Weihang “Valerie” Chai, PhD, joins 69ɫ��Ƭ as director of the Center for Genetic Diseases in early 2024, bringing expertise in genomic stability in carcinogenesis and cancer therapy.

Dr. Chai was most recently a professor in the Department of Cancer Biology at Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine. She also served as an associate professor in the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine at Washington State University.

After graduating from Shandong University in Jinan, China, with a bachelor of arts degree in microbiology, Dr. Chai earned her PhD at Cornell University in molecular microbiology. She subsequently performed postdoctoral studies in cell biology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

“She is very postdoc- and student- focused, as exemplified by the numerous fellows and graduate/undergraduate students that she has mentored.”

Executive Vice President for Research Ronald S. Kaplan, PhD, described Dr. Chai as “an exceptional researcher and leader in the field of genetic disease” in announcing her appointment. Dr. Kaplan served as interim director of the center since July 2023, succeeding Michelle Hastings, PhD.

“She is very postdoc- and student-focused, as exemplified by the numerous fellows and graduate/undergraduate students that she has mentored,” Dr. Kaplan added. “We very much look forward to her leadership as we begin a major rebuilding of this therapeutically important research center.”