Kylee Pham

Kylee Pham is an undergraduate majoring in Biomedical Sciences with a concentration in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. In addition to her major, she is pursuing a certificate in Vector Borne Diseases and minoring in Chemistry and Bioinformatics. She is an undergraduate research assistant in Rushika Perera Lab at the Center for Vector-borne Infectious Diseases (CVID) where she is currently elucidating the antiviral role of ceramides in dengue virus infection. Her other projects include developing UGT8 and GALC knockout human liver cell lines using CRISPR-Cas9 and bioinformatic analyses of pathways relevant in mosquitoes infected with dengue, Zika, or Chikungunya virus.

Through her research at Perera Lab, Kylee has been awarded the MIP Undergraduate Research Fellowship and STRONG Fellowship. She has also been named a 2026 Goldwater Scholar for her passion for infectious disease research. She hopes to continue pursuing research in infectious diseases and developing therapeutics. Outside of research, Kylee has found a passion for teaching through mentoring new lab members and serving as a ULA.

While she's away from the hood, Kylee can often be found roller skating outside, crafting with friends, or discovering new music to listen to.