Dr. Lai’s research focuses on both clinical and basic science, including identifying novel targeted therapies for anaplastic thyroid carcinoma, monitoring functional treatment response and normal tissue toxicity with functional MRI, developing a multi-institutional prospective trial to evaluate sentinel lymph node biopsy for early-stage oral cavity cancer, and defining the role of microRNA in the progression of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Dr. Lai has received research awards and funding from the National Institutes of Health, American College of Surgeons, American Head and Neck Society, American Academy of Otolaryngology, The Thyroid Head and Neck Cancer (THANC) Foundation and the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas.