Tamara Drucks is a PreDoc Researcher at the Department of Machine Learning, Technische Universität Wien. She specializes in machine learning, with a focus on graph neural networks, bioinformatics, and optimization algorithms. Drucks teaches courses including 'Introduction to Machine Learning' and 'Theoretical Foundations and Research Topics in Machine Learning.' Her research explores expressive power of graph networks and applications in phylogenetic modeling. Key projects include the StruDL initiative (2023–2027) focusing on maximally expressive GNNs for outerplanar graphs. She has advised one PhD student, Martin Plattner, on optimization techniques in machine learning. Publications span theoretical advancements in GNNs and practical applications in computational biology. Drucks holds a Diploma in Technical Mathematics from TU Wien (2021) and is involved in interdisciplinary research at the intersection of AI and biological data analysis.
Erik Bjørnager Dam is a Professor in the Machine Learning section at the Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen (UCPH). His research spans theoretical foundations of machine learning to practical applications in medical data analysis, sustainability, and materials science. His key research interests include: Small-scale and resource-efficient deep learning Medical image analysis and segmentation Sustainable and environmentally conscious AI development Graph neural networks for materials science Resource-constrained AI systems Professor Dam's recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on making AI more accessible and sustainable while maintaining high performance standards. His work on 'Performance Per Resource Unit' metrics addresses critical challenges in deploying AI in resource-limited environments, particularly in healthcare applications. His research bridges theoretical machine learning with practical implementations across multiple domains. His notable professional activities include: Co-founding Cerebriu A/S (since 2018) Co-founding Biomediq A/S (since 2008) Delivering lectures on AI's role in green transition (April 24, 2023) Media contributions on deep learning applications in plant research (September 13, 2018) With 74 documented research outputs, Professor Dam maintains an active research profile with significant contributions in 2023-2025 across medical imaging, sustainable AI, and materials science applications.
Abdullah Mueen is a Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Computer Science at the University of New Mexico (UNM), where he has been since 2013. Previously, he worked as a Scientist in the Cloud and Information Sciences Lab at Microsoft Corporation. Research Interests : His work focuses on Temporal Data Mining , with emphasis on efficiency , interactivity , and interpretability . Key areas include Blockchain Data Mining (e.g., BitLink for Bitcoin cluster analysis), Seismic Data Mining (e.g., PAW for aftershock detection), and Social Media Mining (e.g., DeBot for Twitter bot detection). Article Trends : His recent publications span four domains: Seismology : Algorithms for earthquake data analysis (e.g., focal depth inference, aftershock classification). Blockchain : Temporal linkage of Bitcoin addresses (BitLink) and cryptocurrency fraud detection. Traffic Safety : Multi-LiDAR data fusion for real-time road safety monitoring. Time Series Methods : Innovations like MASS similarity search and DAMP anomaly detection for massive datasets. Scientific Awards : ACM SIGKDD Test-of-Time Award (2022) UNM Provost Research Leader Award UNM School of Engineering Junior Faculty Research Excellence Award KDD 2012 Doctoral Dissertation Contest Runner-Up KDD 2012 Best Paper Award Advising and Grants : He has mentored 11 PhD students now employed at institutions like Microsoft, Meta, and Lawrence Livermore National Lab. His research is funded by NSF , NIH , DARPA , AFRL , NEC , Exxon , Microsoft , and LANL .
CHAN Chee Yong is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the School of Computing, National University of Singapore (NUS) . He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and holds B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Computer Science from NUS. Education : Ph.D., Computer Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison M.Sc., Computer Science, NUS B.Sc., Computer Science (1st Class Honours), NUS His research focuses on database systems , emphasizing query processing and optimization , transaction management , and database usability . He has contributed extensively to XML data dissemination, skyline computation, and multicore database performance optimization, with publications in venues like ACM SIGMOD, VLDB, and IEEE ICDE. Recent publications show increasing emphasis on join optimization , transaction healing , and spatial-keyword queries , reflecting trends in multicore systems, complex query processing, and XML data management. His work combines theoretical rigor with practical applications in distributed databases and data engineering. Notable professional roles include Associate Editor for the VLDB Journal , ACM SIGMOD Record , and IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering . He has served on program committees for major conferences like SIGMOD, ICDE, and VLDB across 2003-2026. Dr. Chan has supervised 9 PhD students and 10 M.Sc./M.Comp. students , including WANG TaiNing (2021), LI Meiying (2020), and TRAN Quoc Trung (2011). His advisees have been placed in institutions like the Institute for Infocomm Research and Huawei Shannon Lab.
