Faisal B. Ashraf


Research Experience

2023 – Present Graduate Student Researcher
University of California, Riverside — Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering

Conduct research on ML, representation learning, and generative modeling applied to protein and antibody systems. Designed and fine-tuned protein language models and contrastive representation learning frameworks to capture binding behavior and mutation-driven effects across antibody–antigen pairs. Developed structure-aware learning approaches integrating sequence and 3D structural information. Built generative and discriminative ML pipelines for antibody interaction modeling across large-scale datasets (500K+ samples). Created SPICE, a production-grade web platform for structural protein–protein interaction analysis (published in NAR, 2026). Published in JCIM, PLOS ONE, Heliyon, AAAI, NeurIPS workshops.
Jun – Sep 2025 Machine Learning Intern — Bioinformatics R&D
Exact Sciences — San Diego, CA

Fine-tuned nucleotide transformer models to predict probe performance in hybrid-capture-based cancer detection workflows. Analyzed large-scale experimental sequencing and assay data. Implemented sensitivity- and specificity-aware evaluation metrics. Trained predictive models achieving ~80% accuracy. Collaborated with interdisciplinary teams spanning ML, experimental biology, and applied research.

Teaching

Jan – Mar 2024 Graduate Teaching Assistant
University of California, Riverside — Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering
Supported instruction for undergraduate courses in Database Systems and Algorithmic Techniques in Bioinformatics. Led discussion sections, held office hours, and provided project guidance.
2018 – 2022 Lecturer — Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering
Brac University & Uttara University — Dhaka, Bangladesh
Independently taught core undergraduate CS courses for 4+ years. Courses: Programming Language I & II, Discrete Mathematics, Data Structures, Algorithms, Database Management Systems, Operating Systems, Artificial Intelligence.

Academic Service

2026Reviewer — ACM BCB '26
2025–26Sub-reviewer — RECOMB '26
2024–25Sub-reviewer — ISMB 2025
2024Sub-reviewer — ISMB 2024
2023Sub-reviewer — ISMB 2023
2022–23Sub-reviewer — RECOMB '23

Skills

Core ResearchProtein Language Models · Structure-Aware Learning · Ab–Ag Binding Prediction · Generative Modeling · Mutation Effect Modeling
ML & AITransformers · LLMs · GNNs · Contrastive Learning · Representation Learning
FrameworksPyTorch · HuggingFace · PyTorch Geometric · TensorFlow · scikit-learn
Bio & StructureAlphaFold · ESMFold · Biopython · PyMOL · PDB tools
LanguagesPython · C/C++ · Java · Bash · SQL

© Faisal B. Ashraf  ·  faisal.b.ashraf@gmail.com