Michael M. C. Lai facts for kids

Michael Ming-Chiao Lai is a famous scientist from Taiwan who studies viruses. He was born on September 8, 1942. Scientists who study viruses are called virologists.

Early Life and Learning

Michael Lai was born in Tainan, Taiwan. He went to National Tainan First Senior High School. After high school, he studied medicine at National Taiwan University. This is where he began his journey into science.

A Career in Science

After finishing his advanced studies at the University of California, Berkeley in 1973, Dr. Lai started teaching at the University of Southern California (USC). He worked there until 2003. During his time at USC, he became a member of Academia Sinica in 1992. This is a very important group of top scientists in Taiwan. He also became a fellow of the American College of Microbiology in 2002. From 1990, he was a special researcher for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Returning to Taiwan

In 2003, Dr. Lai moved back to Taiwan. He became a distinguished fellow of Academia Sinica. In 2006, he was also made a fellow of The World Academy of Sciences.

Awards and Recognition

Dr. Lai has received many important awards for his scientific work.

• In 2009, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America.
• In 2013, the government of Taiwan gave him the Presidential Science Prize.
• In 2017, he won the Nikkei Asia Prize for his work in science and technology.

Researching Viruses

Dr. Lai is especially known for his work on coronavirus. This is a type of virus that can cause serious illnesses, like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Because of his important discoveries, many people call him the "father of coronavirus research."

Fighting SARS

When the 2003 SARS outbreak happened, Dr. Lai was in Taiwan. He immediately started researching ways to create vaccines against the disease. He worked with another scientist named Ding-Shinn Chen on this important project.

Leading Universities

In July 2003, Dr. Lai became the vice president of Academia Sinica. He held this position until 2006. The next year, he became the president of National Cheng Kung University (NCKU).

During his time as president of NCKU:

• The university started working with IBM Taiwan on new research in nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is about working with tiny materials.
• In 2009, researchers at NCKU made history by flying the first unmanned aerial vehicle (a drone) across the Taiwan Strait.
• Dr. Lai supported ideas to let students from China study at universities in Taiwan. He also worked to keep top teachers and researchers at NCKU.
• In 2010, NCKU started an English-language medical program.
• Later that year, a team at NCKU announced new ways to change genes using special light-activated tools.

Dr. Lai finished his time as NCKU president in 2011. In 2013, he was named a distinguished professor. He continued his research, studying the H7N9 virus when cases were reported in China in 2013. In 2018, he was recognized as one of the Asian Scientist 100 by the Asian Scientist magazine.