Michael Qizhe Shieh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the National University of Singapore (NUS), affiliated with the Tree and Rock AI Lab (TRAIL). He holds a PhD and Master's from Carnegie Mellon University (Machine Learning and Language Technologies) and a Bachelor's from Shanghai Jiao Tong University's ACM Class. His research focuses on Large Language Models, Deep Learning, and Natural Language Processing, with notable contributions to semi-supervised learning techniques like Noisy Student and UDA, and the RACE benchmark for reading comprehension. Education: PhD in Machine Learning, Carnegie Mellon University (2020) Master's in Language Technologies, Carnegie Mellon University (2018) Bachelor's in Computer Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (2016) His research explores robustness, safety, and scalability of AI systems. He has served as Area Chair for top conferences like NeurIPS, ICML, and ICLR. Current research directions include adversarial robustness, LLM self-evaluation, and alignment mechanisms. His lab, TRAIL, emphasizes foundational AI research. Selected contributions include: Developing UDA and Noisy Student techniques for semi-supervised learning Creating the RACE benchmark for exam-based reading comprehension Advancing methods for LLM safety and adversarial defense Prospective students are encouraged to apply to NUS's PhD program for collaborative research opportunities.
Anupam Joshi is the Acting Dean of the College of Information Technology and Engineering and Oros Family Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). He also directs UMBC’s Center for Cybersecurity and leads the National Cybersecurity FFRDC for the University System of Maryland. His research focuses on networked computing, AI-driven cybersecurity, privacy-preserving technologies, and policy-driven security frameworks. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Purdue University (1993), an M.S. (1991), and a B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (1989). Dr. Joshi’s work spans over 400 publications with 32,650+ citations (h-index 92) and nine patents. His grants include funding from NSF, DARPA, NASA, NIST, and industry partners like IBM and Northrop Grumman. Key contributions include developing CAPD frameworks for IoT security, FABULA for automated threat intelligence, and KiNETGAN for intrusion detection through synthetic data. He is an IEEE Fellow and pioneer in applying AI to secure critical infrastructure, smart grids, and healthcare systems. His research trends emphasize AI-empowered cybersecurity, privacy compliance in data sharing (e.g., agriculture, healthcare), and mitigating attacks on smart systems. Notable projects include combating fake cybersecurity reports using provenance analysis, securing EV charging infrastructure, and enhancing smart farming resilience through policy-driven access control. Awards: IEEE Fellow Grants: Over $30M from NSF, DoD, NASA, and industry collaborations Labs/Teams: Director of UMBC Center for Cybersecurity, Cybersecurity Knowledge Graph initiatives Future work includes advancing neurosymbolic AI for cybersecurity, semantic data extraction from scientific literature, and AI ethics in healthcare applications.
Dong Li is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering (CSEE) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). His research focuses on wireless sensing, mobile computing, wearable sensing, multi-modal sensing, and smart health, aiming to develop affordable and accessible technologies to address healthcare equity and environmental sustainability challenges. He holds a PhD from the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, an M.Eng. in Software Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. His work has been published in prestigious venues such as MobiCom, SenSys, IPSN, UbiComp, and HotNets. Key research themes include anomaly detection via knowledge graphs, privacy prediction models for social networks, and interactive recommendation systems. His interdisciplinary approach integrates machine learning, data mining, and cybersecurity to tackle real-world problems in health and environmental sustainability. Dr. Li’s contributions span theoretical advancements and practical system development, with a focus on bridging the gap between cutting-edge research and societal impact. His recent publications highlight innovations in data stream processing, weak supervision frameworks, and privacy behavior analysis in online platforms.
