Dana G. Mordue, Ph.D., performed her postdoctoral work with L. David Sibley, Ph.D. (National Academy of Sciences) in the Department of Molecular Microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis with a focus on Toxoplasma gondii cell biology and host immunity. She worked at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine with Laura Knoll, Ph.D. in order to gain additional expertise in molecular biology and forward genetics.

Dr. Mordue came to New York Medical College in the School of Medicine in 2005 as an assistant professor. She is recognized for her work on host-pathogen interactions predominantly focused on the human diseases' toxoplasmosis and babesiosis. Studies in Dr. Mordue's laboratory integrates microbiology, immunology, cell biology and systems biology and our funded by the National Institute of Health and the Department of Defense. Current studies are focused on translational research aimed at understanding key host and pathogen determinants that underlie differences in disease severity in babesiosis. Dr. Mordue was the PI on a National Institute of Health Shared Instrumentation Grant in 2020 that resulted in an award to NYMC for a state-of-the-art Zeiss LSM 980 plus Airyscan II Confocal System and is the assistant director for the NYMC Histopathology and Immunology Core where the new instrument is housed.

Dr. Mordue has served as a leader in faculty governance at NYMC for more than 15 years and received multiple teaching awards from SOM and GSBMS students. Additional administrative service includes chair and co-chair for strategic planning initiatives, interim dean for the NYMC GSBMS, vice chancellor for MSCHE Accreditation, and currently vice chancellor for NYMC accreditation and student support.

Education

• Ph.D., Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa

Honors and Awards

• Medical Student SOM Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring Awards
• GSBMS Student Association Outstanding Faculty Award

Research

Dr. Mordue is recognized for her work on host-pathogen interactions predominantly focused on the human diseases' toxoplasmosis and babesiosis. Studies in Dr. Mordue's laboratory integrates microbiology, immunology, cell biology and systems biology and our funded by the National Institute of Health and the Department of Defense. Current studies are focused on translational research aimed at understanding key host and pathogen determinants that underlie differences in disease severity in babesiosis.

Publications

• Mordue DG, Katseff AS, Galeota AJ, et. al. "Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptors and C-C Chemokine Receptor-2 Positive Cells Play an Important Role in the Intraerythrocytic Death and Clearance of Babesia microti." Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland), 13(10), (2024) . doi: 10.3390/pathogens13100858
• Conti J, Gagliardi T, Arnaboldi PM, et. al. "Immune Mediators Important for a Protective Secondary Response to Babesia microti." Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland), 13(2), (2024) . doi: 10.3390/pathogens13020123
• Mordue DG, Hale SJ, Dennis WE, et. al. "Plasma Blood Levels of Tafenoquine following a Single Oral Dosage in BALBc Mice with Acute Babesia microti Infection That Resulted in Rapid Clearance of Microscopically Detectable Parasitemia." Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland), 12(9), (2023) . doi: 10.3390/pathogens12091113
• Skariah S, Sultan AA, Mordue DG, et. al. "IFN-induced cell-autonomous immune mechanisms in the control of intracellular protozoa." Parasitology research, 121(6), (2022) 1559-1571. doi: 10.1007/s00436-022-07514-7
• Mordue DG, Wormser GP. "Could the Drug Tafenoquine Revolutionize Treatment of Babesia microti Infection?" The Journal of infectious diseases, 220(3), (2019) 442-447. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiz119
• Yang L, Wang L, Ketkar H, et. al. "UBXN3B positively regulates STING-mediated antiviral immune responses." Nature communications, 9(1), (2018) 2329. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-04759-8
• Skariah S, Arnaboldi P, Dattwyler RJ, et. al. "Elimination of Babesia microti Is Dependent on Intraerythrocytic Killing and CD4(+) T Cells." Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950), 199(2), (2017) 633-642. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1601193

View All Publications

Recent Presentations

• 3rd International Babesiosis Meeting (Invited Speaker) 2021: Search for unknown host factors important for babesiosis

Professional Service

• Led NYMC through a successful MSCHE re-accreditation effort in 2020 with no recommendations or reporting requirements
• Led as chair and co-chair for College-wide strategic planning to generate the NYMC 2015 and 2020 five-year strategic plans
• Service for LCME SOM re-accreditation committees
• Office of the Faculty Senate and member of the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate
• Leadership Committee for SOM Curriculum Re-design
• Interim Dean for the GSBMS
• Vice Chancellor of MSCHE Accreditation
• Vice Chancellor for Accreditation and Student Support
• NYMC Senior Leadership, SOM EQUIP Team, Senior Leadership Enterprise Risk Management
• Led NYMC investigator team in a successful NIH Shared Instrumentation Grant for a State-of-the-Art Confocal System ($594,000)
• Assistant director, NYMC Histopathology and Imaging Core (Advanced Imaging)

Teaching Responsibilities

• Course Director:
  • General Microbiology II
  • Selected Topics in Microbiology and Immunology
• Courses Taught: 
  • Medical Microbiology and Immunology SOM
  • Touro College of Dental Medicine, Introduction to Pathology