Welcome - Green Laboratory
Welcome to the website of the Green lab in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Boston University.
Our group pursues highly interdisciplinary research at the interfaces of chemistry, biology, and materials science. Much of this work exploits programmable molecular interactions between nucleic acids and proteins to direct the assembly of nanometer-scale organic and inorganic components and to construct information-processing circuitry inside living cells. These efforts have wide-ranging implications for biotechnology, medicine, biosensing, and nanotechnology.
Cellular Sensing and Computing Systems
We engineer RNA networks that enable living cells to detect intracellular RNA molecules and perform computations.
Low-Cost Portable Diagnostic Systems
We develop low-cost portable diagnostics that can be used to detect pathogens in low-resource settings.
Novel Antimicrobial Materials and Coatings
We develop new antimicrobial materials that are active against broad classes of drug-resistant bacteria and fungi.
Production and Chemical Modification of 2D Materials
We produce and chemically modify two-dimensional materials with novel electronic, optical, and mechanical properties.
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Green Wins NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award
Before a new car rolls onto the road, engineers measure how it reacts to different forces, from passengers plonking into the seats to jarring collisions. Understanding the impact of these forces provides essential insights into the durability and effectiveness of the vehicle and its components. Now, a Boston University engineer wants to do the same kind of force measurement for biological cells, with the goal of one day improving cancer therapies.
AAG
on
October 9, 2024
Solving an Unmet Need
The most advanced diagnostic technologies may be amazing, but they often do not make it to resource-limited settings, including those places where particularly dangerous pathogens are more prevalent, crowded conditions make outbreaks more likely, or medical facilities are less available. New technologies are addressing this problem.
AAG
on
April 22, 2024
Are You Ready? A Saliva Test Might Tell.
You’re due to run a grueling road race in a few hours. Do you have the stuff to make it across the finish line or will you crash before the end? Or maybe you’ve got a ballet recital or a poker tournament or a big speech—some demanding physical or cognitive challenge is looming, and you need to know that your brain and body are up to it. What if, instead of relying on a vague gut feeling, you could turn to cold, hard data? That’s the goal of a multi-institutional, cross-disciplinary project led by Associate Professor Alexander A. Green (BME).
AAG
on
October 30, 2023
A Simple Test for Viral Detection
Gold-standard lab tests for viruses usually look at several sequences from the virus before determining that a sample is positive, which makes them hard to implement without expensive equipment in centralized facilities. The Green lab has developed a simple test that embeds the same functionality in a piece of paper.
AAG
on
March 18, 2022
Green Garners Award to Develop Cell-Signal Sensor
Assistant Professor Alexander Green (BME) and a Julien Berro from Yale University have earned a RCSA Scialog Collaborative Innovation Award to develop a new type of sensor capable of detecting heretofore hidden signals within a cell, with potential applications both diagnostic and therapeutic.
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February 7, 2022
SNIPRs take aim at disease-related mutations
Researchers from the Green lab at Arizona State University have reported a highly specific method for detecting point mutations. The technique can be applied in living cells and paper-based diagnostic tests, offering a rapid, highly accurate and inexpensive means of identifying mutations relevant to human health. The work is published in
Cell
. (ASU Biodesign story)
AAG
on
February 27, 2020
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Prof. Alexander A. Green
Alexander Green is an Associate Professor in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Boston University.
(More…)
Jiayi Li
Jiayi grew up in China and graduated from UC San Diego with a B.S. degree in Bioengineering: Biotechnology. She joined the Ph.D. program in Biomedical Engineering at BU in 2020. She is interested in engineering RNA-based circuits for imaging and biosensing. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music and reading fantasy novels.
James Robson
James earned his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Boston University in 2020 and joined the Ph.D. program in the same year. As an SB2 trainee, he is interested in engineering biological systems by designing RNA and DNA structures to modulate gene expression. Outside of the lab, he enjoys playing in local orchestras, chamber ensembles, and wind ensembles, as well as baking, watching movies, and volunteering.
Juan J. Jaramillo Montezco
Juan graduated from MIT in 2016 with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. He joined the BME PhD program after working at Lyndra Therapeutics as Scientist II. Juan hopes to bridge biomaterials and synbio to create a fully synthetic cell able to compute complex, specific logic. Juan enjoys new food, playing video/board games, and advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Aidan Riley
Aidan graduated from the University of Connecticut with a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering and joined the BU BME Ph.D. program in 2021. His research focuses on developing machine learning methods to design functional nucleic acids
in vivo
. In his free time, Aidan enjoys skiing, golfing, and hiking.
