Chih-Hsuan LAISpecially Appointed Assistant Professor,
Hiroshima University
(PI: Danny Hsu)

WPI-SKCM², Hiroshima University, Specially Appointed Assistant Professor

chlai_at_hiroshima-u.ac.jp

Chih-Hsuan Lai is a structural biologist who focuses on identifying key residues and motifs that alter protein conformation, dynamics, and function. By combining NMR spectroscopy and crystallography, he investigates protein conformational changes at high resolution. He has identified mutation-induced allosteric regulation in a 5₂-knotted protein, BAP1, mapped a perturbation network centered on the knotted region, and elucidated how dynamic coupling occurs through a leucine–phenylalanine alignment system. He is also investigating complex-type 7₁-knotted proteins to uncover their knotting mechanisms. In the future, he aims to expand this approach to elucidate how knotted conformations regulate protein function and perturb structure.