The Lai Lab

Dr. Lai received her B.S. degree in Biochemistry from California State University, Los Angeles. She conducted undergraduate research in the lab of Dr. Feimeng Zhou. She received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin under the mentorship of Dr. Allen J. Bard. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and her mentors were Dr. Alan J. Heeger and Dr. Kevin W. Plaxco. She is currently a Professor of Chemistry and the Chemistry Graduate Program Chair at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Awards and Recognition

• NSF CAREER award (2010)
• Susan J. Rosowski Professorship (2014 – 2019)
• UNL College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Distinguished Teaching Award​ (2014)
• UNL NCMN Ambassador Award (2015)
• ACS Chemistry Ambassador sash and Certificate of Recognition (2015)
• ACS Local Section Outreach Volunteer of the Year (2017)
• ACS Partners for Progress and Prosperity (P3) Salute to Excellence (2017)
• ACS P3 Regional Award (2018)
• UNL Dean’s Award for Excellence in Graduate Education (2018)
• UNL CAS Original Research and Creative Activity Award (2020)

Professional and Education/Outreach Activities

• NSF Nebraska MRSEC P-SPINS Education and Outreach Director (2016 – 2021)
• “Harry Potter x Science” Education and Outreach Program (2012 – present)
• UNL SciPop Talks! Co-founder and Co-organizer (2014 – present)
• ACS Local Section Alternate Councilor (2018 – present)
• Analytica Chimica Acta Editor (2019 – present) 
• Nebraska Nanoscale Facility Associate Director (2020 – present)
• UNL CAS Research Advisory Committee (2021 – present)
• National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI) Fellow (2021 – present)
• Nebraska EPSCoR EQUATE Associate Director (2021 – present)
• UNL Chemistry Graduate Program Chair (2023 – present)
• NSRI Chemical Defense Working Group Co-Chair (2023 – present)
• UNL Entrepreneurship Campus Fellow (2024 – present)
• UNL CAS Executive Committee (2024 – present)
• US Department of State U.S. Speaker Program (2024 – present)

Selected Publications

E-ION Sensor: Application of Calcium-binding Motif of E-cadherin for Electrochemical Detection of Pb(II). Lofti Zadeh Zhad, H. R.; Lai, R. Y. Anal. Chem. 2018, 90, 6519-6525.

E-DNA Sensor: Folding- and Dynamics-based Electrochemical DNA Sensors. Lai, R. Y. Enzymes as Sensors, Methods in Enzymology 2017, 589, 221-252.

E-AB Sensor: Towards the Development of a Sensitive and Selective Electrochemical Aptamer-based Ampicillin Sensor. Yu, Z.; Sulief, A. L.; Lai, R.  Y. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 2018, 258, 722-729.

E-PB Sensor: Threonine Phosphorylation of an Electrochemical Peptide-based Sensor to Achieve Improved Uranyl Ion Binding Affinity. Thompson, C. C., Lai, R .Y. Biosensors 2022, 12, 961.

Nanosensor: Fabrication of Electrochemical DNA Sensors on Gold-modified Recessed Platinum Nanoelectrodes. Salamifar, S. E.; Lai, R. Y. Anal. Chem. 2014, 86, 2849-2852.

Electrochemical and Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensor: Application of Electrochemical Surface Plasmon Resonance Spectroscopy for Characterization of Electrochemical DNA Sensors. Salamifar, S. E.; Lai, R. Y. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces 2014, 122, 835-839.

Spin Crossover Polymer Composites: Evidence for Long Drift Carrier Lifetimes in [Fe(Htrz)2(trz)](BF4) Plus Polyaniline Composites. Mishra, E.; Ekanayaka, T. K.; McElveen, K. A.; Lai, R. Y.; Dowben, P. A. Organic Electronics 2022, 105, 106516.

NV Diamond Quantum Sensor: Nitrogen-Vacancy Magnetic Relaxometry of Nanoclustered Cytochrome C Proteins. Lamichhane, S., Timalsina, R., Schultz, C., Fescenko, I., Ambal, K.,  Liou, S.-Y., Lai, R. Y., Laraoui, A. Nano Letters 2024, 24, 3, 873-880.

Lai Lab News and Updates

• Dr. Lai is one of the UNL professors on the Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientists list. See the article that is featured on Nebraska Today.
• Dr. Elizabeth Niehaus’ interview with Dr. Lai titled “Taking Risks and Saving Soldier and Civilian Lives: Brought to You by Tenure” is available on the UNL Chapter of American Association of University Professors.
• Our collaborative work with NSRI/DTRA is currently featured on Nebraska Today and the NSRI website.
• Our collaborative work with Dr. Abdelghani Laraoui on nitrogen vacancy-based magnetometry of [Fe(Htrz)2(trz)](BF4) is featured on Nebraska Today.
• Dr. Lai’s “She’s a Scientist” video is featured on Nebraska Today. Check out the video here and also on YouTube.
• Dr. Lai’s “Harry Potter x Science” podcast episodes with Alie Ward at Ologies are now available. Check out the podcast episodes here.