Alex is a Lecturer in the Hamlyn Centre, Institute of Global Health Innovation and the Department of Surgery and Cancer, St Mary’s Hospital.

His research interests centre on the application of optical microscopy, spectroscopy and interferometry to a range of biomedical problems. Alex completed his Ph.D. in the Physics Department at Imperial, during which he worked on the development of novel endoscopic instruments for cancer diagnosis (an adaptive optics-based endomicroscope and a time-resolved fluorescence spectrometer coupled to an optical fibre probe). After completing his Ph.D. he took up a post-doctoral role in the Chemistry Department, studying protocells, amyloid materials and E. coli using fluorescence lifetime imaging of viscosity sensitive fluorescent dyes.

He subsequently moved to the Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery, where his work focussed on the development of wearable/implantable optical sensors for the diagnosis of surgical site infection and for the fabrication of feedback mechanisms in micro-scale surgical robots. After a brief spell as an Imperial College Research Fellow in the Department of Medicine, Alex is now working as a Lecturer in the Hamlyn Centre, where he is investigating the use of optical spectroscopy as a tool for minimally- or non-invasive assessment of multiple aspects of gut health. This involves applications in conditions ranging from rectal cancer through to malnutrition, and has a particular focus on the development of low-cost diagnostic devices for use in the developing world.