McKayla Vlasity
McKayla graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder with a B.S. in Chemical and Biological Engineering and joined the BU BME PhD program in 2021. She is interested in designing nucleic acid systems for reporting and therapeutic applications. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading, exploring Boston, and traveling.
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Z. Yan, Y. Li, A. Eshed, K. Wu, Z. M. Ticktin, V. Murugan, E. S. Lim, F. Hong
& A. A. Green
, “Programmable Fluorescent Aptamer-Based RNA Switches for Rapid Identification of Point Mutations,”
Nature Chemistry
published
(2025).
Journal
medRxiv
News & Views
S.-W. Hwang, Y. Li, A. A. Green, A. P. Liu
, “pH-responsive synthetic cells for controlled protein synthesis and release,”
bioRxiv
(2025)
bioRxiv
N. R. Kang, J. Im, J. R. Biondo, C. E. Sharpes, K. A. Rhea, P. M. Garden, J. J. Jaramillo Montezco, A. Ringaci, M. W. Grinstaff, D. A. Phillips, A. E. Miklos & A. A. Green
, “A Rapid and Modular Nanobody Assay for Plug-and-Play Antigen Detection,”
ACS Synthetic Biology
published online
(2025).
Journal
bioRxiv
Addgene Plasmids
J. M. Robson, N. R. Arevalos & A. A. Green
, “Automated Assembly of Programmable RNA-Based Sensors,”
bioRxiv
(2025).
bioRxiv
J. M. Robson & A. A. Green
, “Toehold-VISTA: A machine learning approach to decipher programmable RNA sensor-target interactions,”
bioRxiv
(2025).
bioRxiv
S. J. R. da Silva*, Q. Matthews*, S. Cazaux*, J. R. J. Vigar*, B. N. R. Santos, D. C. M. Carvalho, L. A. Cranmer, D. Duplat, S. Singh, M. Simchi, P. Benitez-Bolivar, T. Y. Cavalcanti, K. Wu, R. P. G. Mendes, T. Kale, A. L. L. Divarzak, K. Bozovicar, J. Doucet, A. Arce, C. Leon, V. Ferrando, J. Nguyen, A. Ho, S. C. de Lima, P. Bayat, Y. Guo, S. Cicek, A. Tinafar, L. Krokovsky, L. Ceschini Machado, A. Rayhan, I. A. Iwe, A. Klenov, T. P. G. de Araujo, J. P. M. do Nascimento, J. J. F. de Magalhaes, M. Guevara-Suarez, P. Garcia Canete, K. Ayi, M. Charania, M. H. S. Paiva, I. Crandall, T. Mazzulli, G. da Luz Wallau, A. Silva-Junior, A. Bernal, C. Athale, A. A. Green, S. C. Weaver, C. Gonzalez, F. Federici
, L. Pena
& K. Pardee
, “International Multi-site Implementation of Local Cell-Free Protein Biomanufacturing to Advance Health and Research Equity,”
medRxiv
(2025).
medRxiv
I. A. Iwe*, F. X. Liu*, A. Corsano, S. J. R. da Silva, J. Doucet, S. Singh, G. Lamothe, R. Zayani, J. Nguyen, Q. Matthews, J. R. J. Vigar, P. Bayat, M. Simchi, K. Bozovicar, M. Charania, S. Panfilov, X. J. Li, T. Mazzulli, J. P. Tremblay, Y. Zhao, A. A. Green, Z. Li
, S. Yao
& K. Pardee
, “RAPID: Evaluation of Cas12a Protospacer Nicking and Chimeric Reporters for PAM-free RNA and DNA diagnostics,” med
Rxiv
(2025).
medRxiv
A. T. Riley, M. Vlasity, J. Z. Huang, W. M. Becicka, W. W. Wong, M. W. Grinstaff & A. A. Green
, “A generalized and efficient approach for complete mRNA design improves translation, stability and specificity,”
bioRxiv
(2025).
bioRxiv
A. T. Riley, J. M. Robson, A. Ulanova & A. A. Green
, “Generative and predictive neural networks for the design of functional RNA molecules,”
Nature Communications
16
, 4155 (2025).
Journal
PDF
GARDN-SANDSTORM Github
Y. Zhou*, P. Sheng*, J. Li, Y. Li, M. Xie
& A. A. Green
, “Conditional RNA interference in mammalian cells via RNA transactivation,”
Nature Communications
15
, 6855 (2024).
Journal
PDF
See More Publications
We have potential openings for graduate students. Please email Dr. Green if you are an admitted or matriculated grad student interested in a position.