Related News for Sara Rouhanifard

Uncovering Hidden Consistency in Cellular Research Models

COS/BioE Professor Meni Wanunu and BioE Associate Professor Sara Rouhanifard’s research on “Pseudouridine reprogramming in the human T cell epitranscriptome: from primary to immortalized states” was published in RNA. In their study comparing pseudouridine (ψ) profiles in primary human T cells and Jurkat cell lines, they found that while 87% of core RNA modification patterns are conserved, the remaining 13% differ in biologically significant ways, suggesting immortalized cells are a surprisingly consistent yet imperfect model for study.

Investigating RNA Dynamics and Modifications

Working in BioE Assistant Professor Sara Rouhanifard’s lab, Keqing Nian, PhD’25, bioengineering, and Oleksandra Fanari, PhD’27, bioengineering, are developing novel tools to study the dynamic nature of RNA and gene expression in live cells.

Revolutionizing Live-Cell Research With InCu-Click

BioE Assistant Professor Sara Rouhanifard’s lab has developed InCu-Click, a breakthrough reagent that makes the powerful click chemistry technique safe for live-cell applications, opening up new possibilities in drug discovery, diagnostics, and biological research.

Fall 2024 Spark Fund Awardees

BioE Assistant Professor Sara Rouhanifard, Bouve/MIE Assistant Professor Max Shepherd, and MIE Assistant Professor Jeffrey Lipton are recipients of the Fall 2024 Spark Fund Awards from Northeastern’s Center for Research Innovation.

Faculty and Staff Awards 2025

Faculty and staff were recognized at the 27th Annual College of Engineering Faculty and Staff Awards for their exceptional service and dedication in support of students, the COE community, and the university during the 2024-2025 academic year.

Exploring mRNA Modifications and Gene Expression at Inaugural RNA Symposium

BioE Assistant Professor Sara Rouhanifard presented her research on how mRNA modifications regulate gene expression at the inaugural Center for RNA Molecular Biology symposium at Penn State.

2024 URF Scholars Recipients

Several engineering students received 2024 URF Scholars Awards from Northeastern’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships. URF Scholars are students who are graduating this year and who have earned a PEAK Experiences Award, applied for a distinguished fellowship, or participated in graduate school advising.

$4.2M NIH Award for 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.”

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.

$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.

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.

Summer 2022 PEAK Experiences Awardees for Undergrad Research

Several engineering and science students mentored by COE faculty are recipients of Northeastern’s Summer 2022 PEAK Experiences Awards from the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships.

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.”

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.”