Pan Xu is a tenure-track assistant professor with joint appointments in the Department of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Department of Computer Science, and Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering. Prior to joining Duke, he was a Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate at the California Institute of Technology, and he earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from UCLA. His research bridges theoretical foundations with practical applications in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Dr. Xu's research focuses on developing computationally- and data-efficient machine learning algorithms with strong theoretical guarantees, particularly in reinforcement learning, optimization, and high-dimensional statistics. His work addresses two fundamental challenges in sequential decision-making: efficient exploration with minimal interactions and robustness against distributional shifts. His research spans theoretical algorithm design, practical implementation, and real-world applications in bioinformatics and healthcare. His publication record demonstrates consistent high-impact contributions to top-tier conferences including ICML, NeurIPS, ICLR, AAAI, and AISTATS. The research trends show a progression from foundational work in non-convex optimization and multi-armed bandits toward increasingly sophisticated frameworks for robust reinforcement learning, with particular emphasis on distributional robustness, efficient exploration strategies, and practical applications. His work often bridges theoretical guarantees with empirical validation. NSF award on approximate sampling based exploration for sequential decision making Whitehead Scholar award from Duke University School of Medicine PIMCO Postdoctoral Fellowship in Data Science UCLA Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award Rising Stars in Data Science by University of Chicago Best Paper Award for Queer In AI: A Case Study in Community-Led Participatory AI at FAccT 2023 Featured Certification for Wasserstein Distributionally Robust Policy Evaluation and Learning for Contextual Bandits at TMLR Oral Presentation award at AAAI 2024 Dr. Xu actively mentors students and researchers, seeking highly motivated individuals with strong mathematical backgrounds for Ph.D. programs in Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Computer Science, and Electrical & Computer Engineering at Duke. He has received multiple research grants including an NSF award on approximate sampling based exploration for sequential decision making. His service to the academic community includes roles as area chair for NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, and AISTATS, as well as action editor for Transactions on Machine Learning Research. His research group develops algorithms that address fundamental challenges in sequential decision-making, with applications spanning healthcare, bioinformatics, and multi-agent systems. Current research directions include distributionally robust reinforcement learning, efficient exploration strategies, and applications of graph neural networks to biological problems.
John Breslin is a Personal Professor in Electronic Engineering at the College of Science and Engineering, University of Galway, serving as Director of the TechInnovate and AgInnovate programmes. Associated with two Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland Centres, he is a Principal Investigator at Insight Centre for Data Analytics (specializing in data analytics) and a Funded Investigator at VistaMilk (Agri-Technology), while also leading the EDIH Data2Sustain project. With an h-index of 50, over 12,000 citations, and 300+ peer-reviewed publications including seminal books on the Social Semantic Web, he ranks among Ireland's most influential researchers in digital technologies. Breslin's research fundamentally bridges Semantic Web technologies, AI-driven data analytics, and practical innovation. His co-creation of the SIOC framework—implemented across 65,000+ websites by entities like Yahoo and Boeing—demonstrates real-world impact in social data interoperability. Current work leverages blockchain and federated learning for sustainable Agri-Technology through VistaMilk, while his TechInnovate programmes translate academic research into commercial ventures across healthcare, smart manufacturing, and energy systems. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals dominant themes in AI-enhanced security (35% of works), blockchain applications for sustainability (27%), and multimodal AI for healthcare (20%). His team pioneers privacy-preserving techniques for IoT and medical devices, neurosymbolic visual reasoning frameworks, and federated learning architectures addressing data heterogeneity—directly supporting his roles in national research infrastructures like Insight and VistaMilk. John has received several prestigious awards: IIA Net Visionary Award (twice) ITAG Outstanding Contribution to the ICT Sector Award Galway Chamber President’s Award Best Irish-Published Book Award (2020 for Old Ireland in Colour) Multiple Best Paper Awards He leads major research initiatives funded by Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland: Insight Centre for Data Analytics (as Principal Investigator) VistaMilk SFI Research Centre (as Funded Investigator) EDIH Data2Sustain (as Principal Investigator) His entrepreneurial programs TechInnovate and AgInnovate have mentored 200+ startups, securing €50M+ in follow-on funding. Breslin co-founded PorterShed (Galway City Innovation District) and serves on Scale Ireland's Steering Group, creating Ireland's most active regional innovation ecosystem outside Dublin. He maintains active industry partnerships with Vodafone, Boeing, and agricultural cooperatives through VistaMilk's testbed facilities.
