World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Michael M. C. Lai

Michael M. C. Lai

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Microbiology
Taiwan
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Microbiology

D-Index
116
Citations
38233
World Ranking
186
National Ranking
2

Michael M. C. Lai publication distribution in Microbiology in 2026

The chart shows the distribution of publications by all Research.com ranked scientists in the field of Microbiology in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where Michael M. C. Lai sits on this spectrum.

55–64 publications: 8 scientists 65–74 publications: 29 scientists 75–84 publications: 55 scientists 85–94 publications: 112 scientists 95–104 publications: 137 scientists 105–114 publications: 190 scientists 115–124 publications: 235 scientists 125–134 publications: 234 scientists 135–144 publications: 288 scientists 145–154 publications: 264 scientists 155–164 publications: 264 scientists 165–174 publications: 253 scientists 175–184 publications: 276 scientists 185–194 publications: 190 scientists 195–204 publications: 233 scientists 205–214 publications: 207 scientists 215–224 publications: 198 scientists 225–234 publications: 155 scientists 235–244 publications: 161 scientists 245–254 publications: 160 scientists 255–264 publications: 146 scientists 265–274 publications: 139 scientists 275–284 publications: 148 scientists 285–294 publications: 115 scientists 295–304 publications: 96 scientists 305–314 publications: 88 scientists 315–324 publications: 106 scientists 325–334 publications: 65 scientists 335–344 publications: 76 scientists 345–354 publications: 64 scientists 355–364 publications: 62 scientists 365–374 publications: 65 scientists 375–384 publications: 61 scientists 385–394 publications: 34 scientists 395–404 publications: 44 scientists 405–414 publications: 36 scientists 415–424 publications: 35 scientists 425–434 publications: 29 scientists 435–444 publications: 33 scientists 445–454 publications: 34 scientists 455–464 publications: 25 scientists 465–474 publications: 26 scientists 475–484 publications: 20 scientists 485–494 publications: 19 scientists 495–504 publications: 16 scientists 505–514 publications: 17 scientists 515–524 publications: 23 scientists 525–534 publications: 14 scientists 535–544 publications: 14 scientists 545–554 publications: 18 scientists 555–564 publications: 12 scientists 565–574 publications: 7 scientists 575–584 publications: 9 scientists 585–594 publications: 9 scientists 595–604 publications: 9 scientists 605–614 publications: 7 scientists 615–624 publications: 9 scientists 625–634 publications: 7 scientists 635–644 publications: 4 scientists 645–654 publications: 5 scientists 655–664 publications: 6 scientists 665–674 publications: 7 scientists 675–678 publications: 3 scientists 679+ publications: 99 scientists
55 publications 679+

This scientist: 347 publications — 84th percentile

84% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 679 publications or more.

Michael M. C. Lai D-index placement in Microbiology in 2026

The chart shows the D-index (discipline H-index) distribution of Microbiology scientists ranked by Research.com in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where Michael M. C. Lai sits on this spectrum.

