M.Sc. researcher in bioinformatics · University of Calgary (February 2027)
Hi, my name is Sasha Chernenkoff!
I'm finishing an M.Sc. in bioinformatics in the Long lab at the University of Calgary. My research focuses on transfer learning, representation learning and model interpretation for genomic data. I apply large pretrained models to new prediction tasks and use in silico perturbation to test what they learn. I also build models that learn compact representations of high-dimensional genomic data for downstream statistical analysis. My current work fine-tunes genomic foundation models to predict protein abundance and RNA coverage.
I'm particularly interested in interpretability: helping researchers and clinicians understand which features drive a model's predictions.
Before grad school, I worked as an R&D scientist at PerkinElmer Genomics, where I developed second-tier biochemical diagnostic tests for newborn screening. These included an LC-MS/MS biomarker panel for MPS I & II and a Western blot CRIM-status assay for Pompe disease. That work got me interested in the intersection of molecular biology and diagnostics, and inspired my work in computational genomics.
I can generally be found behind my computer screen writing code, getting lost in the Canadian Rockies with my husband and son, or designing and building websites, keyboards, and graphics!
Sasha
I'm finishing an M.Sc. in bioinformatics in the Long lab at the University of Calgary. My research focuses on transfer learning, representation learning and model interpretation for genomic data. I apply large pretrained models to new prediction tasks and use in silico perturbation to test what they learn. I also build models that learn compact representations of high-dimensional genomic data for downstream statistical analysis. My current work fine-tunes genomic foundation models to predict protein abundance and RNA coverage.
I'm particularly interested in interpretability: helping researchers and clinicians understand which features drive a model's predictions.
Before grad school, I worked as an R&D scientist at PerkinElmer Genomics, where I developed second-tier biochemical diagnostic tests for newborn screening. These included an LC-MS/MS biomarker panel for MPS I & II and a Western blot CRIM-status assay for Pompe disease. That work got me interested in the intersection of molecular biology and diagnostics, and inspired my work in computational genomics.
I can generally be found behind my computer screen writing code, getting lost in the Canadian Rockies with my husband and son, or designing and building websites, keyboards, and graphics!
Sasha