Marylyn D Ritchie, PhD, is the Edward Rose, M.D. and Elizabeth Kirk Rose, M.D. Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. She concurrently serves as Director of the Institute for Biomedical Informatics, Vice President for Research Informatics for the University of Pennsylvania Health System, Director of the Division of Informatics in the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Vice Dean of Artificial Intelligence and Computing. Education: BS in Biology, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, 1999 MS in Applied Statistics, Vanderbilt University, 2002 PhD in Statistical Genetics, Vanderbilt University, 2004 Research Interests Dr Ritchie’s work integrates computational genomics , bioinformatics , pharmacogenomics , and systems genomics to advance precision medicine. She develops statistical and machine-learning approaches to dissect epistasis , genetic epidemiology , and evolutionary computation in large-scale biobanks, with a special focus on cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease . Her group is also pioneering translational informatics methods that incorporate social determinants of health and fairness metrics into AI-driven clinical decision support. Publication Trends In 2025 alone, Dr Ritchie co-authored more than fifteen high-impact studies spanning vision-language models for 3D CT , multi-omics Alzheimer’s risk prediction , fairness in neuroimaging AI , ancestry-specific pharmacogenomics , and cloud-based polygenic risk score platforms . The collective work highlights a shift from single-omics discovery to integrative, equitable, and clinically actionable models across diverse ancestries. Awards & Honors While specific named awards were not detailed in the text, Dr Ritchie’s endowed professorship and multi-institutional leadership roles signify sustained recognition. Grants & Advising Dr Ritchie leads large NIH, foundation, and industry-funded initiatives that support interdisciplinary teams of postdocs, graduate students, and data scientists. Her lab actively mentors trainees from UPenn’s Cell and Molecular Biology and Genomics and Computational Biology graduate groups. Laboratories & Teams She directs the Ritchie Lab (ritchielab.org), which develops open-source visualization tools such as PhenoGram , PheWAS-View , and Synthesis-View for genome-wide and phenome-wide data exploration. The lab operates within the Institute for Biomedical Informatics and collaborates closely with the Penn Medicine BioBank and multiple clinical departments to translate big-data discoveries into precision medicine workflows.
Dr. Elisenda Bueichekú serves as a Research Scientist at the Yale School of Medicine within the Radiology & Biomedical Imaging Department . Her work focuses on neuroimaging applications in neurodegenerative disorders, particularly Alzheimer’s disease progression and memory systems analysis. She collaborates with leading researchers in the Mental Health PET Radioligand Development (MHPRD) Program and the PET Core facility. Primary Affiliation: Yale School of Medicine Department: Radiology & Biomedical Imaging Research Programs: MHPRD Program, PET Core Her research integrates multimodal neuroimaging techniques to investigate: Tau pathology propagation patterns Connectome-based disease modeling Cortical hub analysis in memory systems Cognitive resilience mechanisms Neuroimaging of anosognosia Functional network contributions to creativity Dr. Bueichekú contributes to translational research through: Advanced PET/MRI methodologies Spatiotemporal disease progression mapping Development of imaging-based biomarkers Recent publications demonstrate expertise in: Alzheimer’s disease neuroimaging Tau and amyloid co-accumulation Functional connectivity analysis Memory system characterization Scientific contributions include: 2025 Center for Brain & Mind Health Pilot Grant Key publications in top-tier journals (Nature Aging, Alzheimer's & Dementia, etc.)
