Ali is a BSc (Hons) Biology and MPhil Biochemistry graduate of the University of Portsmouth, UK. His MPhil focused on the characterisation of cellulases involved in the production of second-generation biofuels, igniting an interest into the field of X-ray crystallography. He earned his PhD from the University of Essex, UK, in early 2020, under the co-supervision of Dr. Mike Hough from the University of Essex and Dr. Robin Owen from Diamond Light Source, UK. His research focused on the development of serial crystallography data collection and processing methods for both synchrotrons and X-ray free-electron lasers, used to analyse and exploit the effects of radiation damage in metalloproteins. Ali joined the I24 team as a postdoc in 2020, in a joint collaboration with the Keedy lab of the Advanced Science Research Center, City University of New York. His main research interests focus on phosphatase ligand binding and allostery, with an emphasis on using temperature and ligand binding as methods of structural perturbation. In line with this, the study of phosphatases by utilising serial sample delivery methods at both synchrotrons and XFELs is one of his key research targets.