Aubry was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. After earning a B.S. in chemistry from Stanford University in 1995, he began his career as a medicinal chemist at Roche Biosciences (later Roche Palo Alto). There, he “cut his teeth” in organic synthesis and medicinal chemistry, working side by side with seasoned bench chemists. Starting in 1999, he spent a year working at Roche’s parent site in Basel, Switzerland, where he had his first experience of European living.
Upon returning to the Bay Area, Aubry pursued a PhD at UC Berkeley, completing it in 2006 under the mentorship of Dirk Trauner. His research focused on the total synthesis of two distinct natural product target classes. He then spent a year as a postdoctoral researcher in Robert Bergman’s group at UC Berkeley, exploring the intersection of metal- and organocatalysis.
In 2008, Aubry moved to Heidelberg, Germany, to lead a medicinal chemistry group at the DKFZ. Since 2010, he has led the Cancer Drug Development Group. A synthetic organic chemist at heart, Aubry loves the physical act of making, purifying, and characterizing substances in the lab. And while a well-executed crystallization or a beautiful NMR spectrum still gives him immense satisfaction, he is especially passionate about the interplay of chemistry and biology, striving to imbue biological function into the substances he and his group create in the lab.
Outside of work, Aubry enjoys spending time with his family, coaching soccer, and skating, surfing, and snowboarding.