Albert is a physician-scientist committed to the direct care of brain cancer patients and improving patient quality of life through translational and basic research. As the leader of the Lai Lab, his interests are focused on the molecular underpinnings and characteristics of glioma that leads to differential patient outcomes. His lab particularly has expertise in studying the methylation profiles of glioma patient tissues. In addition to his research, he is also an active physician, treating patients here at UCLA.

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Professor In Residence
Neuro-oncology Program
Department of Neurology

Education

UCSD School of Medicine, MD PhD (1998)
UCLA School of Medicine, Residency (2002)
UCLA School of Medicine, Fellowship (2005)
Neurology, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (2004)

Tie is our Senior Lab Technician with exceptional expertise in molecular biology. He is proficient in IHC/ICC, gel blots, DNA/RNA sequencing, cell transfection, cell culture, and much more. He holds both a PhD in Physiology from Bejing Medical University and an MD from Inner Mongolia Medical College, and is currently investigating ways in which targeted DNA methylation can be used to develop novel therapies for the treatment of glioma.

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Education

Inner Mongolia Medical College, MD
Bejing Medical University, PhD (Physiology)

Blaine currently holds a Bachelor's Degree in Neuroscience from UCLA and is the current Lai lab manager. Throughout his UCLA career, he has been a proactive member of the UCLA student body, such as participating in leadership roles in the Neuroscience Undergraduate Society. Outside of the lab, he has interests in computers, motorcycles, and his cat Miso, and he intends to attend medical school in the near future.

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Education

Neuroscience, B.S. (UCLA, 2021)

Terry is a graduate student completing his PhD research within the Lai Lab. He has a background in various programming languages (C#, R, HTML, CSS, Python, etc.) and is interested in utilizing computers to solve complex neurobiological problems and outstanding biological questions. He focuses currently on surveying the epitranscriptomic landscape in glioma and how understanding the epitranscriptome may influence glioma prognoses and tumor progression.

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Education

Neuroscience, B.S. (UCLA, 2017)
Physiological Science, M.S. (UCLA, 2019)
Neuroscience, PhD (UCLA, in Progress)

Skills

Programming (C#, R, Python, HTML/CSS, JavaScript)

Chuyin is a Neuroscience major at UCLA who joined the Lai lab in 2023. She is currently evaluating MRI scans as part of a restrospective radiological analysis of multicentric gliomas. Outside of the Lai lab she enjoys reading (particularly stories of the SciFi genre) and baking, with hopes to perfect a macaron recipe in the near future!

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Education

Neuroscience, B.S. (UCLA In Progress)

Hobbies

Baking
Reading

Collin is a second-year Physiological Sciences major at UCLA who joined the Lai lab in 2023. He is hoping to pursue medical school in the future. Outside of lab, he is involved in a club at UCLA called Vietnamese Community Health and is part of the Taekwondo Club. He enjoys skiing, hanging out with friends, and playing video games in his free time.

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Education

Neuroscience, B.S. (UCLA In Progress)

Serendipity is a former Neuro-Oncology fellow and practicing physician-scientist. She worked closely with Dr. Tie Li to investigate how MGMT methylation plays a role in influencing temozolomide treatment of glioma, and how the mechanisms of this interaction may be enhanced to improve glioma therapies. She is now at the University of Florida.

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Education

UCLA Neuro-Oncology Fellowship (2023)
Neurology, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (2021)
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine (2020)
Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, MD (2014)
Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, PhD (2013)

Vicki was an undergraduate researcher in the Lai Laboratory from 2021-2023. She recently graduated from UCLA with a Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology major and Asian American Studies minor, and will be attending medical school in the near future. Outside of science, she enjoys a variety of activities including learning to cook new dishes, playing guitar, painting, and trying new restaurants.

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Education

Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, B.S. (UCLA 2023)

Ethan is a former UCLA undergraduate student who studied Neuroscience and Biomedical Research here at UCLA. Originally from Modesto, California, his work in the lab was focused on evaluating how we can best manage the care of glioma patients. When not in the lab, he was passionate about his hobbies, including surfing, training for the LA Marathon, and meeting his weekly goal of reading one book per week!

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Education

Neuroscience, B.S. (UCLA 2023)