AI Icon Hardware Icon Security Icon

Our Team

Meet the researchers, students, and collaborators who make SPEN Lab a center of excellence in cybersecurity, privacy, and networked systems research.

Lab Director

Dr. Ahmed Sherif - Lab Director

Dr. Ahmed B. T. Sherif

Assistant Professor, School of Computing Sciences and Computer Engineering

Dr. Sherif leads the Security and Privacy of Emerging Networks (SPEN) Lab at the University of Southern Mississippi. His research focuses on privacy-preserving technologies, network security, and AI-enhanced cybersecurity solutions.

PhD in Computer Engineering, University of Southern Mississippi, USA

At SPEN Lab, we believe that great research comes from collaboration and diversity of thought. Our team brings together students from various backgrounds, disciplines, and academic levels to tackle important challenges in cybersecurity and privacy.

10+ Active Researchers
30+ Publications
5 Research Areas

PhD Students

Zain Chaudhary - PhD Student

Zain Chaudhary

PhD Student in Computer Science

Research Focus: Reinforcement Learning for Autonomous Vehicles

Current Project: Developing privacy-aware navigation systems for connected vehicles

Zohaib Chaudhary - PhD Student

Zohaib Chaudhary

PhD Student in Computer Science

Research Focus: Privacy-Preserving AI in Healthcare

Current Project: Federated learning techniques for secure medical image analysis

Mehmood - PhD Student

Mehmood

PhD Student in Electrical & Computer Engineering

Research Focus: Scalable Machine Learning for Big Data

Current Project: Distributed computing frameworks for privacy-preserving data analysis

Master's Students

Eduardo - Master's Student

Eduardo Hernandez Escobar

Master's Student in Computer Engineering

Research Focus: Authentication for Aerial Networks

Current Project: Security protocols for Internet of Drones (IoD)

Undergraduate Students

Tim Leonard - Undergraduate

Tim Leonard

Undergraduate in Computer Science

Research Focus: Real-time Image Processing for Security

Current Project: Federated learning for intrusion detection in vehicular networks

Sajim - Undergraduate

Sajim

Undergraduate in Computer Engineering

Research Focus: IoT Security & Embedded Systems

Current Project: Lightweight authentication for resource-constrained IoT devices

Abdul - Undergraduate

Abdul

Undergraduate in Software Engineering

Research Focus: Data Analysis & Front-end Development

Current Project: Accessible security interfaces for privacy-aware applications

Nimo Mohamud

Nimo Mohamud

Undergraduate Student

Research Focus: Privacy in Mobile Applications

Current Project: Analysis of permission systems in smartphone ecosystems

Meenakshi Iyer

Meenakshi Iyer

Undergraduate Student

Research Focus: Secure Machine Learning

Current Project: Investigating adversarial examples in traffic sign recognition

James Biondi

James Biondi

Undergraduate Student

Research Focus: Network Security

Current Project: Automated vulnerability scanning in IoT networks