40 D-Index: 30 scientists 41 D-Index: 86 scientists 42 D-Index: 90 scientists 43 D-Index: 117 scientists 44 D-Index: 122 scientists 45 D-Index: 123 scientists 46 D-Index: 108 scientists 47 D-Index: 110 scientists 48 D-Index: 106 scientists 49 D-Index: 109 scientists 50 D-Index: 129 scientists 51 D-Index: 111 scientists 52 D-Index: 116 scientists 53 D-Index: 127 scientists 54 D-Index: 134 scientists 55 D-Index: 134 scientists 56 D-Index: 111 scientists 57 D-Index: 136 scientists 58 D-Index: 162 scientists 59 D-Index: 151 scientists 60 D-Index: 139 scientists 61 D-Index: 122 scientists 62 D-Index: 126 scientists 63 D-Index: 144 scientists 64 D-Index: 109 scientists 65 D-Index: 103 scientists 66 D-Index: 124 scientists 67 D-Index: 112 scientists 68 D-Index: 103 scientists 69 D-Index: 131 scientists 70 D-Index: 93 scientists 71 D-Index: 93 scientists 72 D-Index: 96 scientists 73 D-Index: 92 scientists 74 D-Index: 80 scientists 75 D-Index: 66 scientists 76 D-Index: 87 scientists 77 D-Index: 60 scientists 78 D-Index: 73 scientists 79 D-Index: 59 scientists 80 D-Index: 57 scientists 81 D-Index: 55 scientists 82 D-Index: 47 scientists 83 D-Index: 77 scientists 84 D-Index: 50 scientists 85 D-Index: 45 scientists 86 D-Index: 42 scientists 87 D-Index: 41 scientists 88 D-Index: 32 scientists 89 D-Index: 38 scientists 90 D-Index: 35 scientists 91 D-Index: 34 scientists 92 D-Index: 27 scientists 93 D-Index: 26 scientists 94 D-Index: 33 scientists 95 D-Index: 22 scientists 96 D-Index: 37 scientists 97 D-Index: 22 scientists 98 D-Index: 21 scientists 99 D-Index: 22 scientists 100 D-Index: 30 scientists 101 D-Index: 16 scientists 102 D-Index: 20 scientists 103 D-Index: 17 scientists 104 D-Index: 19 scientists 105 D-Index: 16 scientists 106 D-Index: 19 scientists 107 D-Index: 18 scientists 108 D-Index: 14 scientists 109 D-Index: 10 scientists 110 D-Index: 9 scientists 111 D-Index: 7 scientists 112 D-Index: 11 scientists 113 D-Index: 6 scientists 114 D-Index: 15 scientists 115 D-Index: 10 scientists 116 D-Index: 12 scientists 117 D-Index: 7 scientists 118 D-Index: 10 scientists 119 D-Index: 10 scientists 120 D-Index: 11 scientists 121 D-Index: 2 scientists 122 D-Index: 7 scientists 123 D-Index: 12 scientists 124 D-Index: 5 scientists 125 D-Index: 9 scientists 126 D-Index: 6 scientists 127+ D-Index: 95 scientists
40 D-Index 127+

This scientist: 116 D-Index — 97th percentile

97% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 127 D-Index or more.

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Microbiology in Taiwan Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Microbiology in Taiwan Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Microbiology in Taiwan Leader Award
  • 2006 - Fellow, The World Academy of Sciences
  • 2002 - Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology RNA Viruses

Overview

Michael M. C. Lai is affiliated with Academia Sinica in Taiwan and has contributed extensively to research in the field of medicine, with a particular focus on infectious diseases, immunology, and molecular biology. Their research portfolio includes work on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, viral detection and testing, as well as immune response mechanisms.

The scientist's recent publications cover various aspects of viral infection and antiviral research. Notable papers include:

  • Small Structural Proteins E and M Render the SARS-CoV-2 Pseudovirus More Infectious and Reveal the Phenotype of Natural Viral Variants (2021, International Journal of Molecular Sciences)
  • Upregulation of galectin-3 in influenza A virus infection promotes viral RNA synthesis through its association with viral PA protein (2023, Journal of Biomedical Science)
  • A disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain 9 facilitates SARS-CoV-2 entry into cells with low ACE2 expression (2023, Microbiology Spectrum)
  • Glycyrrhizic acid conjugates with amino acid methyl esters target the main protease, exhibiting antiviral activity against wild-type and nirmatrelvir-resistant SARS-CoV-2 variants (2024, Antiviral Research)
  • Dual Effects of 3-epi-betulin from Daphniphyllum glaucescens in Suppressing SARS-CoV-2-Induced Inflammation and Inhibiting Virus Entry (2023, International Journal of Molecular Sciences)

Michael M. C. Lai collaborates frequently with several coauthors, including:

  • Wen-Chi Su
  • Yuag-Meng Liu
  • Mien-Chie Hung
  • Yu-Jen Chang
  • Chih-Hao Lu

Their work has been published in a variety of scientific venues, with multiple papers in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, and others appearing in the Journal of Biomedical Science, Microbiology Spectrum, Antiviral Research, and the European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases.

Areas of focus in their research include:

  • SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
  • SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing
  • Interferon and immune responses
  • Animal virus infection studies
  • Galectins and cancer biology
  • Toxin mechanisms and immunotoxins
  • Protein tyrosine phosphatases

Their subfields of study span infectious diseases, immunology, molecular biology, pharmacology, and plant science.

Among their recognitions are Fellowships in prestigious scientific organizations: Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology in 2002, with a citation related to RNA viruses, and Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences awarded in 2006.

Best Publications

  • The molecular biology of coronaviruses

    Michael M.C. Lai;David Cavanagh

  • Inhibition of the interferon-inducible protein kinase PKR by HCV E2 protein

    Deborah R. Taylor;Stephanie T. Shi;Patrick R. Romano;Glen N. Barber

  • RNA recombination in animal and plant viruses.

