Dr Yashar Moshfeghi

Reader

Computer and Information Sciences

Personal statement

I am a Reader (Associate Professor) in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science at the University of Strathclyde, where I have founded and lead the NeuraSearch Laboratory. Our laboratory bridges human intelligence to artificial intelligence by operating at the forefront of Neuroscience, Data Science, and AI.

Within the NeuraSearch Laboratory, our focus is on the development of cutting-edge Recommender Systems and Information Retrieval Systems. We specialize in harnessing Natural Language Processing, Language Modeling, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning techniques to create innovative solutions. Specifically, we concentrate on identifying, understanding, and modelling brain activities related to complex information search processes.

These innovative areas of research have yielded more than 90 publications to date, including peer-reviewed journals and full conference papers. Our research has a wider appeal beyond academia, fostering collaborations with various companies through initiatives like KTP, KE, and consultancy projects.

If you are a highly motivated individual seeking opportunities for PhD, Post-doc, Fellowships (e.g. Newton International Fellowship, Marie-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship, etc.) or short-term projects (e.g., ERASMUS, Commonwealth, etc.) within the dynamic environment of the NeuraSearch Laboratory, I encourage you to reach out. Your enthusiasm for advancing knowledge in these fields would be a valuable addition to our collaborative and forward-thinking team.

Expertise

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Prize And Awards

Honorary Senior Research Fellow, School of Computing Science, University of Glasgow: Recipient; 9/2024
BAE Stars Award: Recipient; 9/2024
SICSA Director of Research: Recipient; 2024
SICSA Artificial Intelligence & Data Science Theme Leader: Recipient; 2023
BCS-IRSG Inclusion Officer: Recipient; 2021
SICSA Data Science Theme Leader: Recipient; 2018

More prizes and awards

Publications

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Publications

Brain-machine interfaces & information retrieval challenges and opportunities: Moshfeghi Yashar, McGuire Niall; SIGIR '25 The 48th International ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval, pp. 3887-3898 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1145/3726302.3730350
Towards brain passage retrieval : an investigation of EEG query representations: McGuire Niall, Moshfeghi Yashar; ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval, pp. 613-623 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1145/3726302.3730097
The ethics of psychological manipulation in adversarial conversational AI : confronting the recognition-behaviour gap: Aboshi Agyo-Adi Stephen, Thomas Daniel R, Moshfeghi Yashar; CUI '25: Proceedings of the 7th ACM Conference on Conversational User Interfaces 7th ACM Conference on Conversational User Interfaces, pp. 1-6 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1145/3719160.3737616
On error classification from physiological signals within airborne environment: McGuire Niall, Moshfeghi Yashar; CHI EA '25 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1-8 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1145/3706599.3719995
NeuroPhysIIR : International Workshop on NeuroPhysiological Approaches for Interactive Information Retrieval: Gwizdka Jacek, Mostafa Javed, Zhang Min, Ji Kaixin, Moshfeghi Yashar, Ruotsalo Tuukka, Spina Damiano; CHIIR '25 2025 ACM SIGIR Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval, pp. 413-415 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1145/3698204.3716481
EEG subject detection : opportunity or threat?: McGuire Niall, Moshfeghi Yashar; Human-centric Computing and Information Sciences (2025)

More publications

Teaching

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Teaching

Current Modules:

Fundamentals of Machine Learning for Data Analytics
Advance Machine Learning Techniques

Past Modules:

Big Data Fundamentals
Big Data Tools and Techniques

Research

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Research Interests

My research vision has been to develop the underlying and core technology of "pro-active" information systems, which has an essential and challenging data science task: accurately infer and predict the immediate information needs of users by processing, analysing, and learning from abundant big data gathered from various sources including brain activation data gathered via MRI and EEG devices. My research interests and expertise are in line with Neuroscience, Information Retrieval, Natural Language Processing, Data Mining, Machine Learning and Deep Learning. My interests, however, are extended beyond Information Retrieval and pertain to rigorously understanding the world of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.

