Faculty lead
Dr. Fatema Nafa
Associate Teaching Professor
Northeastern University
Research community
Meet the team
Neural Network and AI Deep Insights Virtual Lab — a student research community established in Summer 2024.
Student researchers
Bezawit Ayalew
Master's Student in Data Science
Research Focus: Natural Language Processing
Bezawit is focused on designing AI systems that enhance human-like interactions. Her research includes generating realistic, context-sensitive smiles to improve rapport and communication in client interactions with AI systems. She develops NLP and deep learning algorithms using Python, TensorFlow, and Keras to enhance AI agents' backchannel smiles, enabling broader statistical analysis. She also optimizes model performance by analyzing smile intensity and duration, taking into account both speaker and listener behaviors.
Kevin Russell
MS in Data Science
Research Focus: Deep Learning
Sean Klein
M.S. Student · Data Science
Research Interest: Deep Learning
Sean is collaborating on multiple research projects while exploring his long-term area of focus in deep learning. For his capstone research project, he developed an attention-based LSTM neural network using TensorFlow and Keras to investigate the relationship between the worsening effects of climate change and increases in natural disasters.
Research overview
My research focuses on large language models, retrieval-augmented generation, agentic AI, multimodal learning, and causal reasoning. I develop AI systems spanning model training, evaluation, diagnostics, inference, and deployment.
At Northeastern University, I lead research and supervise graduate projects on hallucination detection, model interpretability, trustworthy AI, and distributed machine learning systems. The Neural Network and AI Deep Insights Virtual Lab was established in Summer 2024.
This work combines semantic retrieval, vector databases, automated evaluation, and model monitoring with experimentation in cloud and high-performance computing environments.
Google ScholarProjects
LLM Audit and Hallucination Detection Framework
An evaluation pipeline for factual consistency, hallucination risk, grounding quality, and model reliability across LLM architectures.
CourseLens / SocraticLens
An LLM-powered RAG tutor combining semantic search, citations, Socratic reasoning, vector databases, and automated evaluation.
Biomedical Multimodal AI Systems
AI pipelines integrating structured biomedical data with unstructured annotations and predictive modeling workflows.
Markov Knowledge Networks
Probabilistic and causal reasoning models for cognitive and decision modeling.
Agentic AI Systems
Workflows for autonomous AI agents, tool use, retrieval, planning, model evaluation, and deployment.
How to Join
To join the Data Science undergraduate research group, send an email expressing your interest in topics such as Data Science, AI, Machine Learning, Semantic Computing, and Web Programming to Dr. Nafa at Email Dr. Nafa to join. Upon receipt of your email, you will receive a welcome message and be introduced to the group members. New members are required to complete a tutorial during their first semester, based on their learning pace. After mastering the basics, members are free to choose a research topic or join a team. Contact Dr. Nafa for the current meeting schedule.
Are you interested in using data to drive decision-making and solve real-world problems?
Consider joining our data science research team! We welcome individuals from all majors to join our diverse team, as we believe that a variety of perspectives and skill sets are essential for driving innovation in the field. By joining our team, you will have the opportunity to work on cutting-edge projects, collaborate with experts in the field, and develop valuable skills that are in high demand in today's job market. Plus, you'll be part of a team that is making a real impact and contributing to the advancement of knowledge.
Research Group Policy
- Membership: Students from all majors and class years are welcome to join the research group by sending an email to Dr. Nafa at f.nafa@northeastern.edu
- Meetings: Contact the faculty advisor for the current schedule. Meetings include presentations, research discussions, and brainstorming sessions.
- Attendance: Regular attendance at meetings is expected of all members. If a member is unable to attend a meeting, they should inform the faculty advisor in advance.
- Research projects: Members may propose and lead their own research projects or contribute to ongoing projects within the group. All research projects must be approved by the faculty advisor before they can begin.