Jennifer Lai, a senior majoring in biological engineering and music and theater arts, has received a Rhodes scholarship to study next year at the University of Oxford. She is the 44th person from MIT to become a Rhodes scholar.

Lai, 21, of Honolulu, is a first-rate pianist who has played with the Boston Pops. As an undergraduate, she has conducted research on the molecular basis of glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive type of brain cancer, and on the use of engineering tools to develop protein therapeutics. She is also active in her sorority and with a support organization for people with HIV.

Lai will pursue a master’s degree in integrated immunology at Oxford and eventually hopes to receive an MD and a PhD.