Silvi Rouskin, Ph.D.

Research

My lab is dedicated to uncovering the intricate structures formed by RNA inside cells. Deciphering the structures adopted by complex biological molecules is key to elucidating their function. Although the atomic details of over 180,000 protein structures are well-documented, the intricate folds of cellular RNAs remain less understood. As an independent Whitehead Fellow, I discovered that the RNA of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can adopt alternative configurations inside living cells, allowing it to regulate the activity of different genes. Now, by pioneering and using a suite of cutting-edge tools in computational biology, biochemistry, and single-molecule structural modeling, I plan to build a comprehensive database containing the structures of hundreds of thousands of RNA molecules from humans, bacteria, and viruses. This resource will serve as the foundation for developing a machine-learning algorithm capable of predicting RNA structures from their sequences. My research aims to deepen our understanding of RNA’s roles in critical cellular processes like gene regulation, and it will pave the way for identifying new RNA-based targets for therapeutic interventions against infections and diseases such as cancer.