Sara Rouhanifard
Assistant Professor,
Bioengineering
Office
- 617.373.2226
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
- 2025 Søren Buus Outstanding Research Award
- 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 10, 2025
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. She received a Spark Fund Award from the Center for Research Innovation at Northeastern for this research.
Jan 30, 2025
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.
Jan 30, 2025
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.
May 23, 2024
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.
May 08, 2024
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.
Mar 14, 2024
$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.”
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
$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
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.