An international, human-centered team.
AIRL has established research collaborations with professors from seven countries and engages Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP), including graduate students, Mitacs interns, and undergraduate researchers at Thompson Rivers University.
Director & co-investigator network
Led from Kamloops with long-standing research partners across seven countries — joint publications, patents, grants, and student supervision.
Founding Director · TRU · Canada
Dr. Ghazanfar Latif
Assistant Professor, Computing Science, Thompson Rivers University. World's Top 2% Scientists (2024, 2025); 14 US patents; IEEE Senior Member; President, AAIFS; Lead, TRU HorAIzon AI for Health & Healing. Full profile →
USA
Dr. Jaafar Alghazo
Associate Professor, Software Engineering & IT Management, University of Minnesota Crookston (formerly Virginia Military Institute; founding Dean, PMU College of Computer Engineering & Science). Ph.D., Southern Illinois University. Machine learning, medical image processing, and assistive technology — co-author on 60+ joint works and co-editor of the ICICET proceedings.
Saudi Arabia
Dr. Ghassen Ben Brahim
Dean, College of Computer Engineering & Sciences, Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University. Ph.D., Western Michigan University; former Systems Analyst at Boeing Integrated Defense Systems and research visitor at the US Naval Research Lab. Machine learning, network security, and QoS routing — co-inventor on multiple AIRL-affiliated patents.
Pakistan
Prof. Arfan Jaffar
Professor and Dean, Superior University (Gold Campus), Lahore. Ph.D., FAST-NUCES; former Research Professor at the Gwangju Institute of Science & Technology, Korea. Image processing and computational intelligence; joint PhD supervision on breast-cancer histopathology and federated-learning healthcare research.
Australia
Dr. Nazeeruddin Mohammad
Associate Professor of Computer Science, University of Adelaide (formerly Director, Cybersecurity Center, PMU). Ph.D., University of Ulster; past researcher at Cisco Systems. Cybersecurity, IoT, and network protocols — co-inventor across the nine-patent writer-verification and document-forensics family.
Malaysia
Prof. Dr. D.N.F. Awang Iskandar
Professor, Faculty of Computer Science & IT, UNIMAS. Ph.D., RMIT Australia; postdoctoral research at Heriot-Watt (EU CUBIST project) and Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Manchester. Spatio-temporal image analysis and semantics in medicine, agriculture and astronomy — PhD supervision partner for AIRL's medical and surveillance AI lines.
TRU · Canada
Dr. Saira Bano
Assistant Professor of Political Science, Thompson Rivers University. Co-investigator on the governance of AI-generated disinformation in Canada's defence and security sector, bringing international-security and policy expertise to AIRL's sociotechnical research.
India
Prof. R. Maheswar
Professor and Associate Director, KPR Institute of Engineering & Technology, Coimbatore. Ph.D. in Wireless Sensor Networks, Anna University. WSNs, queueing theory and performance evaluation — collaborator on IoT, smart-systems, and agricultural-drone research.
Saudi Arabia
Dr. Abul Bashar
Associate Professor, College of Computer Engineering & Sciences, PMU. Ph.D., University of Ulster; Osmania University Engineering Gold Medalist. Machine learning for networks and health — co-author on COVID-19 diagnostics, malicious-PDF detection, and federated-learning IoMT research.
Saudi Arabia
Dr. Khaled Fawagreh
Lecturer in Information Technology, PMU. Ph.D., Robert Gordon University, UK; M.Sc. Dalhousie and B.Sc. York University, Canada. Data mining and machine learning — collaborator on education analytics and AI-text detection.
Saudi Arabia
Dr. Roxane Elias Mallouhy
Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Al Yamamah University, Riyadh. Ph.D. (2023), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté / FEMTO-ST Institute — Predictive analysis of time series in various application contexts. Telecommunications engineering (Antonine University) and mobile & distributed computing (Université de Franche-Comté). Data mining, machine learning and time-series forecasting — co-author on AIRL’s agriculture-AI research.
