Samira Vafay Eslahi | Engineering | SIU

Office hours: MWF 1-3PM, or by appointment

Dr. Samira Vafay Eslahi’s research focuses on the development of machine learning algorithms for medical image computation and biomedical signal processing. During her Ph.D. at Texas A&M University, she proposed a novel evolutionary-based neural architecture search algorithm to optimize deep learning hyperparameters for Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) reconstructions, with applications in MRI scan acceleration. 

She also completed a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship at the Gordon Center for Medical Imaging at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, where she developed multimodal, deep learning-based Positron Emission Tomography (PET) denoising techniques using MRI priors to track brain tau changes and diagnose Alzheimer's disease in longitudinal studies. During her postdoc, she also worked on 3D free-breathing MRI quantifications, including T1 and B1 mapping in dynamic cardiac imaging. Additionally, as a deep learning developer intern at PONS Tech Inc., she developed deep learning models for lung disease diagnosis through ultrasound image classification.