Tjasa Legen

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About

Tjasa Legen is a researcher specializing in aptamer technology and automated molecular selection systems, with a focus on advancing the accessibility and efficiency of aptamer development for biosensing and molecular detection applications. Her most notable contribution lies in the automation of Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (SELEX) — the iterative process used to select aptamers, short nucleic acid sequences that bind specific molecular targets with high affinity and selectivity. Legen's most cited work (2019, 16 citations) introduced a fully robotic system capable of automating RNA aptamer selection, including the generation of chemically modified 2′-deoxy-2′-fluoro RNA aptamers, which exhibit enhanced stability and nuclease resistance. This innovation significantly lowered the technical barriers and resource demands traditionally associated with aptamer selection, broadening accessibility for researchers across disciplines. Her subsequent work (2025) extended robotic-assisted SELEX to the challenging domain of small molecule targets, where conventional immobilization strategies present particular difficulties. Together, these contributions represent meaningful advances in making aptamer-based molecular tools more reproducible, scalable, and practical — positioning Legen as an emerging voice in the intersection of automation technology and nucleic acid engineering.