    M. M. C. Lai

  • Hepatitis C Virus Core Protein Binds to the Cytoplasmic Domain of Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) Receptor 1 and Enhances TNF-Induced Apoptosis

    Nongliao Zhu;Ali Khoshnan;Robert Schneider;Masayuki Matsumoto

  • Continuous tissue culture cell lines derived from chemically induced tumors of Japanese quail

    Carlo Moscovici;Carlo Moscovici;M.Giovannella Moscovici;M.Giovannella Moscovici;Humberto Jimenez;Humberto Jimenez;Michael M.C. Lai

  • Putative papain-related thiol proteases of positive-strand RNA viruses Identification of rubi- and aphthovirus proteases and delineation of a novel conserved domain associated with proteases of rubi-, α- and coronaviruses

    Alexander E. Gorbalenya;Eugene V. Koonin;Michael M.-C. Lai

  • Coronaviridae: the viruses and their replication

    M. M. C. Lai;K. V. Holmes

  • Hepatitis C virus NS5A colocalizes with the core protein on lipid droplets and interacts with apolipoproteins

    Stephanie T. Shi;Stephen J. Polyak;Hong Tu;Deborah R. Taylor

  • Interactions between viral nonstructural proteins and host protein hVAP-33 mediate the formation of hepatitis C virus RNA replication complex on lipid raft.

    Lu Gao;Hideki Aizaki;Jian-Wen He;Michael M. C. Lai

  • The complete sequence (22 kilobases) of murine coronavirus gene 1 encoding the putative proteases and RNA polymerase.

    Han-Jung Lee;Chien-Kou Shieh;Alexander E. Gorbalenya;Eugene V. Koonin

  • Hepatitis C virus induces a mutator phenotype: Enhanced mutations of immunoglobulin and protooncogenes

    Keigo Machida;Kevin T.-N. Cheng;Vicky M.-H. Sung;Shigetaka Shimodaira

  • Coronavirus: organization, replication and expression of genome.

    Michael M. C. Lai

  • The Molecular Biology of Hepatitis Delta Virus

    Michael M. C. Lai

  • Molecular cloning and sequencing of a human hepatitis delta (δ) virus RNA

    Shinji Makino;Ming Fu Chang;Chien Kou Shieh;Toshio Kamahora

  • Human hepatitis delta virus RNA subfragments contain an autocleavage activity.

    Huey-Nan Wu;Yu-June Lin;Fu-Pang Lin;Shinji Makino

  • High-frequency RNA recombination of murine coronaviruses.

    Shinji Makino;J. G. Keck;S. A. Stohlman;M. M C Lai

  • CELLULAR FACTORS IN THE TRANSCRIPTION AND REPLICATION OF VIRAL RNA GENOMES: A PARALLEL TO DNA-DEPENDENT RNA TRANSCRIPTION

    Michael M.C. Lai

  • Characterization of the hepatitis C virus RNA replication complex associated with lipid rafts.

    Hideki Aizaki;Ki-Jeong Lee;Vicky M.-H Sung;Hiroaki Ishiko

  • Hepatitis C Virus Triggers Mitochondrial Permeability Transition with Production of Reactive Oxygen Species, Leading to DNA Damage and STAT3 Activation

    Keigo Machida;Kevin T.-H. Cheng;Chao-Kuen Lai;King-Song Jeng

  • Hepatitis C Virus RNA Replication Occurs on a Detergent-Resistant Membrane That Cofractionates with Caveolin-2

    Stephanie T. Shi;Ki-Jeong Lee;Hideki Aizaki;Soon B. Hwang

Frequent Co-Authors

Stephen A. Stohlman
Stephen A. Stohlman Cleveland Clinic
Shinji Makino
Shinji Makino The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
Peter K. Vogt
Peter K. Vogt Scripps Research Institute
Hideki Aizaki
Hideki Aizaki National Institutes of Health
Kyoko Yokomori
Kyoko Yokomori University of California, Irvine
Sugantha Govindarajan
Sugantha Govindarajan University of Southern California
Alexander E. Gorbalenya
Alexander E. Gorbalenya Leiden University
Steven K. H. Foung
Steven K. H. Foung Stanford University
Alexandra M. Levine
Alexandra M. Levine City Of Hope National Medical Center
Takaji Wakita
Takaji Wakita National Institute of Infectious Diseases

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