• Education
  • Experiences
  • Projects
  • Publications
  • Skills

Education


Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (2021 – 2026 (expected))
Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
  • Dissertation: Advanced Multimodal MR Imaging and Machine Learning-Based Assessment of the Spinal Cord

M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering (2021 – 2023)
Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
  • Thesis: Semi-Supervised Attention-Augmented Autoencoder for Radar-Based Human Activity Recognition

B.Sc. in Computer Engineering (2015 – 2019)
Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
  • Senior Project: Classification of Hand Movements from EEG Records


Experience


Graduate Researcher, Jefferson Integrated MRI Center, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Advanced Multimodal MRI & ML for Spinal Cord Assessment (Jun 2023 – Present)
  • Built end-to-end AI pipelines for multimodal spinal cord MRI (T1, T2, DTI, HYDI, NODDI) covering preprocessing, segmentation, feature extraction, and severity classification.
  • Designed multimodal fusion with 3D CNNs and transformer encoders to predict neurological impairment (reported >94% accuracy).
  • Accelerated feature-extraction with CUDA and OpenMP achieving up to 10× speedups.
  • Developed explainable AI visualizations to improve clinical interpretability.
  • Led pediatric data harmonization; established the first normative pediatric spinal cord biomarker database.
  • Shipped a modular Python framework with GUI across 350+ MRI datasets.
Keywords:
  • Multimodal MRI
  • Spinal Cord Biomarkers
  • Transformers
  • Explainable AI
  • CUDA
  • Python GUI Pipelines

Research Assistant, Multimodal Sensing & Imaging Lab, Temple University
Deep Learning for Radar-Based Human Activity Recognition (Aug 2021 – Jun 2023)
  • Created a Semi-Supervised Attention-Augmented Autoencoder for radar HAR, reaching >95% accuracy and ~20% over baseline CNNs.
  • Built a Whitening-Aided Network for feature decorrelation and domain generalization across sensors/environments.
  • Combined attention mechanisms + whitening normalization to learn robust micro-Doppler representations.
Keywords:
  • Semi-Supervised Learning
  • Attention
  • Autoencoders
  • Whitening

Undergraduate Research Assistant, Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies, Tehran, Iran
RatTracker: CV Platform for Behavioral CPP Analysis (Dec 2018 – Aug 2020)
  • Developed RatTracker, a real-time computer-vision system replacing manual observation in CPP experiments.
  • Implemented motion-tracking algorithms for 2D movement with ~3 ms precision across varying angles and group sizes.
  • Automated behavioral analytics to support healthcare research workflows.
Keywords:
  • Computer Vision
  • Behavioral Neuroscience
  • Object/Motion Tracking
  • Real-time Analytics

Research Assistant, Advanced Big Data Lab, Tehran, Iran
Biomedical AI: Graph Mining & EEG-Based Deep Learning (2017 – 2019)
  • Mined large unstructured biomedical corpora to build drug–gene–disease networks for repurposing.
  • Constructed graphs with 3M nodes / 17M edges using Apache Spark; performed outlier detection and knowledge discovery.
  • Built CNN/LSTM/SVM models for EEG hand-movement classification (up to 87.9% accuracy).
Keywords:
  • Graph Mining
  • Biomedical NLP
  • Drug–Gene–Disease Networks
  • Word2Vec
  • EEG
  • Time-Series ML


Projects


  • Severity Prediction in Spinal Cord Injury using Multimodal MRI Paper
    Developed deep-learning models combining T2 and DTI MRI features to classify ASIA impairment levels (A–D). Utilized 3D CNNs and transformer encoders for multimodal fusion and achieved >94 % accuracy.

  • Magnetization Transfer (MT) MRI Biomarkers in Pediatric Spinal Cord Paper
    Investigated quantitative MT metrics to assess myelin integrity and their relationship with diffusion and structural measures across vertebral levels in typically developing children.

  • Whitening-Aided Network for Radar-Based Human Activity Recognition Paper
    Developed a Whitening-Aided Network for radar micro-Doppler activity recognition to enhance domain generalization and feature decorrelation across sensors and environments. Integrated whitening normalization and attention mechanisms to improve robustness and reduce overfitting.

  • Semi-Supervised Attention-Augmented Autoencoder Paper
    Proposed a semi-supervised autoencoder with multi-head attention layers for learning from large unlabeled radar datasets. Achieved >95 % accuracy and >20 % improvement over baseline CNNs.

