Noor Youssef

Noor Youssef

Senior Postdoctoral Fellow

Harvard Medical School

I am a Scientific Lead at Harvard Medical School in Dr. Debora Marks’ Lab, where I lead the Predictive Modeling for Vaccine Design group. My research interests revolve around several key areas, including the development of generative machine learning models, protein engineering, and the design of long-lasting vaccines and therapeutics.

I completed my PhD at Dalhousie University, where I was supervised by Dr. Joseph Bielawski (Department of Biology and the Department of Mathematics and Statistics), as well as Dr. Edward Susko (Department of Mathematics and Statistics). During my doctoral studies, my work primarily focused on building plausible evolutionary models and examining the impacts of model misspecifications on inference of selection pressure.

Interests
  • Machine Learning
  • Computational Vaccine and Theraputic Design
  • Protein Engineering
Education

  • PhD in Computational Biology, 2021

    Dalhousie University

  • BSc Combined Honours in Biology and Mathematics, 2015

    Dalhousie University

Publications

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N.N. Thadani, S.F. Gurev, P. Notin, Noor Youssef, N.J. Rollins, C. Sander, Y. Gal, D.S. Marks (2022). Learning from pre-pandemic data to forecast viral escape. In Press Nature.

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Noor Youssef, Edward Susko, Andrew Roger, Joseph Bielawski (2022). Evolution of amino acid propensities under stability-mediated epistasis. In Molecular Biology and Evolution.

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Noor Youssef (2021). Evolutionary dynamics under a stability-constrained model.

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Donald T Stewart, Brent M Robicheau, Noor Youssef, Manuel A Garrido-Ramos, Emily E Chase, Sophie Breton (2021). Expanding the search for sperm transmission elements in the mitochondrial genomes of bivalve mollusks. In Genes.

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Noor Youssef, Edward Susko, Andrew Roger, Joseph Bielawski (2021). Shifts in amino acid preferences as proteins evolve: A synthesis of experimental and theoretical work. In Protein Science.

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Teaching Experience

 
 
 
 
 
Calling Baloney - The Art of Questioning Data
Course Creator and Instructor
Calling Baloney - The Art of Questioning Data
October 2022 – Present Nashua Street Jail, The Educational Justice Insitute at MIT

Responsibilities include:

  • Designing Course
  • Creating Lectures and Assignments
  • Teaching
 
 
 
 
 
Introduction to Computation and Programming Using Python
Teaching Assistant
Introduction to Computation and Programming Using Python
April 2022 – May 2022 Nashua Street Jail, The Educational Justice Insitute at MIT

Responsibilities include:

  • Leading Weekly Tutorials
  • Clarify Complex Topics
 
 
 
 
 
Inference of natural selection pressure in protein coding DNA sequences.
Course Creator and Instructor [Graduate-Level Course]
Inference of natural selection pressure in protein coding DNA sequences.
January 2018 – April 2018 Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS

Responsibilities include:

  • Desgining Course
  • Creating Lectures and Assignments
  • Marking
 
 
 
 
 
Genetics
Tutorial Instructor [Second Year Undergraduate Course]
Genetics
January 2016 – May 2020 Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS

Responsibilities include:

  • Creating tutorial material
  • Conducting weekly tutorials
  • Leading discussion
 
 
 
 
 
Molecular Evolution
Guest Lecturer [Third Year Undergraduate Course]
Molecular Evolution
October 2017 – November 2017 Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS

Responsibilities include:

  • Conducting Lectures
 
 
 
 
 
Genetics
Lab Teaching Assistant [Second Year Undergraduate Course]
Genetics
September 2015 – May 2016 Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS

Responsibilities include:

  • Conducting weekly labs
  • Ensuring lab proceeds timely and safely
  • Marking lab assignments
 
 
 
 
 
General Chemistry
Lab Teaching Assistant [First Year Undergraduate Course]
General Chemistry
September 2012 – May 2013 Sain Mary's University, Halifax, NS

Responsibilities include:

  • Conducting weekly labs
  • Ensuring lab proceeds timely and safely
  • Marking lab assignments

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