Alex Shalek

Alex K. Shalek serves as the J. W. Kieckhefer Professor at MIT's Institute for Medical Engineering & Science and Department of Chemistry, while holding appointments at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and Ragon Institute. After earning his bachelor's degree summa cum laude from Columbia University and PhD in chemical physics from Harvard University, he has established himself as a leader in developing new approaches to understand cellular and molecular functions in human health and disease. His research combines expertise across multiple disciplines to elucidate tissue-level function and dysfunction. His exceptional contributions have earned numerous prestigious honors, including a NIH New Innovator Award, Beckman Young Investigator Award, Searle Scholar Award, Pew-Stewart Scholar Award, the Avant-Garde Award from NIDA, and an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship in Chemistry. He received MIT's Harold E. Edgerton Faculty Achievement Award (2019-2020) and the HMS Young Mentor Award (2020). As an experienced educator, he teaches chemical thermodynamics, biochemistry, and interdisciplinary science in human health and disease, contributing to both research advancement and academic excellence.