  • Age-Clustering Framework for Pediatric Spinal Cord Morphometry
    Implemented decision-tree and clustering approaches using structural MRI metrics (CSA, AP, RL widths) to identify biologically consistent pediatric subgroups. Provides new rules for age/height-normalized analyses.

  • Adult Spinal Cord Injury Severity Assessment using Deep Learning
    Built a multimodal 3D deep-learning framework integrating T2 and DTI data for AIS classification in acute SCI. Evaluated generalization to chronic follow-ups.

  • Modular MRI Analysis Pipeline (GUI-Based)
    Designed a fully modular Python pipeline supporting processing for T2 and HYDI MRI. Includes segmentation, QC, feature extraction, and report generation.

  • Classification of Hand Movements from EEG Records report
    Used CNN and LSTM models to classify hand movements from time-series EEG recordings, achieving 87.9 % accuracy.

  • RatTracker: Computer-Vision Platform for Behavioral CPP Analysis report
    Developed a CV system to track and analyze rodents in conditioned place-preference tests with 3 ms temporal precision.

  • Predicting User Preferences in Social Networks Using Clustering Algorithms report Designed a clustering-based model for predicting users’ post-like preferences across 90,000 WordPress blogs.

  • News Title Text Mining and Classification report
    Analyzed two decades of newspaper headlines (1996–2013) and created a classification model achieving 80 % accuracy.


Papers


Severity Classification of Pediatric Spinal Cord Injuries Using Structural MRI Measures and Deep Learning: A Comprehensive Analysis Across All Vertebral Levels
Zahra Sadeghi-Adl, Sara Naghizadeh-Kashani, Devon Middleton, Laura Krisa, Mahdi Alizadeh, Adam E. Flanders, Scott H. Faro, Ze Wang, Feroze B. Mohamed
American Journal of Neuroradiology, 2025
Magnetization Transfer Ratio in the Typically Developing Pediatric Spinal Cord: Normative Data and Age Correlation
Sara Naghizadeh Kashani, Iswarya Vel, Zahra Sadeghi-Adl, Shiva Shahrampour, Devon Middleton, Mahdi Alizadeh, Laura Krisa, Scott Faro, Slimane Tounekti, Julien Cohen-Adad, Feroze B. Mohamed
Journal of Neuroimaging, 2025
Semi-Supervised Convolutional Autoencoder with Attention Mechanism for Activity Recognition
Zahra Sadeghi-Adl, Fauzia Ahmad
2023 European Signal Processing Conference (EUSIPCO), IEEE, 2023
Whitening-Aided Learning from Radar Micro-Doppler Signatures for Human Activity Recognition
Zahra Sadeghi-Adl, Fauzia Ahmad
Sensors, MDPI, 2023
Gait Pattern Analysis of Older Adults via Radar Micro-Doppler Signatures and Wrist-Worn Accelerometer Data
Fauzia Ahmad, Zahra Sadeghi-Adl, Cole Hagen, Shivayogi Hiremath, Astrid Uhl, Lisa Ferretti, Philip McCallion
Radar Sensor Technology XXVIII, SPIE, 2024
DDREL: From Drug-Drug Relationships to Drug Repurposing
Milad Allahgholi, Hossein Rahmani, Delaram Javdani, Zahra Sadeghi-Adl, Andreas Bender, Dezső Módos, Gerhard Weiss
Intelligent Data Analysis, SAGE Publications, 2022

Blog Posts


Magnetization Transfer Ratio in the Typically Developing Pediatric Spinal Cord
Deep Learning for Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury Severity Classification
Whitening-Aided Deep Learning for Radar-Based Human Activity Recognition
Semi-Supervised Attention-Augmented Autoencoder for Radar-Based Human Activity Recognition
Are We Responsible for Our Rose?
DGIdb 2.0 — An Amazing Application of Biomedical Text Mining
RatTracker
Detecting Soccer Field

Computer Skills


  • Programming Languages: Python, C++, Bash, MATLAB, C, SQL
  • ML / AI Frameworks: PyTorch, MONAI, Keras, scikit-learn, TensorFlow
  • Data & Analytics: NumPy, Pandas, Polars, Dask, Apache Arrow, Airflow, MLflow
  • Cloud Platforms: AWS, GCP
  • GPU / HPC: CUDA, OpenMP, SLURM