Join Our Research Group at Emory

I am recruiting fully funded PhD students for Fall 2026 (applications due December 2025), as well as MS students interested in thesis research. I’m building a new interdisciplinary research group at the intersection of Natural Language Processing (NLP), AI Safety, Human-Centered AI, and AI4Health.

Research Focus

We develop methods to make AI systems more trustworthy, reliable, and equitable, while understanding their limitations and societal impacts. Current research directions include:

• Reasoning & Evaluation: Creating challenging benchmarks that push AI reasoning capabilities and reveal failure modes
• AI Safety & Fairness: Developing methods to identify and mitigate harmful behaviors in language models, with a focus on culturally-aware and context-dependent definitions of harm
• Reliability & Robustness: Stress-testing AI systems across diverse conditions and ensuring consistent performance in real-world settings
• Interpretability: Opening the black box of AI systems to understand their decision-making and build human trust
• Applied AI for Good: Leveraging AI for inclusive education, diverse storytelling, equitable healthcare, and socially beneficial applications

Current Team

Director

Ali Emami, Assistant Professor of Computer Science

Current Graduate Students

• William Hao (Fall 2025 - Present) (Co-supervised with Professor Joyce Ho)
• Robert Morabito (Fall 2024 - Present)
• Sangmitra Madhusudan (Fall 2025 - Present, Vector Scholarship Awardee)
• Kaige Chen (Fall 2024 – Present)
• Tyler McDonald (Summer 2023 – Present, Vector Scholarship Awardee)

Alumni

• Nikta Gohari Sadr
• Sarfaroz Yunusov
• Abhishek Kumar

What I’m Looking For

Strong candidates typically bring experience in these key areas:

🧠 Technical Foundation

• Strong programming skills (Python preferred)
• Experience with machine learning/deep learning frameworks
• Comfort with statistical analysis and experimental design

📝 Research Skills

• Clear technical writing and communication (this is a dying art!)
• Critical thinking about AI systems and their limitations
• Ability to read, implement, and build upon research papers

💡 Intellectual Curiosity

• Interest in interdisciplinary problems at the intersection of AI and society
• Enthusiasm for both building systems and understanding their impacts
• Openness to collaborating with domain experts (linguistics, psychology, ethics)

Bonus points for: Prior NLP/LLM experience, mrain conference publications (e.g., ACL, EMNLP), user study experience, or demonstrated interest in AI ethics/fairness.

How to Apply & Connect

Reaching Out

Email me at aemami[at]emory.edu with subject line [Prospective PhD/MS Student - Fall 2026] (please make sure you do this, otherwise I won’t be considering the email!) including:

• Your CV/resume with links to any publications or projects
• 2-3 sentences on why our research vision excites you
• Any relevant experience or coursework in NLP, ML, or AI ethics
• (Optional) A paper or project you’re proud of.
• Pro tip: I really like an email that looks like it was authentically, organically, and succinctly written by solely you! I once again insist on this, after seeing dozens of emails come in!

Application Process

• Formal application required through Emory’s CS department admissions portal(You can include my name in the statement of purpose)
• PhD funding: Admitted students receive full support (stipend + tuition)
• Timeline: Applications due October 2025 for Fall 2026 start
• I cannot pre-admit, but I strongly advocate for excellent fits

For Current Emory Students

Undergraduate and MS students at Emory interested in research opportunities should email me with your interests, relevant coursework, and available time commitment (minimum 10 hrs/week).