Alex K. Shalek

Alex K. Shalek is the J. W. Kieckhefer Professor in the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science and Department of Chemistry at MIT. He serves as Director of the Health Innovation Hub at MIT, Director of the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, and holds extramural roles at The Koch Institute, Ragon Institute, and Broad Institute. His research focuses on developing and applying cutting-edge technologies to understand cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying human health and disease, particularly in immune responses, infection, cancer, and inflammation. The Shalek Lab creates tools like Seq-Well and CellLENS for single-cell and spatial omics analysis, enabling high-resolution studies of complex biological systems.

Research interests include host-pathogen interactions, tumor microenvironment dynamics, and inflammatory memory in barrier tissues. Collaborations span global institutions to address challenges in tuberculosis, HIV, and cancer. The lab integrates genomics, chemical biology, and nanotechnology to profile and control multicellular systems, with applications in drug screening and disease modeling.

Recent work highlights discoveries in tuberculosis granuloma biology, pancreatic cancer metastasis, and SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis. The lab's computational frameworks like MESA and CellLENS advance spatial omics to map tissue complexity. Students and lab members (e.g., Aleth Gaillard, Carly Ziegler) contribute to projects in immunology, genomics, and technology development.

Awards and grants are not explicitly listed here, but his work is supported by major institutions. Labs and teams include the Shalek Lab, with collaborations across MIT, Harvard, and industry partners.