Alex is a microbial biogeochemist that conducts research at the intersection of microbial ecology, biogeochemistry, and glaciology. He uses both geochemical and microbiological methods to measure rates of microbial activity in climate-sensitive regions of the Alpine, Arctic, and Antarctic with the ultimate goal of understanding how the loss of ice impacts the role of microorganisms in globally relevant element cycles (C, Fe, S).

Current funded projects involve studying the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide ice core to understand how microorganisms survive the process of snow turning into glacial ice and long-term burial in glacial ice. 

He has served as a Research Scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay, Maine and a visiting scientist at the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center.