Daphne Pham, Ph. D.

Teaching Interests

BIOS 100 (Nature of Life), BIOS 101 (Bioscience), BIOS 301 (Cell Biology), BIOS 390 (Forensic Science), BIOS 453/653 (Molecular Biology & Bioinformatics of Nucleic Acids), BIOS 489 (MBB Senior Project), BIOS 495 (Senior Seminar), and BIOS 731 (Graduate Seminar)

Research Interests

RIBONUCLEOTIDE REDUCTASE. My long-term objective is to understand human disease transmission by blood-feeding insect vectors. I am specifically interested in the role that iron plays during pathogenic invasion. Data in vertebrates suggest that pathogenic infectivity may be linked to the availability of iron in the host. In vertebrates, some iron-binding proteins are upregulated under pathological conditions. This upregulation is hypothesized to cause chelation of iron and thus reduce iron availability to the pathogen. The actual machinery that activates this response remains unknown. My aim is to elucidate the mechanisms by which pathogenic infectivity is affected by the host iron metabolism.
The host organism for my research is the hematophagous (blood feeding) mosquito, a vector of numerous diseases. Worldwide, millions of people die yearly from diseases transmitted by hematophagous insects. In the U.S., for the past few years, the West Nile virus carried by the mosquito Culex pipiens has caused epidemic outbreaks nationwide and cost the U. S. hundreds of thousands of dollars; West Nile virus is moving westward and southward. With all the public health concerns, not much is known about the basic biology of hematophagous insects. My work has a foundation for understanding how these disease vectors regulate their iron metabolism.

Consulting Interests

Medical Entomology; Biochemistry; Molecular Biology

Selected Publications

2022: Shotgun and TMT-Labeled Proteomic Analysis of the Ovarian Proteins of an Insect Vector, Aedes aegypti, Journal of Insect Science/Oxford University Press (1-17 pp.)

2019: Cord Blood Erythropoietin and Hepcidin Reflect Lower Newborn Iron Stores due to Maternal Obesity during Pregnancy, American Journal of Perinatology

2017: Ferritin, Reference Module in Life Sciences (16 pp.)

2016: Ferritin, Reference Module in Life Sciences

: Prospective Cohort Study of Iron Indices in Term Neonates after Delayed Umbilical Cord Clamping, (19 pp.)

2014: Mosquito Ribonucleotide Reductase: A Site for Control, Short Views on Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (449-472 pp.)

2014: Genome Sequence of the Tsetse Fly (Glossina morsitans): Vector of African Trypanosomiasis , Science (380-6 pp.)

2013: Impact of Multiple Prenatal Risk Factors on Newborn Iron Status at Delivery, J Pediatr Hematol Oncol (473-77 pp.)

2010: Insect Ferritins: Atypical or Typical?, Biochim. Biophys. Acta (824–833 pp.)

2007: Implementation and Assessment of a Molecular Biology & Bioinformatics Undergraduate Degree Program, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education (102-115 pp.)

2006: Iron Metabolism in Insect Disease Vectors: Mining the Anopheles gambiae Database., Insect Biochem. Mol. Biol. (310-21 pp.)

2006: Regulation of the ribonucleotide reductase small subunit (R2) in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, Gene (182-90 pp.)

2005: Accumulation of lipids in insect oocytes., Reproductive Biology of Invertebrates. (265-287 pp.)

2005: Regulation of the ferritin heavy-chain homologue gene in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, Insect Mol. Biol. (223-36 pp.)

2005: The ferritin light-chain homologue promoter in Aedes aegypti., Insect Mol. Biol. (263-70 pp.)

2004: Ferritin, Comprehensive Insect Physiology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Molecular Biology. Elsevier (16 pp.)

2003: Aedes aegypti ferritin: a cytoxic protector?, Eur. J. Biochem (3667-74 pp.)

2003: Identification and mapping of the promoter for the gene encolding the heavy chain homologue of the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegyptin, Insect Biochem. Mol. Biol (51-62 pp.)

Teaching Awards

2019: The ability to challenge, support, and inspire students, the ability to make course material accessible to students and to help students in thinking critically and independently; qualitative impact on students., Stella Gray Teaching Excellence Award Nomination, UW-Parkside

2013: Wisconsin Teaching Fellows and Scholars are selected from among the University of Wisconsin System faculty and academic staff on the merit of their outstanding teaching., 2014-15 Wisconsin Teaching Scholar, UW System

Research/Creative Awards

2004: Excellence in Research & Creative Activity Award , UWP

2002: University of Wisconsin System Researcher Recognition, Governor

Departmental Service

2013: Other - DNA Day: HS Recruitment

College Service

2022: Other - CNHS Days

2020: Committee Member - Science Night

2014: Session Chair - Big Read

2014: Committee Chair - Science Night

2013: Committee Chair - DNA Day

2013: Committee Chair - Science Night

2012: Committee Chair - DNA Day

2012: Committee Chair - Science Night

2011: Committee Chair - Science Night

University Service

2016: Committee Member - University Committee

2013: Committee Chair - University Committee

Professional Service

2021: Other - National Science Foundation