Alex began swimming at age 13 for the Windsor Public High School Swim Team (Windsor, CT). Alex went on to study Psychology (’14) and swim for Clark University (Worcester, MA), where he completed his tenure as a 4-year varsity athlete. He was named most improved swimmer as a Junior and elected co-captain as a senior.
During this time Alex also worked as Head Coach for the Windsor Water Rats Express (WWRX) 8 & Under swim team (2010-2012). Santos remained at Clark for a 5th year to earn his master’s degree in public administration (’15), and worked as an assistant coach for the varsity men’s & women’s swim teams for the 2014-2015 season where he also developed a comprehensive strength training program for team.
After completing a post-baccalaureate pre-med program, he pursued his master’s degree in medicinal chemistry (’19) at the Universidade de Coimbra (Coimbra, Portugal), where he specialized in cell biology and neuroendocrinology. Since graduating, Alex has worked as a cell & gene therapy scientist in the greater Boston area at companies like Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Be Biopharma, and Bluebird Bio. Santos is also an age group coach for Commonwealth Swimming (2022-Present) and master’s coach for Liquid Assets New England Swimming (LANES), Boston’s LGBTQIA+ master’s swim team. In his free time, Coach Alex likes to read, make block prints, and hang out with his feline familiar, Felix.
