Utibe Bickham-Wright, Ph.D., PMP

Social and Behavioral Sciences Administrator (Program Official)
Division of Integrative Biological and Behavioral Sciences
utibe.bickham-wright@nih.gov
301-827-1349

Dr. Utibe Bickham-Wright is a Social and Behavioral Scientist Administrator (Program Official) in the Division of Integrative Biological and Behavioral Sciences. Her work promotes the understanding of the causes of minority health and health disparities in areas including infectious diseases, biological determinants of health, genomics, epigenomics, proteomics and maternal health. Dr. Bickham-Wright also promotes efforts to increase diversity in the biomedical workforce.

Prior to joining NIMHD, Dr. Bickham-Wright was an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellow and a team member of the National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE Program. In this role, she worked to promote organizational change for gender equity in STEM academic professions and workplaces. Dr. Bickham-Wright also developed and led the NSF Taking Action: COVID-19 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Challenge, an initiative promoting long-term interventions planned and implemented by colleges and universities across the country to mitigate effects of COVID-19 on their student body and faculty at large. In addition to other intra-agency efforts, Dr. Bickham-Wright also served as program lead for the NSF Summer Scholars Internship Program and promoted the development of undergraduate and graduate students in STEM.

Dr. Bickham-Wright earned a B.S. in biological sciences from Louisiana State University and A&M College, and a Ph.D. in cellular and molecular pathology, with an emphasis on infectious diseases, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is also a Project Management Institute-certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Selected Publications

• Wright, B.J.*, Bickham-Wright, U.*, Yoshino, T.P., and Jackson, M.B. (2017). H+ channels in embryonic Biomphalaria glabrata cell membranes: Putative roles in snail host-schistosome interactions. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 11(3): e0005467. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0005467 (*co-first authors).
• Dinguirard, N.*, Cavalcanti, M.G.S*, Wu X-J, Bickham-Wright, U., Sabat, G. and Yoshino, T.P. (2018) Proteomic Analysis of Biomphalaria glabrata Hemocytes During in vitro Encapsulation of Schistosoma mansoni Sporocysts. Front. Immunol. 9:2773. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.02773 (*co-first authors).
• Adema, C.M., Hillier, L…[…Bickham-Wright, U…] Wilson, R.K. (2017). Whole genome analysis of a schistosomiasis transmitting freshwater snail. Nature Communications 8:15451. doi:10.1038/ncomms15451.
• Wu, X.J., Dinguirard, N., Sabat, G., Lui, H.D., Gonzalez, L., Gehring, M., Bickham-Wright, U., and Yoshino, T.P. (2017). Proteomic analysis of Biomphalaria glabrata plasma proteins with binding affinity to those expressed by early developing larval Schistosoma mansoni. PLOS Pathogens 13(5): e1006081. https:doi.org/10.1371/journal/ppat.1006081.
• Geyer, K., Niazi, U., Duval, D., Cosseau, C., Tomlinson, C., Chalmers, I., Swain, M., Cutress, D., Bickham-Wright, U., Munshi, S., Grunau, C., Yoshino, T., and Hoffmann, K. (2017). The Biomphalaria glabrata DNA methylation machinery displays spatial tissue expression, is differentially active in distinct snail populations and is modulated by interactions with Schistosoma mansoni. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 11(5): e0005246. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005246.
• Yoshino, T.P, Bickham, U., and Bayne, C.J. (2013). Molluscan cells in culture: primary cell cultures and cell lines. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 91(6): 391-404, 10.1139/cjz-2012-0258.
• Bickham, U.R., and Malter, J.S. (2012). Apoptotic and Survival Signaling in Eosinophils. In J. Lee and H. Rosenberg (Eds.), Eosinophils in Health and Disease: Eosinophil Signal Transduction (pp. 189-196). Academic Press.

Page updated March 10, 2023