Research Assistant I

About the role

The Research Assistant I will work in the Rouskin Lab on RNA language models and will assist with the development of a high-throughput screening framework for RNA secondary-structure prediction. The Research Assistant I will use Albatross, a fine-tuned RiNALMo model that predicts RNA structure from sequence using dependency mapping.

Job-Specific Responsibilities

• Working within established protocols, the Research Assistant I will apply parameter-efficient fine-tuning methods, including low-rank adapters, to RNA families and individual sequences.
• The position will support the scaling of this framework across multiple RNA families and contribute to its application in the discovery of potential human riboswitches.
• Initial analyses will focus on known bacterial riboswitches that adopt two mutually exclusive folds.
• These analyses will help evaluate whether the model can represent structural ensembles before it is applied to the screening of human transcripts for candidate riboswitches.
• The Research Assistant I will also assist with interpretability analyses, including linear probing, attention analysis, and targeted ablation, to investigate how structural information is encoded across model layers and attention heads.
• Additional responsibilities may include evaluating alternative RNA and genomic language models, including masked, span-infilling, and autoregressive architectures such as GLM-style models, Evo, and EVA.
• Responsibilities will include data curation, preprocessing, code implementation, parameter-efficient model fine-tuning, dependency-map generation, validation against experimental structures, benchmarking against existing computational methods, data visualization, and research documentation.
• The Research Assistant I will receive training and direction from the supervisor but will organize daily work independently within established guidelines, consult the supervisor on complex or unusual issues, and contribute to lab meetings, research reports, presentations, and manuscripts as appropriate.

Basic Qualifications

• College background or equivalent work experience, preferably in bioinformatics, computer science, computational biology, data science, or a related discipline.
• At least one-year related lab experience (relevant course work may count towards experience).

Additional Information

• Term: This is a 4-month term position from the date of hire, with the possibility of extension, contingent upon work performance and continued funding to support the position.
• Standard Hours/Schedule: Please note this is a part-time, 20 hours per week position | 4 hours Monday - Friday.
• Visa Sponsorship Information: Harvard University is unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position
• Pre-Employment Screening: Identity
• Interview Format: All interviews will be conducted remotely using a video conferencing platform.
• Staying Informed About Your Application: Due to the high volume of applications, we may not always be able to reach out right away, but you can track your status anytime through the Careers@Harvard portal.

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Work Format Details

This position has been determined by school or unit leaders that some of the duties and responsibilities can be effectively performed at a non-Harvard location. The work schedule and location will be set by the department at its discretion and based upon operational needs.

When not working at a Harvard or Harvard-designated location, employees in hybrid positions must work in a Harvard registered state in compliance with the University's Policy on Employment Outside of Massachusetts. Additional details will be discussed during the interview process. Certain visa types and funding sources may limit work location. Individuals must meet work location sponsorship requirements prior to employment.

Salary Grade and Ranges

This position is salary grade level 052. Please visit Harvard's Salary Ranges to view the corresponding salary range and related information.

Benefits

• Harvard offers a comprehensive benefits package that is designed to support a healthy work-life balance and your physical, mental and financial wellbeing.
• Because here, you are what matters.
• Our benefits include, but are not limited to:

• Generous paid time off including parental leave
• Medical, dental, and vision health insurance coverage starting on day one
• Retirement plans with university contributions
• Wellbeing and mental health resources
• Support for families and caregivers
• Professional development opportunities including tuition assistance and reimbursement
• Commuter benefits, discounts and campus perks