Rebecca Skalsky graduated with a B.S. in biological sciences with a concentration in microbiology from Michigan Technological University in 2002. She did her graduate work in Dr. Rolf Renne's laboratory where she helped identify some of the first virus-encoded microRNAs. She received her Ph.D in Immunology and Microbiology from the University of Florida in 2007. Her post-doctoral studies were at Duke University in the laboratory of Dr. Bryan Cullen, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology.

Dr. Skalsky's research focuses on host-pathogen interactions at the level of RNA interference. Research projects employ genome-wide molecular, biochemical, and bioinformatics-based strategies to identify and characterize targets and cell signaling pathways that are regulated by microRNAs during gamma-herpesvirus infection.