Zainab Iftikhar

PH.D. STUDENT · HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTiON

Providence, RI 02912
 (+1) 401-317-8823 |  zainab_iftikhar@brown.com |  zainabiftikhar |  zainab-iftikhar

My research focuses on designing, building, and maintaining scalable mental health systems powered by Explainable AI for people with minimal
access to healthcare. Specifically, I am interested in improving online peer support communication for increased social presence and collaboration.

Education
Brown University ‑ Ph.D. Student, Computer Science Providence, RI
CUMULATiVE CGPA: 4.00/4.00 Sep 2021 ‑ May 2027
• Advisor: Jeff Huang | Human Computer Interaction Lab
• Related Coursework: Computational Linguistics, Deep Learning, Data Science, UI/UX
NUCES ‑ B.Sc., Computer Science Lahore, PK
CUMULATiVE CGPA: 3.68/4.00 Aug 2014 ‑ May 2018
• Highest Honors in Computer Science | Cum Laude | Dean’s List 2014‑18
• Advisors: Mehreen Saeed & Mubasher Baig | Artificial Intelligence Lab | Thesis: Intelligent Mock Interviewer
• Related Coursework: Artificial Intelligence, Human Computer Interaction, Software Engineering, Design & Analysis of Algorithms

Research Experience
Brown HCI Lab Providence, RI
PHD STUDENT Sep 2021 ‑ Present
• Assistive UI for Scalable Mental Health Creating interactive UI elements via JavaScript to assist text‑based peer support conversations.
• Detecting Cognitive Distortions in Online Communication Created a multi‑label classification model that detects empathy and negative
thought patterns in online text‑based peer support sessions using SVM, BERT, LIWC and POS Tags.
• Interaction‑Rich Text‑based Communication Developed four interactive typing indicators via NodeJS to increase user’s social presence in online
communication. Conducted a mixed‑methods study with 24 participants to investigate the impact of the indicators on task‑based collaboration.
Human Computer Interaction for Inclusion, Well‑being and Learning Lab Lahore, PK
RESEARCH ASSOCiATE Dec 2019 ‑ Aug 2021
• Using CBT and Storytelling to Improve Mental Health Developed and explored interactive storytelling and gamification mechanisms to in‑
crease the efficacy of self‑guided Android mHealth app.
• Efficacy of XAI in COVID‑19 Information Dissemination Designed and implemented a COVID‑19 chatbot using eXplainable Artificial Intelligence
(XAI) to provide users with accurate and easily understandable information on symptoms, prevention measures, and available treatments.
• Securing Activists for Freedom and Empowerment Developed Pakistan’s first question‑answer system aimed at educating women on legal
actions to address violence and abuse using Node.js, Python and Angular.
Intelligent Interviewer: A Hiring Conversational Agent Lahore, PK
SENiOR THESiS | OUTSTANDiNG THESiS AWARD May 2017 ‑ May 2018
• Developed Intelligent Mock Interviewer, a AI powered conversational agent to reduce hiring bias in the recruitment process.
• Created and evaluated ML models to evaluate candidate’s personality from visual and audio features using Viola Jones’, Haar Cascades, Open‑
Vokaturi and NLTK.

Work Experience
Human Computer Interaction for Inclusion, Well‑being and Learning Lab Lahore, PK
PRODUCT LEAD Dec 2019 ‑ Aug 2021
• Designed, developed and evaluated social support healthcare apps for marginalized populations in Pakistan using mixed research methods.
• Consultatively delivered five web‑based and two Android applications by analyzing user requirements, prototyping wireframes, and presenting
business cases and system specifications to multiple stakeholders.
Pantera Energy Lahore, PK
SOFTWARE ENGiNEER July 2018 ‑ Dec 2019
• Developed Pantera energy Saver, using Flask, MongoDB and Angular, to optimize the performance of solar energy systems through data analysis
and algorithmic improvements, resulting in a 10% increase in energy efficiency and 15% reduction in maintenance costs.
• Developed Pantera’s scalable solar energy monitoring and control system using SCADA and Python, resulting in improved real‑time visibility
and control for 500+ solar energy systems, and a 25% reduction in maintenance costs.
• Build machine learning‑based predictive maintenance algorithms, reducing system downtime by 20% and minimizing on‑site maintenance
visits by 30%.
Publications
• Iftikhar, Z., Ma, Y. & Huang, J. (2023). Together but not together”: Evaluating Typing Indicators for Interaction‑Rich Communication. CHI 2023
• Iftikhar, Z., Haq, Q. R. U., Younus, O., Sardar, T., Arif, H., Javed, M., & Shahid, S. (2021). Designing Parental Monitoring and Control Technology:
A Systematic Review. INTERACT 2021
• Shahid, S., Mubin, O., Al Mahmud, A., Iftikhar, Z., & Arshad, R. (2021, June). Child‑computer interaction in the global south: Designing for
children on the margins. IDC 2021
• Elkhodr, M., Mubin, O., Iftikhar, Z., Masood, M., Alsinglawi, B., Shahid, S., & Alnajjar, F. (2021). Technology, privacy, and user opinions of COVID‑19
mobile apps for contact tracing: Systematic search and content analysis. JMIR 2021

Mentoring
2021 – 23 Brown HCI Lab Research Mentor, Jieyun Li’26, Sara Syed’22 Providence, RI
2022 – 23 CRA‑WP DREU Mentor, Yumeng Ma Providence, RI
2022 Brown Fall UTRA Mentor, Andrew Li Providence, RI
2022 Brown CS AI REU Mentor, Mia Hines (Grinnell College), Karen Liu (Amherst College) Providence, RI
2021 Secondary Advisor, Senior Thesis, Nauman Yawar Butt’21, Zainab Aziz’21, Hamael Rana’21, Balaj Khalid’21 Lahore, PK

Service Work
2022 Diversity and Inclusion Initiative, PhD Student Representative Providence, RI
2022 Brown CS AI REU, Study Group Leader Providence, RI
2021 – 22 Reviewer, CHI 2022, CHI 2021 Providence, RI
2020 FWS And Roots Millennium Schools, Autism Educator Lahore, PK

Honors & Awards

2022 Brown University Travel Grant for CHI’22, New Orleans, LA
2022 GHC Scholarship, Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Florida, FL
2021 National Centre for Cyber Security Travel Grant for INTERACT’21, Paper Presenter Bari, IT
2020 Leadership Award, Promoted to Product Lead, LUMS HCI Lab Lahore, PK
2019 Performance Excellence Award, Pantera Energy Lahore, PK
2018 IEEE 100 Minutes of Code, Second Place Lahore, PK
2018 Ethical Hacking, Concept Award Lahore, PK
2017 Academic Excellence Award, Bronze Medalist Lahore, PK
2017 Finalist, IceAge ‑ PROTO CLASH, SWiTPCC ‑ Simulating Wind Turbine Performance in Cold Climates Lahore, PK
2016 Academic Excellence Award, Silver Medalist Lahore, PK
2014 Academic Excellence Award, Silver Medalist Lahore, PK

Skills
• Python, JAVA, C++, JavaScript, TypeScript, SQL, React, Angular, Amazon Redshift, AWS Lambda, Heroku, TensorFlow, PyTorch, NLTK, Voka‑
turi, Figma, Data Wrangling & Visualisation, Quantitative Analysis (server logs, user behavior, surveys), Qualitative Analysis (contextual inquiry,
grounded theory)