Zachary Knecht Email and Phone Number

Part time science writer for Ironwood Medical Information Technologies. I write articles on various scientific topics to be published on their website. These are aimed at both a scientific and nonscientific audiences. Past topics include advances in spinal chord regeneration therapies and the health benefits of apple cider vinegar.

- Writing for scientific manuscripts and funding agencies- Assay development in tissue regeneration and cell death

My project is focused on identifying the molecular sensors that detect humidity (hygrosensing) in the fly. Animals must be aware of humidity because it influences evaporation and signals the presence or absence of liquid water. Moreover, disease vectors like mosquitos use moisture as a host-seeking cue, and for locating breeding grounds for their aquatic offspring. Humidity is a unique stimulus though, as it is influenced simultaneously by both instantaneous temperature and pressure. Therefore, a biological hygrosensor must either be somehow capable of integrating these independent sensory modalities, or else independent sensory information about temperature and pressure are integrated by the central nervous system. I wish to identify the molecular transducers of humidity, allowing direct examination of their response properties and shedding light on how insects maintain awareness of moisture in the environment.

I was a teaching assistant for the course in Neurogenetics (NBio147) at Brandeis, which focuses on examining genetic methods for experimentally modulating neuronal systems. In addition to assisting students and managing the classroom environment, I prepared and presented lectures and literature discussions with the class.

I worked as a Graduate student TA for the biology department at Brandeis University. I first lead a recitation and review section for roughly 60 students, in which I helped students work through practice problems and answered questions related to the lecture material. The following semester, I lead an undergraduate lab section teaching a class of roughly 30 students basic principles of biological research. I greatly enjoyed this experience and I plan to work my way towards teaching my own courses as a senior graduate student.

My work as a master's student was to aid a senior graduate student in the lab, whose project dealt with determining the molecular basis of chemosensation in the fruit fly. The results of this work are expected to be sent for publication sometime in the Fall of 2015 (Song et al., in preparation).

I worked jointly at the Putnam Market deli and Putnam Wine store as an assistant and salesman. This experience changed the way in which I appreciate both good food, and workers of the service industry, and was a stark contrast to my prior and future experiences in academia. I learned the basic principles of running a small business from the owners of Putnam Market, as well as techniques in food preparation and customer service.

Caring for research animal subjects as well as the general maintenance and cleaning of the lab itself. I was involved in several neurobiology research projects, including an independent study into the effects of ethanol exposure on zebrafish circadian rhythms, and the modeling of fetal alcohol syndrom in fish. Practiced skills in fish tank cleaning and system maintenance, use of spawning tanks, brine shrimp spawning and harvesting, mounting microscope slides, fluorescence microscopy, confocal microscopy, microinjection, acetylated tubulin immunofluorescence, dechorionating, deyolking, media preparation.

Physically demanding work; precise manipulation of tools while underwater with zero visibility. Interpersonal skills developed while working on people's boats

Preformed basic lab maintenance, including glass pipette washing, producing media solutions, glass micropipette pulling, autoclave use, hemocytometer use, sterile technique, mammalian cell culture, and PCR. Developed assay for in vitro time-lapse fluorescence imaging of dictyostelium cell chemotaxis