Alex Lippert

Alex Lippert is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Southern Methodist University (SMU), where he has held positions since 2012. He also serves as Chief Science Officer at Biolum Sciences, LLC. His research focuses on designing organic molecules for bioimaging applications, including chemiluminescent probes for in vivo imaging of biological processes like pH, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and nitric oxide (NO). His lab develops innovative tools such as volumetric 3D displays using photoswitchable dyes and smartphone-based chemiluminescence sensors.

Education: Postdoc at UC Berkeley (2009-2012), PhD from the University of Pennsylvania (2008), and B.S. from Caltech (2003).

Research interests span organic luminescence, bioanalytical chemistry, and biomedical imaging. His lab’s work bridges organic synthesis with applications in disease monitoring, including imaging hypoxia in cancer cells and developing non-invasive detection methods for biomarkers in exhaled breath.

Notable awards include the NSF CAREER Award (2017-2022) and Welch Research Grant (2020-2023). His publications emphasize chemiluminescent probe design, with contributions to Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., ACS Sens., and Nature Communications.

Grants and collaborations include work on P-glycoprotein inhibitors and ABC transporter modulation. His lab’s interdisciplinary approach integrates chemistry, biology, and engineering to advance diagnostic tools and theranostic systems.