Nibras Abo Alzahab

About Me

PhD (European Doctorate) in Information Engineering. Biomedical engineer specializing in Artificial Intelligence with over 8 years of research and teaching experience in Italy and France. I develop and publish machine learning, deep learning, and large language model solutions for medical imaging, physiological signals, and natural language processing, contributing to EU-funded projects such as H2020 TRUST, Horizon Europe DigiBuild, and ANR ACTIVIS. Active member of IEEE and the Brain-Computer Interface Society. Fluent in Arabic, English, and Italian.

                                10+
                                Years Exp.
                            

                                10+
                                Publications
                            

                                15+
                                Reviews
                            

                                400+
                                Research Days
                            

I am driven by the belief that knowledge is not only a personal treasure but a social responsibility. My journey from Damascus to European research institutions has taught me that true innovation happens when we fearlessly step beyond our comfort zones while remaining grounded in ethical principles.

My mission is to develop AI technologies that empower rather than replace, that illuminate rather than obscure, and that serve humanity's highest potential.

Core Values

Purposeful Knowledge

زكاةُ العلم نشرُه

Knowledge is not a private possession, but a message to be shared. True knowledge grows when it's used to enlighten others.

المعرفة ليست ملكاً خاصاً، بل رسالة يجب أن تُنشر. فالعلم يزكو حين يُستخدم في إنارة عقول الآخرين.

Fearless Growth

ارتقاءٌ رغم الضيق

Growth doesn't happen in comfort. Real transformation begins where fear resides — in the unfamiliar, in the difficult.

النمو لا يحدث في الراحة، بل يبدأ التغيير الحقيقي حيث يسكن الخوف — في المجهول، وفي التحديات.

Ethical Innovation

الابتكار المسؤول

Innovation should uplift humanity, not exploit it. Technology must be guided by ethics, purpose, and social responsibility.

الابتكار يجب أن ينهض بالإنسانية لا أن يستغلّها. والتقنية لا تكتمل إلا حين تقودها الأخلاق والهدف والمسؤولية الاجتماعية.

Experience & Career

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Marche Polytechnic University Ancona, Italy 01/2025 - Present

Research project management across 5+ EU-funded projects
Development of AI models for physiological and energy data analysis
Manuscript drafting and conference presentations (4+ major conferences)
Multidisciplinary team collaboration (10+ members)
Grant acquisition, budgeting, and compliance oversight

Python TensorFlow PyTorch MNE Signal Processing

Research Intern

Montimage Paris, France 11/2023 - 09/2024

Developing Blockchain system for biometric authentication
Building Solidity smart contracts and Decentralized Applications (dApps)
Integrate Decentralized Applications (dApps) with IoT devices

Solidity Blockchain Smart Contracts IoT Biometrics

Research Intern

STARS Team, Inria Sophia Antipolis Valbonne, France 02/2023 - 08/2023

Research on transformer encoders and self-attention mechanisms
Built a multidisciplinary generalizable EEG model based on self-supervised learning
Physiological data processing: EEG, ECG, EDA, and PPG

Transformers Self-Supervised Learning Multi-modal AI PyTorch

Research Intern

Potioc Team, Inria Bordeaux Sud-Ouest Bordeaux, France 10/2021 - 12/2021

Monitored cognitive load during BCI training (24-subject dataset)
Built and compared 3 classification pipelines for cognitive load assessment
Analyzed N-back and R-span cognitive tasks using ML techniques
Produced 7 comprehensive research reports

Machine Learning BCI Cognitive Load Analysis Python

Research Intern

Empathic Computing Lab, University of South Australia Adelaide, Australia 06/2021 - 10/2021

Classified Neuro-based emotion recognition
Developed 3 Deep learning models using CNN architectures
Weekly task reporting and iterative model improvement

Deep Learning CNN Emotion Recognition EEG

Research Intern

Marche Polytechnic University Ancona, Italy 03/2021 - 06/2021

Improved EEG authentication techniques (48-subject dataset)
Designed 4 protocols for resting-state and auditory stimuli BCI experiments
Achieved 9.27% accuracy improvement using auditory stimuli
Enhanced feature extraction computational speed by 82.37%
Recorded EEG from 20 subjects and trained 4 staff members

EEG BCI Biometric Authentication Signal Processing

Maintenance Engineer

Medica Engineering Center Damascus, Syria 04/2019 - 07/2019

Managed equipment lifecycles and processes
Adjusted machine settings for performance optimization
Installed new and repaired parts for defective machines
Reviewed technical documentation

Medical Devices Electronics Troubleshooting

Maintenance Engineer

United Medical Company Damascus, Syria 09/2018 - 03/2019

Process improvements for equipment reliability
Preventive maintenance for mechanical ventilators
Strategic equipment lifecycle management
Complex electrical equipment troubleshooting and repair

