Silvie Huijben, PhD
Associate Professor
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Research interests | Publications
“At the helm of this wonderful crew below, who make the real magic happen!”
Staff
Ashlyn Maag – Laboratory technician
Ashlyn has been in the lab since Fall 2023 as an undergraduate student, joining while taking the CURE course. She works with Don Ward, previously assisting with the rearing of field-caught Culex mosquitoes, and performing DNA extractions and PCR on Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. After graduation, we were lucky enough that she wanted to stay in the lab as a technician, where she now helps with our molecular research and being an overall amazing help whereever needed.
Graduate students
Sergio Serrato – PhD candidate
Sergio is a Biology PhD Candidate in the School of Life Sciences. His research interests are 2-fold: #1) Understand how parasites regulate their growth rate when starting at different densities and #2) Investigate the impact antimalarial drug usage has on the competitive interactions between drug resistant and susceptible malaria parasites. The main goal of these projects is to improve our understanding of parasite biology and determine whether resistant management strategies can suppress the spread of resistant parasites.
Donald Ward – PhD candidate
Don is a PhD student in the lab with a broad array of research interests that encompass both the laboratory and field arenas. 1) He is currently assessing the target-site and metabolic resistance of field-caught Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus in Maricopa County, AZ. 2) He is interested in the contact efficacy of insecticide-spraying operations in both Maricopa county and by mosquito control units, in general, as a function of land cover and residual deposition on various substrates. 3) He is interested in insecticide resistance as a function of the physiology and ecology of mosquito vectors.
Ernest Boampong – PhD student
Ernest joined the lab in the fall of 2024. His interest is in understanding the evolution of insecticide resistance in mosquito vectors, particularly emphasizing the impact of insecticide resistance profiles on mosquito control strategies in different areas. He is currently assessing insecticide susceptibility profiles in Maricopa County, utilizing multiple insecticides in various locations. He intends to broaden his research by investigating underground catch basins that serve as breeding sites in urban desert environments, as well as performing resistance management experiments on mosquito vectors.
MacKenna Berg – MSc student
Since the summer of 2022, Mackenna has been working as an undergraduate researcher in the lab. Her project focuses on assessing insecticide resistance in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Maricopa County by detecting kdr mutations, specifically focusing on the V1016I and F1534C loci. Now, as an accelerated Master’s student, she obtained a PacVec training grant to expand her research to investigate insecticide resistance in Culex tarsalis.
Undergraduate students
Max Martinez – Honor’s thesis student
Max has been working in the lab since Fall 2022 when he was a freshman. He assisted Sergio and Xyonane with the malaria parasite cultures, collecting samples and perform qPCR. He currently works on his Barrett Honor’s thesis and aims to determine whether competition between two different strains of malaria is direct or indirect using transwell plates. He plans to attend medical school after graduation, with possibly a masters degree in between.
Skye Allen – Honor’s thesis student
I joined the Huijben Lab in the Spring of 2025 as a junior undergraduate student, and I am working on a research project for my honors thesis with the help of Don Ward. For my project, I am trying to determine if there is seasonal variation in insecticide resistance in Maricopa County Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito populations. My favorite part about working in the lab is learning more about biology and applying this knowledge by working on research that can have a positive impact on people’s health and well-being. After graduating with my bachelor’s degree, I plan on continuing my education in biology by pursuing a master’s degree and then attending medical school to pursue a career as a physician.
Amareet Singh – Undergraduate student
Grecia Milan – Undergraduate student
I joined the Huijben lab in Fall 2024 as a freshman undergraduate researcher. I currently help with maintaining our laboratory mosquito colonies. I rear Aedes aegypti, Culex tarsalis, and Culex quinquefasciatus. Over the summer of 2025, I did an internship with PacVec at Pima County Health department where I expanded my knowledge for the types of viruses mosquitoes transmit. I worked with data from Pima County and constructed a project with the Epidemiology team at Pima County. What excites me the most being part of the Huijben lab is expanding my knowledge of vector biology, hands-on experience and making an impact in the real world. Given that, after graduation, I plan to attend an MD/PhD school, with the interest of cardiology and research on cardiovascular diseases.
Heather Jaurigui – Undergraduate student
Madeleine Yearout – Undergraduate student
Marley McAllister – Undergraduate student
I joined the lab at the end of the fall 2024 semester, and during my time in the lab I have worked mainly with Mackenna on her KDR experiments focusing on qPCR and enzyme assay. I thoroughly enjoy the work that I have been doing as it allows me to gain valuable wet lab skills as well as understanding the real world implications of the work that we do. After graduation I hope to attend grad school and have a career in research focused on the intersection of evolutionary biology and cancer research.
Nicole Roa – Undergraduate student
Riya Dhaliwal – Undergraduate student
I just joined the lab in Fall 2025, and I’m working with Max on his project concerning competition between malaria parasites. I’ll be assisting him with colony counts, qPCR, and DNA extractions. I’m especially interested in how different parasitic species compete and how our findings might inform strategies to reduce the global malaria burden. After graduation, I plan to attend medical school and pursue a career in psychiatry.
Ryon Salek – Undergraduate student
My name is Ryon, and I joined the Huijben Lab during my freshman year in 2025. I am currently leading a study on the effectiveness of biodegradable traps in Arizona’s dry conditions. My favorite part of working in the Huijben Lab is having the opportunity to participate in research that can aid in protecting the Arizona community from mosquito-transmitted diseases. After graduation, I plan to take a gap year, continuing my work as a graphic designer for ASU’s football team. After my gap year, I plan on applying to medical school to become a sports medicine physician.
Shirly Hamicha – Undergraduate student
I joined the Huijben lab in Fall of 2024 as a freshman undergraduate researcher, and currently work with Don, MacKenna, and Michael on minting our laboratory mosquito colonies. I rear Aedes aegypti, Culex quinquefasciatus, and Culex tarsalis, and as of Fall 2025, I serve as team lead for the rearing team, and help train new students. What excites me the most about this work is gaining hands on experience with vector biology and projects that hafe real world impacts. After graduation, I plan to attend dental school and pursue a career as an orthodontist.
Siena Songco – Undergraduate student
Yesenia Huerta Galindo – Undergraduate student
Honorary lab members
These talented young lab members play a vital role in keeping the creative juices of the PI flowing and the mind sane. They’ve since grown quite a bit, but don’t look as adorable anymore in lab coats.
Huijben lab group pictures
Huijben lab Spring 2022