Saudi Arabia
Dr. Mohsin Butt
Program Coordinator, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals. Completed his Ph.D. (2025, UNIMAS) on deep learning for diabetic retinopathy under AIRL-affiliated co-supervision. Image and video processing, compression, and parallel computing — co-author on MEDCnet and multiple medical-imaging works.
USA
Dr. Sherif E. Abdelhamid
Assistant Professor, Computer and Information Sciences, Virginia Military Institute. Ph.D., Virginia Tech; formerly Assistant Professor at AAST (Egypt) and Infrastructure Software Engineer at the Center for Open Science. Services-based high-performance computing, digital educational technologies, and network analysis of complex systems — a frequent co-author on AIRL's medical-imaging and assistive-technology research.
Saudi Arabia
Dr. Majid Ali Khan
Associate Professor and Chair of the Computer Science and Software Engineering programs, Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University. Ph.D., University of Central Florida; former software engineer at Hewlett-Packard and NetSol Technologies. Machine learning and distributed/parallel computing for computer vision — lead co-inventor on the writer-verification patent family.
UQAC · Canada
Dr. Kevin Bouchard
Full Professor, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC), and researcher at the LIARA ambient-intelligence laboratory; leads the CYNERGIA team, partly funded by Hydro-Québec. Former scientist at the UCLA Center for SMART Health and postdoctoral fellow at Washington State University (CASAS). Ambient intelligence, activity recognition, machine learning, and health technologies — collaborator on the lab's AI-based mineral-recognition research.
USA
Dr. Runna Alghazo
Assistant Professor, Rehabilitation and Human Services, University of North Dakota. Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Counseling and Administration, Southern Illinois University Carbondale; Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC). Student success in higher education, inclusive teaching grounded in Universal Design, and ethical, inclusive applications of AI in education, disability, and counseling — co-author on AIRL's assistive-technology and learning-analytics studies.
Current HQP (10)
Graduate and undergraduate researchers currently supervised or co-supervised by the Director, with their research projects and co-authored publications.
Graduate Current HQP (5)
- Rifat Saeed — Wildfire & Air Quality Prediction using Quantum-Inspired Machine Learning
- Muhammad Zain — Transformer-based Hate-Speech Detection for English & Low-Resource Languages
- Irum Nehvi — Automatic Blood-Cancer Detection from Microscopic Images using Deep LearningCo-authored publication (1)
- Faizan Ahmad — Cross-Attention CNN & Vision Transformers for Breast HistopathologyCo-authored publication (1)
- Zafar Kazmi — Advanced Surveillance for Robbery Detection in Smart CitiesCo-authored publications (5)
- Violence Detection of Weakly Supervised Surveillance in the Real World Through Transformer-Based Attention Multiple Instance Learning
- Security Enabling for IoT and Wireless Sensor Network Based Data Communication
- Deep Learning Utilization in Agriculture: Detection of Rice Plant Diseases Using an Improved CNN Model
- Fast Parallel SVM based Arrhythmia Detection on Multiple GPU Clusters
- Cyber security analysis of internet banking in emerging countries: User and bank perspectives
Undergraduate Current HQP (5)
- Jone Eng Tan — Optimization-Driven Deep Learning for Skin Cancer Detection & Classification
- Andrii Klymov — Garbage Classification System using Deep Learning & IoT
- Gursahib Singh — Local LLM for TRU: Privacy-Preserving Student Support & Mental Health Navigation
- Deeparsh Singh Dang — Comparative Evaluation of Retrieval-Augmented Generation Pipelines across Domains & LLMs; AI-Powered Wildfire Risk, Air Quality & Community Preparedness Platform, Thompson-Okanagan
- Pooja Verma — AI-Driven Wildfire Management: Post-Fire Reforestation Analysis; Diabetic Retinopathy Detection & Classification from Fundus Images with Optimized Deep LearningCo-authored publication (1)
Past HQP (47)
Former graduate students, undergraduate research teams and Mitacs Globalink interns. Years shown for undergraduate alumni reflect their co-authored publications with the Director.
