does not support their claims due to inadequate analysis methods and flaws in their experiments.
Recent grants
Control and coordination of the maternal-to-zygotic transition
NIH · $1.6M · 2016–2021
NIH · $363k · 2014
Mechanisms of restriction point response to dynamic growth factor signals
NIH · $2.8M · 2010–2019
NIH · $95k · 2008
NSF · $897k · 2011–2015
Frequent coauthors
- 42 shared
Matthew P. Swaffer
Stanford University
- 42 shared
Michael C. Lanz
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (United States)
- 39 shared
Jarno Mäkelä
Stanford University
- 31 shared
L. Mahadevan
Harvard University
- 27 shared
Christine Jacobs‐Wagner
Stanford University
- 26 shared
Evgeny Zatulovskiy
University of Cambridge
- 23 shared
Georgi K. Marinov
Stanford University
- 21 shared
Alexandros Papagiannakis
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Education
- 2004
Ph.D., Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics
University of Cambridge
- 2001
CASM, Part III Mathematics Tripos
University of Cambridge
- 1999
BS, Physics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- 1999
BS, Mathematics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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