Meet Clai

Lauren Clai Morehead was born and raised in the heart of the Arkansas Delta in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. She studied at Southern Arkansas University, graduating with a major in chemistry and minor in psychology. She was then accepted to the MD/PhD program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She completed her PhD in 2023 with a focus on enhancing MHC-I expression in melanoma through diet and caloric restriction mimetics. She went back to medical school after and completed her MD/PhD degree, graduating in 2025. 

Clai wanted to be a physician for as long as she can remember. As a child, she wanted to become a pediatrician, and, as a teenager, after developing hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), she developed an interest in both dermatology and the MD/PhD path. Now, she aspires to become an academic pediatric dermatologist, with interests in HS as well as providing care to underserved communities like the one she grew up in. 

Outside of medicine and science, Clai loves reading, writing, and music. Her favorite books include "The Waves" by Virginia Woolf, "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison, and "Tenth of December" by George Saunders. She aspires to write her own book one day and has dabbled in writing poetry and short stories in the past (winning writing awards as a high schooler and as a college student). She loves all kinds of music. Her favorite artists include Animal Collective, NCT 127, Beyoncé, and Modest Mouse. She's played the piano and alto saxophone in the past.