Prof. Anderson Avila
Assistant Professor at INRS-EMT, working in the INRS-UQO Joint Research Unit in Cybersecurity. His research background is on machine learning and signal processing applied to natural language processing. During his PhD, Dr. Avila worked on the development of new models for speech quality assessment and on the robustness of voice biometrics.
Before he was a researcher scientist in natural language and speech processing, working on projects related to model compression, low-latency and robustness of spoken language understanding.
Current Lab Members
PhD Students
Nasim Soltani
Short bio: She holds B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Computer Engineering from Payam Noor University (PNU) and Allameh Naeini Higher Education Institute, respectively. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate at INRS-EMT. Her research focuses on advancing the robustness and collaborative fairness of federated learning systems. Specifically, she investigates how to design resilient models that can operate effectively under diverse and heterogeneous environments while ensuring equitable outcomes across participating clients. Additionally, she explores strategies to mitigate vulnerabilities in distributed learning and enhance collaboration fairness, contributing to the development of trustworthy and AI.
Research topic: Collaborative fairness and robustness in Federated Learning
Zulqarnain
Short bio: He completed his bachelor's degree in Computer Science at Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Pakistan, and his master's degree in Computer Science at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Cybersecurity at INRS-EMT, Quebec, Canada.
Research topic: Audio deepfake detection.
José Victor
Short bio: José Victor de Souza is a PhD student in Telecommunications at INRS in Montreal. His research focuses on computational approaches to discourse and ideology detection in large language models. He has experience in corpus linguistics and interdisciplinary collaborations across linguistics, computer science, and AI.
Research topic: Ideological bias in large language models
Fabricio Steinle Amoroso
Short bio: BSc and MSc degrees in Computer Science from São Paulo State University (UNESP), Brazil. Conducted research at the Laboratory of Applied Security and Networks (LARS), focusing on cybersecurity applications of deep learning. Research interests include deepfake detection, intrusion detection systems, and intelligent security mechanisms for computer networks. Currently pursuing a PhD in Telecommunications at INRS-EMT.
Research topic: Efficient knowledge distillation for speech pretrained models
Master Students
Hazem Amamou
Short bio: Hazem holds an Engineering degree in Computer Science with a specialization in Data Science, during which I worked on several projects and internships in NLP, Computer Vision, and Deep Learning. Currently, his research focuses on disinformation and fake news detection using LLMs and RAG.
Research topic: Robust retrieval-augmented generation.
Yousef Abdelmagid
Short bio: BEng in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Coventry University with research background in signal processing and cybersecurity. Currently pursuing his masters (MSc) in Telecommunications at INRS-EMT. His research focus is on voice biometrics.
Research topic: Robust automatic speaker verification in emotional environments.
Moetaz Doghmane
Short bio: I am currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Cybersecurity at the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), within the Unité Mixte de Recherche INRS–UQO. My research interests include misinformation detection, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and software engineering. Prior to joining the program, I obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from ESPRIT School of Engineering and Technology (Tunisia).
Research topic: Uncertainty in LLM.
Alumni
Tien T. Nguyen
Short bio: Computer Science student at Aix-Marseille University. Currently working as a part-time intern at INRS-EMT. Currently working as a part-time intern at INRS-EMT.
Research topic: Model compression in Federated Learning
Matheus Simão Caixeta
Short bio: BSc in Computer Science at FATEC-SP with specialization in Data Science. Currently working as a part-time intern at INRS-EMT.
Research topic: Keystroke dynamics in Federated Learning
Guillaume Bordeleau
Short bio: 2nd-year Computer Science student at Polytechnique Montréal. Former intern at INRS-EMT (summer 2023).
Research topic: Improving knowledge representation to mitigate misinformation.
Angela Wang
Short bio: 4th-year Bioengineering student at McGill University. Former intern at INRS-EMT (summer 2023).
Research topic: Voice biometrics robustness for emotional speech.
Franz Acclassato
Short bio: 2nd-year Electrical Engineering student at Polytechnique Montréal. Former intern at INRS-EMT (summer 2023).
Research topic: Group fairness in Federated Learning.