Sara Rouhanifard
Assistant Professor, Bioengineering
Office
- 617.373.2226
Related Links
Research Focus
Developing chemical approaches to track and quantify important RNA processing events and modifications in single cells; DNA: protein interactions that drive differences in gene expression; understanding differences in RNA expression and the impacts on disease and development
About
Joins the bioengineering department in January 2019.
Education
- PhD, Biochemistry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 2014
- MS, Biochemistry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 2012
- BS, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 2007
Honors & Awards
- 2023 Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering (CMBE) Rising Star Award
- Ruth S. Kirschstein F32 National Research Service Award
Research Overview
Developing chemical approaches to track and quantify important RNA processing events and modifications in single cells; DNA: protein interactions that drive differences in gene expression; understanding differences in RNA expression and the impacts on disease and development
Rouhanifard Lab
Our lab uses chemical, biological and computational approaches to address both fundamental and applied questions in biology and medicine. We aim to foster an interdisciplinary and translational research environment in which biologists, chemists, and engineers can work together to solve exciting problems.
Selected Research Projects
- Direct RNA sequencing using electro-optical zero-mode waveguides and custom click fluorescent nucleotides
- – co-Principal Investigator (R01), NIH
- Synthetic mRNA Control Set for Nanopore-Based Pseudouridine Modification Profiling in Human Transcriptomes
- – Principal Investigator, NIH
Department Research Areas
Selected Publications
- S.H. Rouhanifard, I.A. Mellis, M. Dunagin, S. Bayatpour, C.L. Jiang, I. Dardani, O. Symmons, B. Emert, E. Torre, A. Cote, A. Sullivan, J.A. Stamatoyannopoulos, A. Raj ClampFISH Detects Individual Nucleic Acid Molecules Using Click Chemistry–Based Amplification, Nature Biotechnology, 37(1), 2019, 84-89
- S.H. Rouhanifard, A.L. Aguilar, L. Meng, K.W. Moremen, P. Wu, Engineered Glycocalyx Regulates Stem Cell Proliferation in Murine Crypt Organoids, Cell Chemical Biology, 25(4), 2018, 439-446
- C.N. Casson, J.L. Doerner, A.M. Copenhaver, J. Ramirez, A.M. Holmgren, M.A. Boyer, I.J. Siddarthan, S.H. Rouhanifard, A. Raj, S. Shin, Neutrophils and Ly6Chi Monocytes Collaborate in Generating an Optimal Cytokine Response that Protects Against Pulmonary Legionella Pneumophila Infection, PLOS Pathogens, 13(4), 2017
- I.A. Mellis, R. Gupte, A. Raj, S.H. Rouhanifard Visualizing Adenosine to Inosine RNA Editing in Single Mammalian Cells, Nature Methods, 8, 2017, 801-804
- S.H. Rouhanifard, A. Lopez-Aguilar, P. Wu, CHoMP: A Chemoenzymatic Histology Method Using ‘Clickable’ Probes, ChemBioChem, 15(18), 2014, 2667-2673
Mar 14, 2024
Developing Tools to Analyze Individual RNA Molecules
COS/BioE Professor Meni Wanunu and BioE Assistant Professor Sara Rouhanifard, in collaboration with Anna-Marie Pyle from Yale University, were awarded a $4.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) for “Direct RNA Sequencing Using Electro-optical Zero-mode Waveguides and Custom Click Fluorescent Nucleotides.”
Dec 06, 2023
Unlocking the Secrets of RNA
BioE Assistant Professor Sara Rouhanifard explores the impact of RNA modifications on cell function and explains how Northeastern has helped both her and her students unlock new ideas.
Apr 24, 2023
Rouhanifard Receives $3.4M NIH Grant to Discover RNA Modification Sites Using Pseudouridine Modified mRNA
BioE Assistant Professor Sara Rouhanifard was awarded a $3.4 million NIH R01 grant for “Synthetic mRNA Control Set for Nanopore-Based Pseudouridine Modification Profiling in Human Transcriptomes.” The research has the potential to vastly increase insight into the epitranscriptome—changes in chemical modifications of RNA that can affect gene expression within cells—which could help identify new therapeutic targets and lead to new classes of drugs.
Dec 22, 2022
Rouhanifard Receives CMBE Rising Star Award
BioE Assistant Professor Sara Rouhanifard was selected to receive a 2023 Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering (CMBE) Rising Star Award for her outstanding impact on the field of cellular and molecular bioengineering.
May 18, 2022
Announcing Summer 2022 PEAK Experiences Awardees
Several engineering students and science students mentored by COE faculty are recipients of Northeastern’s Summer 2022 PEAK Experiences Awards.
Jan 28, 2022
Measuring Viral Concentrations and Infectivity
BioE Assistant Professor Sara Rouhanifard and Affiliated Faculty Meni Wanunu were awarded a $250K PFI-TT NSF grant for “Developing an integrated platform for high accuracy measurements of viral particle count and infectious titer.”
May 21, 2020
Ruberti Awarded Grant for Low-Cost COVID-19 Diagnostics Testing
BioE Professor Jeffrey Ruberti, in collaboration with the University of California-Los Angeles and University of Massachusetts Amherst, was awarded a $150K NSF RAPID grant for “Low-Cost, Non-invasive, Fast Sample Collection System for COVID-19 Viral Load Level Diagnosis: Point-of-Care and Environmental Testing.”
Apr 11, 2020
FY21 TIER 1 Award Recipients
Congratulations to the 19 COE faculty and affiliates who were recipients of FY21 TIER 1 Interdisciplinary Research Seed Grants for 13 different projects.
Apr 09, 2019
FY20 TIER 1 Award Recipients
25 COE faculty and affiliates were recipients of FY20 TIER 1 Interdisciplinary Research Seed Grants for 18 different projects representing up to $900K dollars of investment in research.
Jan 04, 2019
New Faculty Spotlight: Sara Rouhanifard
Sara Rouhanifard joins the Bioengineering department in January 2019 as an Assistant Professor.