Graduate Past HQP (6)
- Mohsin Butt — Diabetic Retinopathy Detection using Deep LearningCo-authored publications (13)
- Optimized Deep Learning Framework for Diabetic Retinopathy Detection and Classification Using Fundus Imaging
- MEDCnet : A Memory Efficient Approach for Processing High‐Resolution Fundus Images for Diabetic Retinopathy Classification Using CNN
- Diabetic Retinopathy Detection from Fundus Images of the Eye Using Hybrid Deep Learning Features
- Fast Parallel SVM based Arrhythmia Detection on Multiple GPU Clusters
- Deep learning based intelligence cognitive vision drone for automatic plant diseases identification and spraying
- Multi-channel Convolutions Neural Network Based Diabetic Retinopathy Detection from Fundus Images
- Segmentation of Melanoma Skin Lesions Using Anisotropic Diffusion and Adaptive Thresholding
- Deep CNN based MR image denoising for tumor segmentation using watershed transform
- IoT based Real-time Voice Analysis and Smart Monitoring System for Disabled People
- Multimodal Brain Tumor Segmentation using Neighboring Image Features
- Automatic Multimodal Brain Image Classification Using MLP and 3D Glioma Tumor Reconstruction
- Multiclass brain Glioma tumor classification using block-based 3D Wavelet features of MR images
- Eye Click: Eye Gaze based User Interface for the Disabled People
- Mohammed Danial Shaikh — LLMs and AI in Education
- Melissa Fraser-Arnott — AI-Supported Misinformation Identification, Library of Canada's Parliament
- Caroline Reid — AI for Change-Management Metrics & KPI Tracking, Service Canada
- Elizabeth Modersohn — AI Risk Management & Governance in Financial Institutions: Assiniboine Credit Union
- Michel Ouellette — Canadian Medical Protective Association AI Needs Assessment
Undergraduate Past HQP (38)
- Ahmed Abul Hasanaath — Deep Learning for Medical Image Diagnosis: Knee Osteoarthritis & Leukemia DetectionCo-authored publications (2)
- Abdul Sami Mohammed — Deep Learning for Medical Image Diagnosis: Knee Osteoarthritis & Leukemia DetectionCo-authored publications (2)
- Ghadah Alhabib — AI-Powered Arabic Braille Learning System & Seismic Image ClassificationCo-authored publications (3)
- Khalid Alnujaidi — AI-Powered Arabic Braille Learning System & Date-Fruit Disease RecognitionCo-authored publications (3)
- Danyah A. Alghmgham — Autonomous Arabic Traffic Sign Detection & Recognition using Deep CNNCo-authored publications (2)
- Roaa AlKhalaf — Arabic Sign Language Recognition using Deep CNN (ArASL Dataset)Co-authored publications (2)
- Rawan AlKhalaf — Arabic Sign Language Recognition using Deep CNN (ArASL Dataset)Co-authored publications (2)
- Emaan Nazeeruddin — Malicious URL Detection & Skin-Lesion Classification using Machine LearningCo-authored publications (2)
- Maria Alabdulrahman — Arabic Offensive Text Detection in Social NetworksCo-authored publication (1)
- Lara Alotaibi — Arabic Offensive Text Detection in Social NetworksCo-authored publication (1)
- Abeer M. Alenazy — Oil Spill Identification using Deep CNNCo-authored publication (1)
- Rafiq Ibrahim Alhaddad — Email Fraud Detection through Text Analysis & Machine LearningCo-authored publication (1)
- F. Sahwan — Email Fraud Detection through Text Analysis & Machine LearningCo-authored publication (1)
- A. Aboalmakarem — Email Fraud Detection through Text Analysis & Machine LearningCo-authored publication (1)
- Batool Alsalem — Automatic Fruit Calorie Estimation using CNNCo-authored publications (2)
- Wejdan Mubarky — Automatic Fruit Calorie Estimation using CNNCo-authored publications (2)
- Ayyah Abdulhafith Mahmoud — Smart Nursery: Infant Sound ClassificationCo-authored publication (1)
- Intessar Nasser A Alawadh — Smart Nursery: Infant Sound ClassificationCo-authored publication (1)
