Alex was born and raised in London, where he remained to complete his undergraduate studiesin chemistry at UCL. In his final MSci year he joined the lab of Prof. Jim Anderson,investigating the synthesis of luciferin analogues with red – shifted emission for bioluminescence imaging. During 3rd year he also undertook a placement in the Scanlon Materials Theory Group in conjunction with the AWE investigating discharge mechanisms in thermal batteries. In the Larrosa group Alex’s research is centred on enantioselective ruthenium catalysed C – H functionalisation and the isolation and characterisation of organometallic catalytic intermediates. Outside of the lab Alex is an avid musician, playing guitar and piano.