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BIOLOGICAL MICROSYSTEMS AT COLUMBIA

Discover.
Detect.
Understand.

Microfluidic platforms for aptamer discovery, electronic biosensing, and fluid mechanics for cryo-EM and micromixing.

Columbia BioMEMS Laboratory
Department of Mechanical Engineering

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Animated concepts of microfluidic aptamer discovery, chip-integrated planar graphene FET biosensing, droplet spreading, and micromixing.

Discover, detect, understand: three directions in BioMEMS research.

Current research

Discover molecular recognition. Detect biological signals. Understand microscale flow.

Microfluidic SELEX

We use microfluidic platforms to select and evaluate aptamers: molecular recognition tools for protein detection, therapeutic monitoring, and intracellular analysis.

Aptamer–FET biosensing

We combine aptamer recognition with graphene field-effect transistors, studying surface chemistry and electrical biomarker detection in complex biological media.

Cryo-EM fluid mechanics & micromixing

We investigate droplet spreading and thin-film formation on cryo-EM grids, alongside the design and analysis of chaotic-advection micromixers.

BioMEMS at Columbia

Directed by Professor Qiao Lin, our laboratory in the Department of Mechanical Engineering integrates MEMS and microfluidics to sense, control, and characterize biomolecules and cells.

About the lab, directions, and contact information

Recent research

  • Graphene nanosensors · 2026. Optimized aptamer and PEG surface chemistry enables biomarker measurements in undiluted human serum. Read the study
  • Intracellular BAX probes · 2025. Microfluidically isolated aptamers recognize a radiation-responsive protein in proof-of-concept blood-model experiments. Read the study
  • Aptamer discovery · 2024. Microfluidic selection and cost-efficient candidate evaluation support the development of target-specific probes for therapeutic-antibody measurement. Candidate evaluation · Anti-idiotype aptamers

Explore our research · View all publications

Join the lab

We welcome Ph.D. and postdoctoral candidates interested in biomedical microfluidic systems. Prospective researchers with training in engineering, chemistry, or biology are encouraged to contact Qiao Lin.

Columbia University’s Morningside campus rooftops, from the original BioMEMS website.
Alma Mater and Low Library on Columbia University’s Morningside campus, from the original BioMEMS website.

Columbia, our home

Alma Mater statue framed by the columns of Columbia University’s Low Library

Alma Mater and Low Library on Columbia University’s Morningside campus. Photograph: Eileen Barroso / Columbia University. Columbia campus photographs.

Exterior of the Seeley W. Mudd Building, home to Columbia Engineering
Seeley W. Mudd Building

Seeley W. Mudd Building, home to Columbia Engineering.

Photograph: Columbia University Facilities and Operations. Image source.

Official Columbia campus map showing Mudd, Schapiro CEPSR, and neighboring engineering buildings between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue.
Morningside campus map

Find Mudd Building on Columbia’s Morningside campus.

Map: Columbia University Facilities and Operations. Full campus map.