- Eman Shaikh — Automated Grading of Handwritten Answer Sheets using CNNCo-authored publication (1)
- Iman Mohiuddin — Automated Grading of Handwritten Answer Sheets using CNNCo-authored publication (1)
- Ayisha Manzoor — Automated Grading of Handwritten Answer Sheets using CNNCo-authored publication (1)
- Maitham A Al-Dobais — Physical Layout Analysis of Scanned Arabic BooksCo-authored publication (1)
- Fahad Abdulrahman G Alrasheed — Physical Layout Analysis of Scanned Arabic BooksCo-authored publication (1)
- Saleh Al-Faraj — CNN-Based Alphabet Identification & Sorting Robotic ArmCo-authored publication (1)
- Mustafa Albahrani — CNN-Based Alphabet Identification & Sorting Robotic ArmCo-authored publication (1)
- Saeed A. AlGhamdi — CNN-Based Alphabet Identification & Sorting Robotic ArmCo-authored publication (1)
- Marwan Rafie — CNN-Based Alphabet Identification & Sorting Robotic ArmCo-authored publication (1)
- Shurouq Alufaisan — Arabic Braille Recognition using Deep LearningCo-authored publications (3)
- Wafa Albur — Arabic Braille Recognition using Deep LearningCo-authored publications (3)
- Shaikha Alsedrah — Arabic Braille Recognition using Deep LearningCo-authored publications (3)
- Mariam Alabkari — Lung Cancer Detection from LDCT Images using Deep CNNCo-authored publication (1)
- Fatima Aljishi — Lung Cancer Detection from LDCT Images using Deep CNNCo-authored publication (1)
- Shahad Abdullah Alghamdi — Arabic Handwritten Word Recognition & Lung Cancer Detection using Deep CNNCo-authored publications (2)
- Lama Adel Boubshait — Arabic Handwritten Word Recognition using Deep CNNCo-authored publication (1)
- Reem Ali Alsadiq — Arabic Handwritten Word Recognition using Deep CNNCo-authored publication (1)
- Nouf Aljasim — Oil-Pipe Defect Detection using Autonomous Robots & Image AnalysisCo-authored publication (1)
- Ayat Alali — Oil-Pipe Defect Detection using Autonomous Robots & Image AnalysisCo-authored publication (1)
- Zahra Alhamad — Oil-Pipe Defect Detection using Autonomous Robots & Image AnalysisCo-authored publication (1)
Mitacs Globalink Research Internship (GRI) HQP (3)
- Hania Rasheed — Privacy-Preserving LLMs for Personalized Academic Assistance
- Mubasher Ahmed — AI-Enabled Braille Learning for the Visually Impaired
- Hasaan Hamid — Vision & AI Memory-Recall Assistant for Dementia Patients
External PhD examinations (2026)
The Director served as external examiner for five doctoral dissertations spanning Alzheimer's ensemble classification, IoT-edge healthcare monitoring, NDN caching, big-data energy management for smart cities, and privacy in cyber-physical systems.
- PhD thesis examiner — “Multi-modal Deep CNN-based Ensemble Classification of Alzheimer's Disease”Ms. Samina Akram · University of Central Punjab, Pakistan (2026)
- PhD thesis examiner — “IoT and Edge Computing-Based Healthcare Monitoring Systems Using Machine Learning”Mr. Muhammad Izhar · Superior University, Pakistan (2026)
- PhD thesis examiner — “Cache Management Strategy to Enhance the Performance of NDN based IoT Environment”Ms. Qaizar Javed · Superior University, Pakistan (2026)
- PhD thesis examiner — “Big Data Analytics Enabled Energy Management Systems for Smart Cities”Mr. Nasir Nauman · Superior University, Pakistan (2026)
- PhD thesis examiner — “Privacy Protection in Cyber Physical Systems at Upstream Nodes”Mr. Muhammad Ejazulghaffar · Superior University, Pakistan (2026)
Want to join our research lab?
We always welcome leading researchers from around the world to collaborate on research grants and build strong research networks.
We also recruit undergraduate and graduate students, research assistants, and Mitacs interns every year.