Research Overview
As a postdoctoral researcher at the Clifford Lab at Emory University, my research focuses on developing novel AI-driven methods and sensing technologies to address critical challenges in healthcare, particularly for neurological and developmental disorders. My interdisciplinary approach combines expertise in artificial intelligence, biomedical sensing, and signal processing to create tools that can improve patient outcomes through early detection and personalized interventions.
Research Focus Areas
Novel Biomarkers for Neurological Disorders
Working with the Cognitive Empowerment Program and the Goizueta Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, I develop methods to identify cognitive markers in older adults at risk for Mild Cognitive Impairment using multimodal data from wearable technologies, including NextSense in-ear EEG devices and wristband health monitors.
Privacy-Preserving Sensing for Neurodevelopmental Disorders
In collaboration with The Center for Discovery, I am researching the relationship between sleep patterns and behavioral outcomes in children with autism spectrum disorder. This work involves building an end-to-end edge computing system using off-body sensors that prioritizes privacy while extracting meaningful behavioral insights.
AI-Driven Pattern Recognition for Health Monitoring
Building on my PhD research in knowledge discovery in nanophotonics at Georgia Tech, I develop interpretable machine learning models for biomedical applications that can extract valuable insights from complex physiological data.
Before joining Emory, I completed my PhD at Georgia Tech (2016-2021) where I focused on machine learning-assisted optimization and knowledge discovery in nanophotonics. My doctoral research developed new approaches using deep learning, manifold learning, and dimensionality reduction to better understand light-matter interactions.
Recent News
- May 2025Yashar received the Excellence in Research Award from the Department of Biomedical Informatics at Emory University.
- May 2025Our paper titled "Predicting seizure episodes and high-risk events in autism through adverse behavioral patterns" has been published in Physiological Measurement. Read paper
- Apr 2025Yashar gave a talk in Profound Autism Summit "Predicting High-Risk Behaviors in Individuals with Profound Autism Using Sleep and Other Environmental Factors" presentation link
- Feb 2025Our paper titled "Feasibility of Assessing Cognitive Impairment via Distributed Camera Network and Privacy‐Preserving Edge Computing" has been published in Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring. Read paper
- Feb 2025Yashar gave a talk in CTSA Lunch and Learn Series on "Can Sleep Architecture and Behavior Patterns Predict Next-Day Challenging Behavior in Autism?"
- Jan 2025Our paper titled "From Motion to Emotion: Exploring Challenging Behaviors in Autism Spectrum Disorder Through Analysis of Wearable Physiology and Movement" has been published in Physiological Measurements. Read paper
- Oct 2024Our paper titled "Off-body Sleep Analysis for Predicting Adverse Behavior in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder" has been published in IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics. Read paper
- Jul 2024Yashar has been awarded the Thrasher Research Fund Early Career Award for the project titled "Enhancing Behavioral Understandings and Interventions in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder using Artificial Intelligence." More details