Alex Real, MD-PhD, is an Investor at ARTIS Ventures where he focuses on investing in both healthcare and life sciences companies.

Prior to ARTIS, Alex pursued a career as a physician-scientist, and graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in Biomaterials Engineering, B.A. in English Literature, and M.S. in Materials Science.   His Masters work, under the direction of Jennifer Cochran, PhD and Sarah Heilshorn PhD, focused on engineered proteins as building blocks for bio-inspired materials and molecular therapeutics.

His PhD research under the supervision of Arvin Dar, PhD focused on small-molecule protein interactions and molecular glues, specifically in the kinase-inhibitor space, and his thesis work on the structural mechanism of the drug Trametinib was published in Nature in 2021.

Clinically, Alex completed his Medical Doctorate at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and his intern year at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.  He moved to the west coast to pursue radiation oncology residency at UCSF prior to starting with ARTIS.

Before pursuing a career as a physician-scientist, Alex was an avid ballet dancer – training at the School of American Ballet and later dancing professionally with the Los Angeles Ballet.  He still enjoys dance, music, and theater of all kinds and is a supporter of the arts in Northern California.