AI for RNA Biology - Mini-Symposium
Twenty-five years from now, fascination with RNA will likely span disciplines, gaining both visibility and conceptual depth, its influence spreading as irresistibly as its viral forms. Decoding RNA’s behavior may transform public health and open the door to new therapeutic breakthroughs. Yet perhaps RNA’s greatest lesson is this: its mystery only grows as it unfolds. RNA is indeed a fascinating molecule. Once you hear RNA’s song, you are trapped.
Led by the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, this mini-symposium brings together RNA aficionados and computer scientists advancing AI models of biological molecules, and the simply curious.
Our goal is to explore the present and future of the RNA revolution powered by AI, and to discuss how pushing the frontiers of this interdisciplinary field can unlock new knowledge about one of life’s most enigmatic molecules.
The workshop will take place exclusively on-site at the EPFL AI Center on 8 October 2025.
Programme
14:00 – 14:05 – Welcome
Prof. Janna Hastings (Zurich University), Prof. Raphaëlle Luisier (Bern University & SIB Group Leader)14:05 – 14:25 – RNA’s song of wonders and mysteries: a Language for AI to decipher
Prof. Raphaëlle Luisier, Bern University & SIB Group Leader14:25 – 14:40 – RNA-LMs uncover fundamentals properties of RNA
Vincent Jung, EDEE PhD student, LTS4 laboratory, EPFL14:40 – 14:55 – Graph learning for context-specific interactomes
Dr Cédric Vincent-Cuaz, LTS4 laboratory, EPFL14:55 – 15:15 – Coffee break
15:15 – 15:30 – Ontologies and knowledge injection
Dr Charlotte Tumesheit, Zurich University & SIB Group Leader15:30 – 15:45 – From images to molecules: pushing the limits of AI to uncover RNA perturbations in cancer
Lisa Fournier, EDCB PhD student, EPFL/UNIGE/UNIBERN, Lausanne Switzerland15:45 – 16:00 – From mutation to degradation: predicting nonsense-mediated decay with NMDEP
Ali Saadat Varnosfaderanii, EDCB PhD student, Fellay lab, EPFL- 16:00 – 17:30 – Networking and apero.