CV
I’m a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Waterloo working at the intersection of AI and science. Previosuly, I worked in AI for Biology. I was a ML engineer at Gandeeva Therapeutics, where I designed proteins and antibodies. For my Ph.D., I designed representations for Biology, working with Libbrecht lab.
Work experience
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Waterloo (Oct 2023 - Present)
- Consulting on multiple projects in AI for science.
- NSERC fellow starting October ‘24
Researcher, Royal Bank of Canada (July 2024 - Present)
- Working on LLM’s + evolutionary strategies and Reinforcement learning from verifiable rewards (RLVR) for spatial optimization using heuristics.
AI Consultant, Stealth Startups (Jun 2023 - Sep 2023)
- Worked alongside the team to improving factual accuracy in LLMs. See thoughts compiled later here.
Machine Learning Engineer, Gandeeva Therapeutics (Jun 2022 - May 2023)
- Integrated molecular dynamics based conformation search with deep learning based protein design for protein affinity maturation. Gandeeva will use this platform for their future protein affinity maturation campaigns.
- Designed antibodies using sequence and structure based Machine Learning, energy metrics, and bayesian optimization.
Ph.D. Candidate, The University of British Columbia (Jan 2019 - Feb 2023)
- Designed representation learning strategies for chromatin structure and the epigenome.
Machine Learning Intern, Skycope Technologies (May 2018 - Sep 2018)
- Built Skycope’s data and machine learning infrastructure. Integrated ML into Skycope’s existing software stack, which is now it’s flagship drone detection software.
Education
- Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering (Thesis: Representation Learning Strategies for the Epigenome and Chromatin Structure using Recurrent Neural Models), The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, 2023
- M.A.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, 2018
- B.Tech. in Electronics and Communication Enginnering, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, India, 2017
Skills
- Machine Learning, Artifical Intelligence, Climate Change, Computational Biology
Publications and Patents
Assessing the climate benefits of afforestation in the Canadian Northern Boreal and Southern Arctic
Dsouza, K. B., Ofosu, E., Salkeld, J., Boudreault, R., Moreno-Cruz, J., & Leonenko, Y. (2025). Assessing the climate benefits of afforestation in the Canadian Northern Boreal and Southern Arctic. Nature Communications, 16(1), 1964.
Learning representations of chromatin contacts using a recurrent neural network identifies genomic drivers of conformation
Dsouza, K. B., Maslova, A., Al-Jibury, E., Merkenschlager, M., Bhargava, V. K., & Libbrecht, M. W. (2022). Learning representations of chromatin contacts using a recurrent neural network identifies genomic drivers of conformation. Nature Communications, 13(1), 1-19.
Wireless threat detection device, system, and methods to detect signals in wideband RF systems and localize related time and frequency information based on deep learning
Koppisetti, N. R. S. V. P., Dsouza, K. B., Boostanimehr, H., & Mallick, S. (2022). U.S. Patent Application No. 17/825,304.
Latent representation of the human pan-celltype epigenome through a deep recurrent neural network
Dsouza, K. B., Li, A. Y., Bhargava, V., & Libbrecht, M. W. (2021). Latent representation of the human pan-celltype epigenome through a deep recurrent neural network. IEEE/ACM Transactions on Computational Biology and Bioinformatics.
A Downscaled Faster-RCNN Framework for Signal Detection and Time-Frequency Localization in Wideband RF Systems
Prasad, K. S. V., D’souza, K. B., & Bhargava, V. K. (2020). A downscaled faster-RCNN framework for signal detection and time-frequency localization in wideband RF systems. IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, 19(7), 4847-4862.
Conferences and Talks
Representation learning for biology
Talks at 4DN, RECOMB, MLCB, Epigenetics Meeting, Online
Teaching
Service
Joint-Secretary at Autism Society of Udupi (ASU), a non-profit organisation in Udupi, India, that aims to create awareness about Autism among parents, teachers, health professionals, students, general public, and all the stakeholders, so that early diagnosis and early intervention could give the child maximum benefits
Past mentor at Climate Hub, iGEM, UBC, Lets Talk Science, and Geneskool, Genome BC