Alexander
Hirsh

Research technician specializing in tissue engineering, cell culture, experimental design and analytics

Contact me Isla Vista, California

About me

Alexander Hirsh seated in a laboratory wearing a white coat and gloves

Hello, I am Alexander Hirsh, a multidisciplinary research technician currently living in Montreal, Canada. I completed my bachelor’s in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at UC Santa Barbara, where I learned about the behavior and biochemistry of genetic material and proteins in cells and the body. I then completed my master’s in Translational Biomedical Engineering, where I learned the real-world hurdles and translational applications of developing medical and research technologies.

During this time, I have worked and performed research projects in multiple areas, learning workflows in genetic reprogramming, well-differentiated tissue culture and co-culture, and now 3D culture and bioprinting. I plan on applying these skills to form and eventually defend a thesis which will deepen our understanding of the nature of cells and tissues and their behavior inside and outside of the body.

Projects

Tissuetinker Bio.Montreal, Canada

3D Cell Culture Imaging & Reconstruction Platform

At Tissuetinker, we needed a better understanding of the 3D architecture and viability of our tumoroid cultures, so I developed a custom data and image processing platform. Without having access to any confocal microscopes, I designed the platform to reconstruct a 3D environment from a collection of 2D images taken at different depths (z-stacks).

It functions by first aligning all of the images, then creating a 3D rendition from the images, and finally isolating any objects within based on relative signal intensities and sharpness. We can then choose to isolate detected tumoroids/cells/debris by size exclusion to get a more accurate reading of cell and tumoroid viability and sizes.

Coded in Python utilizing the napari image viewing framework

Left: alignment of z-stack images. Top: 3D reconstruction without signal post-processing. Bottom: isolated objects from relative signal processing.
LeftAlignment of z-stack images
Top3D reconstruction without signal post-processing
BottomIsolated objects from relative signal processing (<10 µm)

Images obtained from an ECHO Revolve immunofluorescent microscope using a Calcein AM + Ethidium homodimer-1 (EthD-1) assay for viability.

University of California, Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, California

Regulation of ADH3 in S. cerevisiae by Ixr1p

This project aimed to address how the Ixr1 gene in S. cerevisiae controls the activity of Alcohol Dehydrogenase 3 (ADH3), a significant protein in alcohol metabolism. To form a reporter construct, I inserted a regulatory sequence for ADH3 into a plasmid prior to the lacZ reporter, allowing us to read the promoter activity based on β-galactosidase activity. I then made a deletion in the Ixr1 gene using CRISPR-Cas9 and the corresponding gRNA, resulting in a truncated, dysfunctional protein.

Restriction digestions and Sanger sequencing were used to validate successful plasmid formation and the gene edit. Ethanol was added, indicating increased expression of the gene via our inserted promoter, as ADH3 is used as an electron shuttle converting ethanol to acetaldehyde. Colorimetric analysis was used to quantify β-galactosidase activity using an ONPG assay (o-nitrophenyl-β-D-galactopyranoside assay).

Five-panel figure with plasmid restriction gels A and B, Sanger sequence trace C, Ixr1 alignment D, and ONPG assay chart E

Figure legend

A
Analytical gel from BstAPI Digest of reporter construct and control plasmid
B
Analytical gel from BamHI + SalI digest of 3 separate grown colonies
C
AB1 chromatogram from sanger sequencing of reverse primer reaction. Mutation site indicated in yellow and area of low confidence highlighted in blue
D
Homology alignment between wild type and sanger sequence created using alignment tool based on forward and reverse complements indicating successful nonsense mutation at deletion site
E
Representative β-galactosidase presence in cultures after growth in Ethanol supplemented or absent media. Experimental groups in green containing both the completed reporter plasmid and Ixr1- mutation, in yellow containing only the reporter plasmid, and blue only a plasmid vector with no ADH3 promoter.
University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel Hill, North Carolina

CFTR activity in primary human airway epithelia

The Airway BioCore stores and distributes human primary airway epithelial cells to researchers throughout the globe. I was responsible for tissue culture production and characterization when differentiated into (Air liquid interface) ALI cultures. The resulting data then had to be consolidated with patient data to form a data repository tracking every cell line with an expected culture morphology and electrophysiological performance metric which researchers can reference when purchasing and culturing.

Donor lungs were received from the emergency department with diseased conditions such as COPD, asthma, and Cystic fibrosis. I would then dissect to extract the airway, isolate the cells, expand and biobank samples, then differentiate into tissue cultures resembling the native tissue. Porous inserts were used to form the differentiated ALI cultures allowing for electrophysiological experimentation and histological staining depicted below. High throughput experimentation and culture methods allowed me to gather proprietary data on 100+ cell lines.

Differentiated airway epithelium morphology on porous inserts

Published representative airway epithelial cross sections stained with H and E on the left and AB-PAS on the right

H&E staining depicts the cell density of the tissue and important ciliated apical surface cells while AB-PAS detects mucins

Published representative short-circuit current trace over time showing amiloride, forskolin, genistein, and CFTR inhibitor 172 additions

Electrophysiological activity depicted is indicative of a functional CFTR protein where cell lines with the homozygous F508del mutation see little to no change in charge transport.

Amil - Amiloride is a sodium channel (ENaC) blocker which reduces sodium absorption into cells

Fsk - Forskolin increases intracellular cyclic AMP which stimulates anion transport facilitated by CFTR

Gen - Genistein interacts directly with CFTR ensuring the channel has been fully activated

CFTRinh172 - A selective inhibitor of the CFTR channel

Histological and activity figures taken from Gentzsch et al. due to proprietary data of cell lines. Transepithelial charge transport (Isc) in the figures was measured using Ussing chambers. Proprietary data from the project (not depicted) was measured using a high-throughput TEC24 robotic workflow.

Experience & education

Experience

May 2026 — Present

Research Technician

Tissue Tinker BioMontréal, Canada

  • Developed refined methods for decellularization of brain, colon, liver, and breast tissues for custom bioinks
  • Built standardizing protocols for bioink performance based upon 3D spheroid culture viability and morphology
Sep 2024 — Jun 2025

Resident Assistant

University of California, Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, California

  • Served as the liaison between the university and 600 residents while enforcing and ensuring policies for safety and inclusion
  • Fostered community connections by hosting social events and referring students to campus resources
Jan 2024 — Jun 2025

Biochemistry Learning Assistant

University of California, Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, California

  • Mentored 200 students in computational biochemistry, differential calculus, and systems modeling in MATLAB.
Jun 2023 — Sep 2023

Research Technician

Airway BioCore, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel Hill, North Carolina

  • Dissected patient donor lungs for isolation of primary airway epithelium cells to produce well differentiated airway cultures
  • Ran electrophysiological experimentation while consolidating histological and patient data for QC and presentation
2017 — 2020

Assembly Technician

Physiologic InstrumentsPoway, California

  • Manufactured Ussing chambers and voltage/current clamp instrumentation used for epithelial ion transport

Education

2025 — 2026

McGill University

Master of Science, Applied

Translational Biomedical Engineering

Montréal, Canada

2023 — 2025

University of California, Santa Barbara

Bachelor of Science

Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Santa Barbara, California

2020 — 2023

Palomar College

Associate degree in Biology

San Marcos, California

Questions or comments?
I would love to hear from you!

Feel free to contact me for research collaborations, roles, or questions about my journey.

Emailalexanderhirsh15@gmail.com LinkedInAlexander Hirsh
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