Dr. Qing Lai is associate professor of sociology and graduate program director in the Department of Global & Sociocultural Studies at Florida International University.
He earned his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Michigan, where he developed his expertise in demography and survey methodology at the Institute for Social Research's Population Studies Center and Survey Research Center. He also holds an M.A. in sociology from Temple University and a B.A. in English from Anhui University in Hefei, China.
His research interests include include demography, development, contemporary China, Latin American studies, Cuban studies, and survey methodology. He analyzes census and various survey data to examine the political views of Cuban immigrants in South Florida. He has served as co-principal investigator of the FIU Cuba Poll since 2020. His current research focuses on immigrants and other vulnerable populations in South Florida, as well as China's role in regional development in Latin America.
Dr. Lai has published peer-reviewed articles in professional journals such as Social Science Research, Chinese Sociological Review, Chinese Journal of Sociology, Research in the Sociology of Work, Politics and Religion, and Natural Hazards. He is currently working on a book manuscript (with Guillermo J. Grenier) titled Outliers: Political Incorporation of Cuban Americans in South Florida.