Contact:

Institute for Medical Research
Center of Research Excellence in Nutrition and Metabolism
Tadeuša Košćuška 1
11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Phone: +381-11-3031997

e-mail: marijaknez186@gmail.com

Education:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) 2014-2018

Biological Sciences, Nutrition
Flinders University, South Australia

Thesis: The role of the LA:DGLA ratio in predicting the Zn status of humans and animals

Honours Degree of Bachelor of Science (Master) 2010-2011
School of Biology, Flinders University, South Australia
Thesis: The effect of baking on major prebiotics in breads

Bachelor of Human Nutrition 2007-2010
Flinders University, South Australia

Bachelor of Health Sciences (Life Science stream) 2005-2009
Flinders University, South Australia

Relevant Employment

Research Associate jun 2019 – present
Institute for Medical Research, University of Belgrade, The Centre of Research Excellence in Nutrition and Metabolism (CENM), Belgrade

Research Associate; PhD student 2014-2018
Flinders University, Adelaide

Research Support Officer 2012-2014
Flinders University, Adelaide

Scientific Consultant 2012-2013
HarvestPlus, Washington, DC, USA

Research Associate 2008-2012
Flinders University, Adelaide

Workshops and Training

2008   Diploma plus program; Flinders univerzitet, Južna Australija

           (Degree Plus Program, Flinders University, South Australia)

2007   Golden Key International Honour Society Courses

2016   Stanford University online course: Writing in Sciences – with Distinction

Awards and grants

• Golden Key International Honour Society (Top 15% GPA) 2017
• Australian Postgraduate Award 2014-2018
• Privately Funded Scholarship 2016

Publications and books

• Knez, M, Abbott, C & Stangoulis, JCR (2014) Changes in the content of fructans and arabinoxylans during baking processes of leavened and unleavened breads. European Food Research & Technology, 239, 5:803-811; doi: 10.1007/s00217-014-2273-1.
• Tako E, Knez M, Glahn R & Stangoulis, JCR (2014) The effect of wheat prebiotics on the gut bacterial population and iron status of iron deficient broiler chickens. The Journal of Nutrition, 13:58-68; doi: 10.1186/1475-2891-13-58.
• Knez M, Stangoulis JCR, Zec M, Debeljak-Martacic J, Pavlovic Z, Gurinovic M, Glibetic M (2016) An initial evaluation of newly proposed biomarker of zinc status in humans – linoleic acid: dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (LA:DGLA) ratio. Clinical Nutrition ESPEN. 15:85-92. doi: 10.1016/j.clnesp.2016.06.013.
• Knez M, Graham, RD, Welch RM & Stangoulis, JCR (2017) New perspectives on the regulation of iron absorption via cellular zinc concentrations in humans. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 3, 57(10): 2128-2143. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2015.1050483.
• Knez M, Nikolic M, Zekovic M, Stangoulis JCR, Gurinovic M, Glibetic M (2017) The influence of food consumption and socio-economic factors on the relationship between zinc and iron intake and status in a healthy population. Public Health Nutrition 20(14):2486-2498.
  doi: 10.1017/S1368980017001240.
• Knez M, Stangoulis JCR, Glibetic M, Tako E (2017) The Linoleic Acid: Dihomo-γ-Linolenic Acid Ratio (LA:DGLA) – An Emerging Biomarker of Zn Status. Nutrients 9 (8), 825; doi: 10.3390/nu9080825
• Knez M, Tako E, Glahn RP, Kolba N, de Courcy-Ireland E, Stangoulis JCR (2018) Linoleic acid: Dihomo-γ-linolenic acid ratio predicts the efficacy of Zn biofortified wheat in chicken (Gallus gallus). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 66, 1394-1400, doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.7b04905.
• Reed S, Knez M, Uzan A, Stangoulis JCR, Omry K & Elad T (2018) Alterations in the gut (Gallus gallus) microbiota following the consumption of zinc biofortified wheat (Triticum aestivum) – based diet. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 66 (25), pp 6291–6299. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.8b01481

List of Presentations at International Conferences

• Eat Well Tasmanian Kids Coalition; Growing Our Futures Conference, Launceston, Australia 2008
  Poster presentation: Eat well kids
• The 14th International Symposium on Iron Nutrition and Interactions in Plants, Beijing, China 2008
  Oral presentation: Zinc – A Missing Piece in Anemia Puzzle?
• The 17th International Plant Nutrition Colloquium, Istanbul, Turkey 2013
  Bioavailability 2014, Iguassu Falls, Brazil 2014
  Poster presentation: New Perspectives on the Regulation of Iron Absorption via Cellular Zinc Concentrations in Humans.
• The 15th International Symposium on Trace Elements in Man and Animals, TEMA 15, Orlando,
  Florida, USA 2014
  Poster presentation: New perspectives on the regulation of iron absorption via cellular zinc concentrations in humans.
• The 4th International Zinc Symposium Improving Crop Production and Human Health, Sao Paulo, Brazil 2015
  Poster presentation: Overexpression of HvSUT-1 in wheat results in increased yield and grain Zinc, but how does this affect micronutrient bioavailability?
• The 4th Micronutrient Forum Global Conference, MN Forum, Cancun, Mexico 2016
  Poster presentation: An initial evaluation of newly proposed biomarker of zinc status in humans – linoleic acid: dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (LA: DGLA) ratio.
• The 13th Congress of Nutrition, CONU 2016, Belgrade, Serbia 2016
  Poster presentation: The influence of food consumption and socio-economic factors on Zn and Fe intake and status in Serbian population
• The 18th International Plant Nutrition Colloquium, IPNC 2017, Copenhagen, Denmark 2017
  Oral presentation: The linoleic acid: dihomo-γ-linolenic acid ratio predicts the efficacy of Zn biofortified wheat in vivo (Gallus gallus)