Welcome to Zack’s 2025 PhD Defense
Thank you for supporting me over the last 7 years (yes, this is how long I’ve spent in graduate school). I always dreamed of this day with you in the audience. The summary sections below provide an overview of the PhD defense (i.e., date & etiquette), my research, and selected awards. Page sections listed above provide further detail. See you all in November.
Highlights
PhD Defense
Dates
- Defense Date: November 2025 (Exact day, TBA)
- Graduation Date: December 12, 2025, 2-4 PM
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Attending?:
PhD Summary
The PhD defense is a cumulative presentation of scientific philosophy for a particular expertise acquired by the student. The student will defend their philosophy by conveying their accumulated evidence to the audience and examiners. In my case, my current philosophy is that artificial intelligence (AI)-driven experimentation accelerates precision medicine development.
Research Overview
To demonstrate this philosophy, I have demonstrated 4 different approaches to harness extracellular vesicle signaling into diagnostic tests for pancreatic and bladder cancers, Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), and a melanoma immunotherapeutic.
Please see the Research page for each topic.
Cumulative Accomplishments
→ 5 first author publications (including submitted/in revision)
→ 11 co-author publications (including submitted/in revision)
→ 1 full patent application and 2 patent disclosures
→ 18 awards, recognition, and grants
→ 13 mentored students, 10 with academic awards or fellowships
→ 1 international lecture