Okay, I created an issue here:
First, the lack of reversal is not caused by list-style: none. It is caused by a custom counter.
Second, if I were the theme author, I would close your GitHub issue as either “invalid” or “as designed.”
Just override the theme’s CSS with your own.
Why would preventing someone from setting their own attribute be a necessary design element?
Themes, by definition, are opinionated: structure, style, and behavior. The theme author has simply enforced a structure (never reverse) and style (decimal only, no period, encased in brackets) for the display of ordered lists.
Overriding a theme’s structure, style, or behavior without modifying the underlying theme is a trivial exercise.
Okay, but I would argue that for the purpose of this particular theme (a research profile), it makes a lot of sense to allow reversed ordering, because it makes sense to list publications in reverse order.
I will add this as a comment to the issue.