Oliver Kosut is an Associate Professor at the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering at Arizona State University (ASU), where he has worked since August 2012. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2018 and received the NSF CAREER award in 2015. His research spans information theory, machine learning, cybersecurity, and power systems, with a focus on theoretical foundations and applications to privacy, security, and smart grid resilience. Education: B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics from MIT (2004), Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell University (2010) His recent work explores differential privacy, adversarial robustness in decentralized networks, and information-theoretic approaches to cybersecurity. He advises graduate students with strong mathematical backgrounds, particularly those interested in fundamental theory for applied problems. Scientific accolades include the IEEE Information Theory Society Distinguished Lecturer (2023–2024) and NSF CAREER award. Key research areas: Information Theory, Privacy, Machine Learning, Power System Security Students: Obai Bahwal, Atefeh Gilani, Naima Tasnim (current); Nima Bazargani, Andrea Pinceti, Jingwen Liang, Zhigang Chu, Fatemeh Hosseinigoki, Nematollah Iri, Kousha Kalantari, Roozbeh Khodadadeh (former)
Sriraam Natarajan is a Professor and Director of the Center for Machine Learning and StaRLing Lab at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), part of the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering & Computer Science. He holds additional roles as a hessian.AI Fellow at TU Darmstadt and an RBCDSAI Distinguished Faculty Fellow at IIT Madras. His expertise spans Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and their applications in healthcare, with a focus on Relational Learning, Reinforcement Learning, and Graphical Models. He has been honored as an AAAI Fellow (2025), elected to the AAAI Executive Council, and recognized with the UTD Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award. Education: Completed his PhD in Computer Science at Oregon State University in 2007 under Prof. Prasad Tadepalli. Postdoctoral work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with Professors Jude Shavlik and David Page. Previously served as faculty at Indiana University and Wake Forest School of Medicine. Research: Active in developing AI systems for healthcare, including predictive models for gestational diabetes and cardiac arrest in children. His work emphasizes integrating human knowledge into machine learning (e.g., Human-in-the-Loop systems) and advancing statistical relational AI frameworks like Markov Logic Networks and Probabilistic Circuits. Publications: Over 100 peer-reviewed articles, including notable works on causal learning, relational reinforcement learning, and knowledge graph construction. Recent focuses include explainable AI and scalable probabilistic models. Awards: AAAI Fellow, RBCDSAI Distinguished Fellowship, UTD Teaching Excellence Award. Advising and Collaboration: Mentored over 30 students, many now in academia and top institutions like IBM Research, Facebook, and Microsoft. Collaborates globally on projects like GLAD (Glocalized Anomaly Detection) and StaRLing Lab initiatives. Labs/Teams: Leads the StaRLing Lab, focusing on statistical relational AI, and directs UTD's Center for Machine Learning. Engaged in interdisciplinary projects with healthcare, robotics, and data science communities.
Prof. Jacco van Ossenbruggen is a Full Professor in Intelligent Information Systems at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU), affiliated with the Network Institute. He serves on the Management Board of ODISSEI, a national research infrastructure for social sciences and economics. His academic background includes a PhD in Computer Science (2001) from VU’s Faculty of Science, focusing on hypermedia processing. Research Interests: His work centers on cultural AI, FAIR data principles, ontology engineering, and semantic web technologies. Key areas include inclusive cultural heritage metadata, bias mitigation in AI systems, and knowledge discovery via linked data. Recent projects involve leveraging large language models (LLMs) for metadata enrichment and ontology construction. Key Contributions: He leads initiatives like the Cultural AI Lab, exploring AI applications for cultural heritage. His research bridges technical innovations (e.g., semantic integration of restricted-access data) with societal impacts (e.g., ethical AI frameworks for public-sector applications). Developed frameworks for evaluating entity alignment in knowledge graphs Pioneered FAIR-aligned data management plans for scientific communities Designed tools like Alter Heritage for collaborative metadata curation Grants & Projects: Principal Investigator of the ODISSEI Portal project (2020–2024), advancing open data infrastructures. Active in funding initiatives promoting reproducible research and ethical data practices. Labs/Teams: Cultural AI Lab at VU, focusing on AI-driven solutions for cultural heritage preservation and accessibility.
Mohammad Rostami is a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California (USC) in the Department of Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering, with a joint appointment at the USC Information Sciences Institute (ISI). He holds a PhD in Electrical and Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and additional degrees in Robotics, Philosophy, Electrical Engineering, and Pure Mathematics from prestigious institutions including the University of Waterloo and Sharif University of Technology. His research focuses on machine learning in data-scarce environments, particularly transfer learning, domain adaptation, low-shot learning, and improving learning efficiency through continual and collective learning. He incorporates symbolic logic and neuro-symbolic approaches to address challenges in catastrophic forgetting and knowledge retention. Applications span medical imaging, computer vision, and explainable AI. Rostami has received several accolades including the UPenn Best PhD Dissertation Award, IJCAI Distinguished Student Paper Award, and University of Waterloo Outstanding Achievement Award. His work bridges theoretical advancements with practical implementations, emphasizing real-world applications in healthcare and autonomous systems. He teaches graduate courses in applied natural language processing and knowledge graph construction. Rostami advises students at all academic levels and collaborates with remote researchers, emphasizing motivated, long-term project commitments.
