Marelli Research Group CEE · MIT
9,000+
citations, h-index >50 ( Nov 2026)
4 continents
seed technology tested in fields around the world to mitigate salinity
2 start-ups
Mori, Inc and Ordered Matter, Inc
1 product
applied to more than 4M Kg of leafy greens/month
Our mission
Study the rules of biopolymer assembly and build with them
Twentieth-century materials transformed health, energy, food and communication. The next generation must also be sustainable and support planetary health. We learn from living systems rules for biofabrication.
By understanding how structural proteins and polysaccharides nanoassemble, we define new rules for material design and manufacturing, and turn them into technologies for the agro-food system. Our mission has two parts: design new biopolymer-based materials that positively impact society, and develop biomaterials-based technologies that make agro-food systems more resilient.
What we work on
Three connected research thrusts underpin different research directions.
Nat. Commun. 2020
Thrust 1
Directed assembly of hierarchical materials
The rules of protein self-assembly, with silk fibroin as a model, and new ways to build from the nanoscale up: microneedles, nanoporous membranes for PFAS removal, nanocarriers and echinate microparticles.
Nature Food 2021
Thrust 2
Biomaterials for food security and safety
Edible coatings that cut food waste, and seed coatings that preserve and deliver biofertilizers to boost yield, soil health and crop nutrition.
Thrust 3
Nat. Nanotechnol. 2025
Delivery of cargo in living systems
Biointerfaces that deliver vitamins, iron, hormones and genetic material to plants, monitor plant health, and vaccinate fish in aquaculture. Newer directions include lanthanide seed treatments and unclonable silk labels against counterfeit seeds.
From lab to impact
Our discoveries start from the basement of Building 1 at MIT to reach grocery stores, farmers' fields, and agrochemical companies
Grocery shelves
Edible silk coatings, commercialized by Mori
Silk coating extends the shelf life of perishable food. Silk fibroin holds FDA GRAS Status (GRN No. 1026), is approved in more than 12 countries since 2022.
Mitigation of abiotic stressors
Seed coatings that deliver beneficial bacteria
Ongoing field trials with staple and speacialty crops in California, Morocco, Tunisia, Brazil, Bangladesh, and Italy
Engineering biointerfaces in plants
Silk microneedles that feed and read plants
Microneedles deliver nutrients and hormones into plant tissue and monitor sap in real time, flagging water stress two days earlier than standard tests.
Cleaner water
Biopolymer membranes that capture PFAS
Co-assembled silk and cellulose nanofibrils remove PFAS "forever chemicals" and heavy metals from water better than current standards in lab tests.
No microplastics
Biodegradable microcapsules
Biodegradable silk microparticles deliver agrochemicals at high throughput and resist wash-off, potentially replacing the microplastics used in today's formulations.
Ventures
Two companies carry the work to market
Mori (food coatings), Ordered Matter (stealth), co-founded by lab members. >10 granted patents in US only
MIT Climate Project
Transforming Agriculture
Benedetto Marelli is Faculty Director in the MIT Climate Project, where he leads the Transforming Agriculture Frontier.
Today's food system is energy-intensive and emission-heavy: nitrogen, carbon, and pesticides leak into the environment while too little reaches crops, damaging soils and farmers. The Frontier aims to transform agriculture as an integrated system that works with natural processes, grows more food with fewer inputs and lower emissions, and improves nutrition and ecosystem health.
Engineered microbes and biological nitrogen fixation
Targeted nutrient release and soil microbiome health
Sensing and AI decision tools
New materials for agriculture
Field testing with farmers, from smallholder plots to industrial farms
The LAB goals for the next decade
What we are working toward.
Farmers prosperity and food access
Define new tools and strategies to improve farmers wellbeing, boost food production and decrease the social cost of food
Aim at impacting the world
Test with farmers in real field conditions, and launch tough-tech companies that deploy technologies at scale.
Life preservation
Develop new technologies that enable life preservation in extreme environments
Improving human health
Design new technologies that improve human health by targeting broad access of treatments
Design living matter
New biopolymers and biomacromolecules to engineer living systems.
Educate the next generation
Scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs in advanced materials.
Join us
We are recruiting.
We welcome motivated students and postdocs from materials science, biology, chemistry, physics, agronomy and engineering. MIT Civil and Environmental Engineering is committed to a welcoming and inclusive community where everyone is respected. Strong ethic, hard work and big dreams are our only ask.