One of the major mysteries of biology is the process of aging. Our goal is to understand the molecular mechanisms governing aging and age-related decline not simply to extend lifespan but to improve overall health.

Computer scientists look at the genotypic fingerprints of DNA or RNA sequences. Biologists focus their efforts on studying genes and pathways responsible for phenotypic profiling. These two are linked by novel technologies that enable studying molecular machinery of main pathways and diseases at a significantly accelerated pace. We will be utilizing Microfluidics, Machine Learning, Microscopy, Automation, Genetics, and Molecular biology to develop novel high throughput technologies for answering fundamental biological questions using C. elegans. Sohrabi lab also works closely with computer scientists and biologists in Science and Engineering Innovation and Research Building (SEIR) at UTA to bridge this gap. Here are some examples of our previous works!

CeSnAP (C. elegans Snapshot Analysis Platform)

We have developed a high-throughput machine learning-based pipeline, CeSnAP, for the study of Parkinson’s disease using C. elegans. CeSnAP enabled us to find novel potential drug candidates for Parkinson’s disease. Read more HERE.


  1. Salman Sohrabi, Danielle E. Mor, Rachel Kaletsky, William Keyes, and Coleen T. Murphy. "High-throughput behavioral screen in C. elegans reveals Parkinson disease drug candidates." Communications Biology (2020): 1-9.
  2. Danielle E. Mor, Salman Sohrabi, Rachel Kaletsky, William Keyes, Alp Tartici, Vrinda Kalia, Gary W. Miller, and Coleen T. Murphy. "Metformin rescues Parkinson’s disease phenotypes caused by hyperactive mitochondria." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, no. 42 (2020): 26438-26447.
  3. Victoria Yao, Rachel Kaletsky, William Keyes, Danielle E. Mor, Aaron K. Wong, Salman Sohrabi, Coleen T. Murphy, and Olga G. Troyanskaya. "An integrative tissue-network approach to identify and test human disease genes." Nature Biotechnology (2018).

CeLab (A Miniature C. elegans Lab)

We invented a microfluidic-based technology, CeLab, for high-throughput genetic and drug screening to study molecular mechanisms of aging.


  1. Coleen T. Murphy, and Salman Sohrabi. US Provisional Patent #22-3844: CeLab: A Miniature Easy to Use C. elegans Lab on a Chip for Research. (2021).
  2. Salman Sohrabi, Vanessa Cota, Chen Lesnik, and Coleen T. Murphy. "CeLab: a Microfluidic Platform for the Study of Life History Traits." In prep.
  3. Leo S. Choi, Cheng Shi, Jasmine Ashraf, Salman Sohrabi, and Coleen T. Murphy. "Oleic acid protects Caenorhabditis mothers from mating-induced death and the cost of reproduction." Frontiers in cell and developmental biology 9 (2021).
  4. Vanessa Cota, Salman Sohrabi, and Coleen T. Murphy. "Fission and PINK-1-mediated mitophagy are required for Insulin/IGF-1 signaling mutant reproductive longevity". Under review at Nat. Aging.

CeAid (C. elegans Application for inputting data)

We created a mobile app, CeAid, to help us log experimental data at high throughput. Read more HERE.


  1. Salman Sohrabi, Rebecca S. Moore, and Coleen T. Murphy. "CeAid: a smartphone application for logging and plotting Caenorhabditis elegans assays." G3 Genes| Genomes| Genetics (2021).

CeFlex (C. elegans Flexibility Test)

We Co-developed novel elasticity measurement techniques, CeFlex, to study the mechanobiology of aging using C. elegans. 


  1. Salman Sohrabi*, Mohammad Rahimi*, and Coleen T. Murphy. "Novel elasticity measurements reveal C. elegans cuticle stiffens with age and in a long-lived mutant " Biophysical Journal (2022) *co-first author