Chih-Yu Pai

Chih-Yu Pai is a Visiting Research Assistant Professor affiliated with the Stone Lab in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His research focuses on cellular processes in yeast, particularly mechanisms governing pheromone response, cell polarity establishment, and signal transduction. He investigates lipid roles in gradient sensing, actin-independent vesicle trafficking, and cyclin-dependent regulatory pathways.

Key research areas include understanding how claudin superfamily members influence yeast cell morphology during mating, lipid dynamics in chemotaxis, and the structural basis of RNA polymerase III function. His work spans molecular biology, cell biology, and genetics, with applications to fundamental biological mechanisms.

Published studies highlight contributions to yeast mating pathway analysis, including Bud1-dependent gradient tracking and Pcl1 cyclin roles in receptor polarization. No awards or grants are explicitly listed in the provided information.