Dr Alex Chan, MBiomedSc, PhD

Alex researched nutritional and metabolic health during his postgraduate studies at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is interested in the work being done at the Gillies McIndoe Research Institute and wishes to be involved with research developing novel treatments for human health. 

Alex joined Gillies McIndoe in 2023 as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow on the KiwiNet PreSeed Fund after submitting his PhD thesis (Auckland University) in March 2023. 

Alex’s post-doctoral research focuses on novel treatments for keloid disorders. Keloid disorders are tumours caused by an overgrowth of scar tissue after an injury in genetically susceptible individuals. 

During his Master’s and Doctoral degrees at the University of Auckland, Alex researched nutritional health and metabolic diseases through human clinical trials, translational biomedical research, cell-based experiments, and bioinformatics (collecting and analysing complex biological data). His primary interest is researching ways to improve human health and disease treatments. 

Alex is keen to begin his career in research and learn new techniques and skills while also expanding his academic network and assisting others whenever possible. 

Alex has completed his Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral degrees in Biomedical sciences from the University of Auckland. During this time, he has been an avid lab tutor for undergraduate courses and has contributed to improving the lab content each year. Alex received the University of Auckland Doctoral and Henry Kelsey Research scholarships. 

Outside of his work, Alex is into swimming and bouldering and enjoys exploring New Zealand’s great outdoors. He also likes to try different cuisines and restaurants, and at night likes to wind down by playing online video games with friends.