Medical Devices Electronics Ventilators

Technical Skills

Scientific Writing & Publications

Research Methodologies & Experiment Design

Logical Communication of Complex Ideas

Troubleshooting & Problem-Solving

Project Management & Public Speaking

Data Curation & Annotation

LaTeX, Mendeley, BibTeX, EndNote, ResearchRabbit

Python (MNE, TF/Keras, PyTorch, Scikit-Learn, Pandas)

MATLAB / Octave

C++

Solidity & Smart Contracts

R, SQL, Java

Git Version Control

SPSS, AutoCAD, SolidWorks

Photoshop, GIMP, Illustrator, Inkscape

Deep Learning (CNN, RNN, Transformers)

EEG Recording & Analysis

Biosignal Processing & Time Series

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI)

IoT & Edge AI (Arduino, Raspberry Pi, NVIDIA Jetson)

Blockchain & Decentralized Applications

Medical Imaging Analysis

Electronics & PCB Design

Arabic: Native ★★★★★

English: Fluent (C2) ★★★★★

Italian: Professional ★★★★☆

Education

Ph.D.: Information Engineering

Polytechnical University of Marche

05/2025

Awarded the prestigious Doctor Europaeus title, recognizing the international excellence of doctoral research
Published 10+ peer-reviewed international scientific papers in reputable journals and conferences
Contributed to the academic community as a peer reviewer for 15+ scientific journals and conferences
Completed 400+ days of international research secondments, gaining multidisciplinary experience in leading European institutions

Master of Science: Biomedical Engineering

Polytechnical University of Marche

07/2021

Received FLOR Scholarship
Awarded First prize and best ever results at Fifth Matlab ECG Processing Challenge

Bachelor of Science: Biomedical Engineering

Damascus University

10/2018

Awarded First Place at Albassel Fair for creativity and innovation
Awarded First Place at Bright Inventors Competition
Awarded First Place at Wikilogia Hackathon, Artificial Intelligent Competition

Publications

Book

Mind Between Vibrations (عقلٌ بين الذبذبات)

Nibras Abo Alzahab

Dar Al-Uns · 2025

A foundational book in Arabic exploring the human mind, brain waves, and the intersection of biology with modern technology.

Book Neuroscience Arabic Literature Science Communication

Journal Article

Auditory evoked potential electroencephalography-biometric dataset

Nibras Abo Alzahab, Angelo Di Iorio, Luca Apollonio, Muaaz Alshalak, Alessandro Gravina, Luca Antognoli, Marco Baldi, Lorenzo Scalise, Bilal Alchalabi

Data in Brief · 2024-10-28

This dataset provides over 240 EEG recordings from 20 subjects to assess EEG signals for biometric authentication.

EEG Biometrics Auditory Stimuli Authentication BCI Resting State

DOI View Publication

Conference Paper

Decentralized Biometric Authentication based on Fuzzy Commitments and Blockchain

Nibras Abo Alzahab, Giulia Rafaiani, Massimo Battaglioni, Franco Chiaraluce, Marco Baldi

2024 6th International Conference on Blockchain Computing and Applications (BCCA) · 2024

Proposes a novel blockchain-based biometric authentication protocol leveraging fuzzy commitment schemes.

Blockchain Biometrics Authentication Fuzzy Commitment Decentralized Identity

DOI View Publication

Journal Article

BiometricIdentity dApp: Decentralized biometric authentication based on fuzzy commitment and blockchain

Nibras Abo Alzahab, Giulia Rafaiani, Massimo Battaglioni, A Cavalli, Franco Chiaraluce, Marco Baldi

SoftwareX · 2024

Presents a decentralized application (dApp) implementation for secure biometric authentication.

dApp Blockchain Biometrics Smart Contracts Solidity

DOI View Publication

Preprint

When Does Your Brain Know You? Segment Length and Its Impact on EEG-based Biometric Authentication Accuracy

Nibras Abo Alzahab, Lorenzo Scalise, Marco Baldi

arXiv preprint · 2024

Study investigating how EEG segment length affects biometric authentication accuracy.

EEG Biometrics Authentication Machine Learning

DOI View Publication

Conference Paper

Automatic Reconstruction of Noisy EEG Channels with Transformer-Based Architectures

Nibras Abo Alzahab, N Alshawa

2024 10th International Conference on Computing, Engineering and Design · 2024

Proposes a Transformer-based architecture for automatically reconstructing corrupted EEG channels.

Transformers EEG Deep Learning Signal Reconstruction

Workshop Paper

MVP: Multimodal Emotion Recognition based on Video and Physiological Signals

V Strizhkova, H Kachmar, H Chaptoukaev, R Kalandadze, N Kukhilava, N Abo Alzahab, et al.

