Albert Lai

Albert Lai, PhD, is a Professor-in-Residence in the Department of Neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles. His research focuses on neuro-oncology with specialization in glioblastoma and glioma molecular mechanisms, including epigenetic regulation and microRNA functions in tumor suppression. Dr. Lai leads NIH-funded projects investigating tumor-suppressive miR-148a in IDH mutant gliomas and genome-wide methylation profiling in gliomas.

His research integrates molecular biology, genomics, and clinical applications in neuro-oncology. Key areas include:

• Epigenetic alterations in glioma pathogenesis
• Translational development of targeted glioblastoma therapies
• Clinical trial design for novel treatment combinations

Dr. Lai's publications demonstrate a consistent focus on improving glioblastoma treatments through clinical studies of bevacizumab-based therapies and foundational research on connexin mutations. His work bridges molecular discoveries with clinical applications in neuro-oncology.

As Principal Investigator, he has secured significant NIH funding including:

• R01CA179071 (2014-2019): Tumor suppressive miR-148a mechanisms
• K08CA124479 (2008-2013): Glioma methylation profiling

Dr. Lai collaborates extensively within UCLA's neuroscience community, including ongoing partnerships with neuro-oncology and neurology researchers. He contributes to graduate training through mentorship in translational neuro-oncology research.