ABOUT

My name is Sofia Zahri, a Final-year PhD researcher currently in the writing-up stage and last year's Teaching Fellow (TF) at the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at Queen Mary University of London, working under the supervision of Prof Jesus Requena Carrion, Dr. Nikesh Bajaj, and Dr. Changjae Oh. I am affiliated with the Networks Research Group and previously worked as a TF for the Principles of Machine Learning module, which is offered to both postgraduate (PG) and undergraduate (UG) students. 

During the 2024-2025 academic year, I've assisted in supervising MSc projects for PG students with Dr Ammar Yasir Naich. These projects explored topics related to Hybrid Models for Facial Expression Recognition (FER) and Depression Detection in Healthcare, Large Language Models (LLM) for clinical settings to enhance collaborative decisions, and Diffusion Models for Pose-Guided Image Synthesis.

My current research falls within the fields of Biomedical Engineering, Healthcare Informatics and Epidemiology, which include the application of Machine Learning (ML) techniques and mathematical modelling in epidemiology for modelling infectious disease outbreaks and forecasting disease dynamics. I also work on implementing federated learning techniques for IoT systems within healthcare settings.  

I pursued a fellowship in research at Max Planck Institute for Software Systems (MPI-SWS) in Kaiserslautern, Germany, where I worked on Software Verification and Data Analysis under the guidance of Dr Rupak Majumdar. I hold an engineering degree in computer networks and telecommunications systems from ENSAK, as well as certifications in IBM Cloud Computing Architecture V3 and the SAP Cybersecurity Virtual Internship Program from Forage. 

Research interests: Machine Learning, Deep Learning, AI, Infectious disease forecasting, Mathematical Modelling, Time-series Modelling, Federated Learning, IoT for healthcare institutes, Large Language Models (LLM).

Academic Leadership & Community Engagement

Alongside my research in AI for infectious disease forecasting, I actively contribute to the postgraduate research community within the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at Queen Mary University of London.

I am a member of the EECS Walk & Talk Committee, where I contribute to the organisation of academic, social, and cultural activities that promote collaboration, wellbeing, inclusivity, and peer support among postgraduate researchers. As part of this role, I have led the organisation of community events, including Secret Santa, Eid celebrations, and other cultural activities, with the help of the walk-and-talk committee, which brings together students from diverse backgrounds and helps foster a welcoming and supportive research environment.

I lead the Inter-Group Presentation Workshop (IGPW), a student-led initiative designed to help PhD students develop confidence in presenting their research, receive constructive feedback, and prepare for conferences, progression milestones, and viva examinations. The workshop also encourages interdisciplinary collaboration by bringing together researchers from different EECS groups to share ideas, discuss ongoing work, and learn about research taking place across the School.

Since launching the initiative, I have coordinated and hosted a series of workshops featuring researchers from multiple EECS groups and research areas. My responsibilities include identifying and inviting speakers, coordinating schedules, managing workshop logistics, maintaining attendance records, preparing meeting minutes, organising recordings, promoting events across the PhD community, and maintaining the workshop webpages and associated content.

In addition to organising workshops and community events, I contribute to the development and maintenance of the EECS Walk & Talk website, including updating workshop information, event announcements, speaker profiles, meeting records, attendance summaries, photographs, and community activities. These efforts help ensure that research, training opportunities, and community initiatives remain accessible to students across the School.

Through these activities, I aim to support a collaborative research culture that encourages academic development, knowledge exchange, interdisciplinary engagement, and a strong sense of community among postgraduate researchers.

News & Highlights

April 2026- Present

Led and organiser of the Inter-Group Presentation Workshop (IGPW) within the EECS Walk and Talk initiative at Queen Mary University of London.

• The workshop brings together PhD students from different research groups to present their work, receive feedback, develop presentation skills, and foster interdisciplinary collaboration across the School. 

• Sessions have featured research from Machine Learning, Healthcare AI, Computer Vision, Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Science, Networks, and other EECS research areas. 

January 2026- Present

• Transferred to writing-up my thesis at the at the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), Queen Mary University of London.

July 2026

Featured at Women in Computer Science and Electronic Engineering at the EECS, QMUL. 

May 2026

• Submitted the last reviewed camera-ready paper to the 48th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC 2026), Toronto, Canada.

April 2026

• Full-Paper accepted at the 48th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC 2026), Biomedical and Health Informatics and Clinical Decision Support Systems, to be held in Canada from 26–30 July 2026.

March 2026

• Successfully awarded the Queen Mary University of London Postgraduate Research Fund (PGRF).

23rd January  2026

• Full-Contributed Paper submitted to the 48th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC 2026), Biomedical and Health Informatics and Clinical Decision Support Systems, to be held in Canada from 26–30 July 2026 .

September 2025-January 2026

• Teaching Fellow Position under Pr Jesus Requena Carrion at the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London.

November 2024 - January 2026

Walk and Talk Committee member at the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London.

September 2023 - February 2026

• Networks Group PhD student representative at the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London.

August 2025 

• Assisted in supervising three MSc Projects for postgraduate students during the 2024-2025 academic year with Dr Ammar Yasir Naich, in three different fields related to: 

  • • • • Hybrid Models for Facial Expression Recognition (FER) and Depression Detection in Healthcare.

        • Large Language Models (LLM) for clinical settings to enhance collaborative decisions.

        • Diffusion Models for Pose-Guided Image Synthesis.

July 2025 

• Attended and presented my paper at the 47th Annual International Conference, IEEE EMBC 2025, Copenhagen, Denmark, from 14th to 17th July 2025.

• Author of a published blog on our Field-Trip to  Alice Holt Forest on Friday, 4th July 2025, funded by the ‘Sensing the Forest’ research project,  with EECS PhD students, Dr. Anna Xambo and Melissa Yeo.

June 2025

• Submitted the last reviewed camera-ready titled "A Temporal-Dynamic Neural-SIR Approach Based on LSTM for Stochastic Infectious Disease Forecasting" submitted to the 47th Annual International Conference, IEEE EMBC 2025, Copenhagen, Denmark.

April 2025

• Paper accepted at the Biomedical and Health Informatics and Clinical Decision Support Systems of the 47th Annual International Conference, IEEE EMBC 2025, Copenhagen, Denmark.

March 2025

• Successfully passed the Stage Two viva of my PhD under the supervision of Pr. Jesus Requena Carrion, Dr. Nikesh Bajaj and Dr. Changjae Oh at the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London.

February 2025

• Full-Contributed Paper submitted to the Biomedical and Health Informatics and Clinical Decision Support Systems of the 47th Annual International Conference, IEEE EMBC 2025, Copenhagen, Denmark.

October 2024

• Demonstrator position at the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London.

May 2024

• Paper published at the proceedings of the 2023 IEEE 9th World Forum on Internet of Things (WF-IoT), titled "Federated Learning for IoT Networks: Enhancing Efficiency and Privacy."

October 2023

• Paper presented by Dr. Hajar Bennouri at the 2023 IEEE 9th World Forum on Internet of Things (WF-IoT), Aveiro, Portugal.

July 2023

• Paper accepted for presentation at the 2023 IEEE 9th World Forum on Internet of Things (WF-IoT), Aveiro, Portugal.

June 2023 - Present

• Attended several CIS seminars led by Dr. Changjae Oh.

May 2023

• FLOWER Summits:  Attended the Flower Summit 2023.