Minying Cai

Minying Cai is one of two UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson faculty members inducted into the National Academy of Inventors as NAI Senior Members.

Cai, PhD, is a research professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and a member of the UArizona BIO5 Institute and the Therapeutic Development Program at the UArizona Cancer Center . Her research focuses on identifying and developing molecular modulators of melanocortin receptors for treatment of medical disorders associated with the skin, including melanoma. She is part of a UArizona startup, MCR Therapeutics Inc., that licensed these melanin-producing compounds developed for a systemic approach to preventing skin damage and cancer.