Alex was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, and has also lived in Uzbekistan, Romania, and now Canada. He began his undergraduate studies pursuing an H.B.Sc. in Chemistry at York University in the fall of 2019, and joined the Hili Lab in the spring of 2020, researching epitranscriptomics and modified RNA chemistry. In the future, Alex plans to continue graduate studies in organic chemistry, and go into academia. He is a former athlete, having ran the 400m sprint at the European Youth Olympics in 2015, and played at the FIBA U16 Men's Basketball European Championship in 2016. He also plays the drums and guitar, and is a passionate fan of many subgenres of rock music.