Dr. Sana Hafeez

Dr. Sana Hafeez
Global Talent Tier 1 (Royal Academy of Engineering, UK) | Research Consultant | IEEE Member | Women in Cybersecurity Advocate | 6G & Autonomous Systems Specialist

Dr. Sana Hafeez is an internationally recognized expert in intelligent wireless communication, autonomous UAV networks, and next-generation cybersecurity for 6G-enabled systems, and a recipient of the prestigious Global Talent Tier 1 Award from the Royal Academy of Engineering, UK. She currently serves as a Research Consultant for the Cybersecurity Pioneer Grant – Quantum-Resistant Cryptography for Cybersecurity in Drones, a national initiative under the Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) Programme in Cybersecurity at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM).

Dr. Hafeez brings a robust academic and interdisciplinary research portfolio. She previously held a Postdoctoral Research Assistant position on the SecureSense Project at the University of Glasgow, in collaboration with Coventry University and Glasgow Caledonian University, where she contributed to the design and deployment of a 6G-enabled real-time Joint Communication and Sensing (JCAS) testbed and developed novel AI-driven network security and optimization frameworks. At Queen Mary University of London, she contributed to the 6G-FINESSE Project, in collaboration with Imperial College London and the University of Surrey, where her work focused on threat modeling and key generation strategies for secure UAV communications in densely populated urban environments.

Her international collaborations span the UK, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and China, where she has partnered with both academic institutions and industry leaders to drive cross-sector innovation in aerospace, defence, and digital healthcare. With a multidisciplinary lens, she advances secure, scalable, and sustainable solutions that bridge theory with real-world impact. Dr. Hafeez actively participates in global technical communities and holds memberships in several distinguished organizations, including the IEEE (Graduate Member), IEEE Young Professionals (YP), IEEE Vehicular Technology Society (VTS), IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE), IEEE SIGHT, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET, UK), Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS), and Women in Data Science (WiDS). She was also an active member of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group (EDIG) and SCOPE at the University of Glasgow (2022–2024), contributing to initiatives that promote representation and equity in STEM.

Her leadership is further demonstrated by her service as a Technical Programme Committee Member (TPC) and Session Chair at top-tier IEEE conferences, including VTC 2024–2025, GLOBECOM 2024, ICDCS 2025 (Glasgow), and ICT Egypt 2025, where she has helped shape the direction of next-generation network technologies. Beyond her research, Dr. Hafeez is a committed advocate for inclusive excellence in science and engineering. She mentors early-career researchers and students through outreach initiatives such as Smart STEM, COSE, and IEEE ComSoc Women in Engineering, nurturing the next generation of innovators in cybersecurity and wireless systems.

She continues to advance the frontiers of secure, intelligent, and trustworthy communication networks paving the way for a greener, cyber-resilient, and human-centric technological future. Her vision spans secure drone delivery systems for digital healthcare, cyberproof AI architectures, and sustainable network design that supports zero-emission innovation. Dr. Hafeez actively invites global collaboration to build a more connected, secure, and equitable world for the next generation.

Let’s connect and collaborate to shape the future of intelligent wireless communication, cybersecurity, and secure healthcare technologies.