Rate My Professor Kent Lai

Kent Lai, PhD, is a Professor in the Division of Medical Genetics within the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Utah School of Medicine. A native of Hong Kong, he earned a Diploma from the Hong Kong Polytechnic, a BSc in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Bradford, a PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of Maryland, MBA and MHA degrees from Georgia State University, and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine. Lai began his career in 2002 at the University of Miami School of Medicine as Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, rising to Associate Professor within six years. In March 2009, he joined the University of Utah as Associate Professor in the Division of Medical Genetics (Pediatrics) and was promoted to Full Professor in 2014. Since 2017, he has held an Adjunct Professorship in the Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology. He leads the Lai Lab, which focuses on therapeutic development for rare inborn errors of metabolism.

Lai's research specializes in developing novel therapeutics for rare diseases, including Classic Galactosemia and Phosphoglucomutase 1 Deficiency, as well as for cancers. Serving as Principal Investigator, he has obtained grants from the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association. He participates as a member of the American Heart Association and NIH SBIR/STTR Study Sections, holds the position of Associate Editor for BMC Medical Genetics, and is an Editorial Board Member for Heliyon (Elsevier). Key publications encompass "Novel mRNA-Based Therapy Reduces Toxic Galactose Metabolites and Overcomes Galactose Sensitivity in a Mouse Model of Classic Galactosemia" (Molecular Therapy, 2020), "A novel phosphoglucomutase-deficient mouse model reveals aberrant glycosylation and early embryonic lethality" (Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease, 2019), "Salubrinal enhances eIF2α phosphorylation and improves fertility in a mouse model of Classic Galactosemia" (Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular Basis of Disease, 2019), "Discovery of novel inhibitors of human galactokinase by virtual screening" (Journal of Computer-Aided Molecular Design, 2019), and "High-throughput screening for human galactokinase inhibitors" (Journal of Biomolecular Screening, 2008). His work has advanced gene-based therapies and small molecule inhibitors for congenital metabolic disorders.