Hung-Sen Lai

Dr. Hung-Sen Lai is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Developmental, Molecular and Chemical Biology at Tufts University School of Medicine. His research centers on computer-aided rational drug design, particularly developing peptide mimetics for therapeutic applications in cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. He manages a scientific team utilizing the proprietary Calentrack™ laboratory information system to streamline compound collection expansion for drug development.

Dr. Lai holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the State University of New York (1996) and a Bachelor of Science from Tunghai University (1985).

His research spans drug design, medicinal chemistry, and therapeutic development, with specific interests in fibroblast activation protein (FAP) targeting, dipeptidyl peptidase mechanisms, and boronic acid-based inhibitors. Key areas include:

• Cancer theranostics and tumor microenvironment modulation
• Immune response enhancement via protease inhibition
• High-throughput screening methodologies for enzyme profiling

Recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on oncology and immunology, exploring FAP-targeted radiotheranostics, dipeptidyl peptidase roles in immune activation, and novel protease inhibitors. A trend toward translational applications in cancer therapy and infectious diseases is evident, with increasing emphasis on combinatorial approaches.

Dr. Lai leads a research group focused on drug discovery and development at Tufts University, though no specific advisees are named.