7th Workshop and Competition on Affective Behavior Analysis in-the-wild (ABAW) · 2024

Explores multimodal approaches combining video and physiological data for emotion recognition.

Emotion Recognition Multimodal Deep Learning Physiological Signals

Conference Paper

Effect of Auditory Stimuli on Electroencephalography-based Authentication

Nibras Abo Alzahab, Angelo Di Iorio, Marco Baldi, Lorenzo Scalise

2022 IEEE International Conference on Metrology for Extended Reality, AI and Neural Engineering · 2022

Experimental evaluation showing auditory stimulus improves EEG-based biometric authentication by 9.27%.

EEG Biometrics Auditory Stimuli Authentication

DOI View Publication

Journal Article

Hybrid Deep Learning (hDL)-Based Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) Systems: A Systematic Review

N Abo Alzahab, L Apollonio, A Di Iorio, M Alshalak, S Iarlori, F Ferracuti, et al.

Brain Sciences · 2021

A comprehensive systematic review of hybrid Deep Learning methods in BCI systems.

Deep Learning BCI Systematic Review EEG

DOI View Publication

Conference Paper

Efficient feature selection for electroencephalogram-based authentication

Nibras Abo Alzahab, Marco Baldi, Lorenzo Scalise

2021 IEEE International Symposium on Medical Measurements and Applications (MeMeA) · 2021

Investigates optimal features to enhance accuracy and efficiency of EEG-based biometric systems.

EEG Feature Selection Authentication Biometrics

DOI View Publication

Google Scholar ORCID

Community & Memberships

NIBRAS Center

Founder

Neural Interface and Brain Research for Arabic Scientific Sharing. Building the first comprehensive Arabic-language resource for neuroscience, brain-computer interfaces, and neural engineering.

Visit Website

Syrian Research and Publication Society

Founding Member

Supporting Syrian researchers worldwide through publication assistance, networking opportunities, and collaborative research initiatives.

Visit Website

Professional Memberships

IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society

Active Member Since 03/2022

IEEE Brain Society

Active Member Since 03/2022

Syrian Research and Publication Society (SRPS)

Founding Member Since 09/2019

Brain-Computer Interface Society

Member Since 01/2019

Awards & Recognition

Doctor Europaeus Title

Polytechnical University of Marche

2025

Ten Outstanding Young Persons - Medical Innovation

Junior Chamber International (JCI) - Syria

2020

First Prize - Matlab ECG Processing Challenge

International Competition

2021

First Place - Albassel Fair

Albassel Fair for Creativity and Innovation

2018

First Place - Bright Inventors Competition

Bright Inventors

2018

First Place - Wikilogia Hackathon

Wikilogia AI Competition

2018

About Me

Core Values

Purposeful Knowledge

Fearless Growth

Ethical Innovation

Experience & Career

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Research Intern

Research Intern

Research Intern

Research Intern

Research Intern

Maintenance Engineer

Maintenance Engineer

Technical Skills

Education

Ph.D.: Information Engineering

Master of Science: Biomedical Engineering

Bachelor of Science: Biomedical Engineering

Publications

Mind Between Vibrations (عقلٌ بين الذبذبات)

Auditory evoked potential electroencephalography-biometric dataset

Decentralized Biometric Authentication based on Fuzzy Commitments and Blockchain

BiometricIdentity dApp: Decentralized biometric authentication based on fuzzy commitment and blockchain

When Does Your Brain Know You? Segment Length and Its Impact on EEG-based Biometric Authentication Accuracy

Automatic Reconstruction of Noisy EEG Channels with Transformer-Based Architectures

MVP: Multimodal Emotion Recognition based on Video and Physiological Signals

Effect of Auditory Stimuli on Electroencephalography-based Authentication

Hybrid Deep Learning (hDL)-Based Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) Systems: A Systematic Review

Efficient feature selection for electroencephalogram-based authentication

Community & Memberships

NIBRAS Center

Syrian Research and Publication Society

Professional Memberships

IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society

IEEE Brain Society

Syrian Research and Publication Society (SRPS)

Brain-Computer Interface Society

Awards & Recognition

Doctor Europaeus Title

Ten Outstanding Young Persons - Medical Innovation

First Prize - Matlab ECG Processing Challenge

First Place - Albassel Fair

First Place - Bright Inventors Competition

First Place - Wikilogia Hackathon

Latest Articles

The Internet of Minds: How IoT is Revolutionizing Brain-Computer Interfaces

Ethical AI in Healthcare: Principles for Responsible Innovation

Get In Touch

Email

Location

Open to Collaboration