Alex Bullock

Alex Bullock is Professor of Structural and Chemical Biology at the University of Oxford, where he leads the Growth Factor Signalling and Ubiquitination research group. His multidisciplinary work bridges structural biology, chemical biology, and therapeutic development for cancer and rare diseases. He holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge and completed postdoctoral work at the University of Washington and Oxford, supported by a Wellcome Fellowship.

His research focuses on:

• Disease-causing mutations in kinases (e.g., ALK2 in fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva and brain tumors)
• E3 ubiquitin ligase neofunction (e.g., KBTBD4 in medulloblastoma)
• Development of PROTACs for targeted protein degradation
• Small-molecule inhibitors for undruggable targets

He leads a phase 2 clinical trial for the ALK2 inhibitor saracatinib and collaborates globally with institutions including Stanford, Harvard, and the University of Edinburgh.

His publications emphasize kinase inhibition, ubiquitin pathways, and structure-guided drug design, with recent work on KEAP1-Nrf2 inhibitors, E3 ligases, and chemical probes for kinases like CDKL5/GSK3. Awards include the Wellcome Fellowship. He engages with disease foundations (FOP Friends, Brain Tumour Charity) and public outreach.