Professional Activities

EPSRC Scoping Worskhop (Critical mass): Participant; 30/1/2025
Strategic Themes: EPSRC Critical Mass Programmes to Drive a Sustainable Future: Participant; 30/1/2025
Shaping Dementia Care with Generative AI: Host; 10/2024
Dementia in the Age of Gen-AI: Host; 27/9/2024
Strategic Themes - Bioimaging Workshop: Participant; 17/9/2024
Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) 2024: Participant; 28/7/2024

More professional activities

Projects

The Prison Blueprint: How Colonial Incarceration Forged Modern Racial Injustice: Sanjurjo-Ramos, Jesus (Principal Investigator) Belton, Lloyd (CoPI) Moshfeghi, Yashar (Co-investigator) Izaguirre, Yaimara (Co-investigator) Weaver, Beth (Researcher) Thompson-Brown, Beverley (Co-investigator) Bardes, John (Researcher) Guyatt, Nicholas (Researcher) Naranjo, Consuelo (Researcher) Barcia, Manuel (Researcher) Bhopal, Aneel Singh (Fellow) Jardine, Cara (Researcher) Gyollai, Daniel (Researcher) Moss, Kellie (Researcher) Piacentini, Laura (Researcher) Basques, Messias (Researcher) Mantilla Morales, Valeria Sofia (Researcher) Sabala, Vanesa (Researcher) Sarmiento Ramirez, Ismael (Researcher) GONZALEZ ARANA, Roberto (Researcher); This flagship project encompasses various initiatives to examine the historical origins of systemic racism and class discrimination in contemporary criminal justice systems by bringing together historians, computer scientists specialising in AI, criminologists, philosophers, and justice policy experts. Led by Dr Jesús Sanjurjo (University of Strathclyde) and Dr Lloyd Belton (University of Glasgow), our research is centred on the recent unearthing of a unique historical collection: Havana's Royal Prison Logbooks. Spanning a century (1837-1937), these extraordinary manuscripts from one of the Atlantic's largest colonial prisons contain detailed records of thousands of men, women, and children, both free and enslaved. By connecting this rich historical data with contemporary policy, we aim to directly inform current debates on prison reform and the enduring legacies of racial injustice. The initiative is supported by major grants from the British Library's Endangered Archives Programme, the ESRC Impact Acceleration Account, and Strathclyde’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Science.

The project encompasses the following research initiatives:

1. 'Using AI for Tracking Systemic Racism in Historical Carceral Systems', co-led by Dr Sanjurjo, Dr Moshfeghi, and Dr Belton, 1/02/25 → 31/07/25, funded by a University of Strathclyde's Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Research Grant, £2,000.00.

2. 'Havana’s Royal Prison Logbooks (1836-1898): Digitisation, Preservation and Dissemination', co-led by Dr Sanjurjo, Dr Moshfeghi, and Dr Belton, 1/10/25 → Ongoing, funded by the British Library's Endangered Archives Programme (Pilot), £15,000.00, additional funding from the British Academy is TBC.

3. 'To contain the diffusion of pernicious ideas. The systematic imprisonment of Black sailors in Cuba and the United States, 1830-1850' ['Para contener la
difusión de ideas perniciosas: Encarcelamiento sistemático de marineros negros en Cuba y Estados Unidos, 1830-1850'], co-led by Dr Belton and Dr Sanjurjo, in partnership with Dr John Bardes, 1/05/25 → Ongoing, internally funded.

4. 'Using AI to Track Systemic Racism in Historical Carceral Systems', ESRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA), co-led by Dr Sanjurjo, Dr Moshfeghi, and Dr Belton in partnership with Beverley Thompson-Brown OBE, 01/11/25 → Ongoing, funded by an ESRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) Award, £14,769.96.

5. 'Historical Prison Systems in The Atlantic World and Their Impact on the Construction of Contemporary Penitentiary Models', I-LINK Programme of the CSIC and the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities Scheme, led by Prof Consuelo Naranjo. Project Dates TBC, Outcome of the Funding Application TBC.; 01-Jan-2025
£1,230 - Funded by Festival of Social Sciences - Shaping Dementia Care with Generative AI: Moshfeghi, Yashar (Principal Investigator) Rogers, Claire (Post Grad Student); 01-Jan-2024 - 31-Jan-2024
£300 - Funded by Explorathon - Dementia in the Age of Gen-AI: Moshfeghi, Yashar (Principal Investigator) Rogers, Claire (Post Grad Student); 11-Jan-2024 - 27-Jan-2024
£913.29 - Externally Funded by SICSA - Generative AI Mini Symposium: Moshfeghi, Yashar (Principal Investigator) Rogers, Claire (Post Grad Student); 01-Jan-2024 - 09-Jan-2024
Participatory Harm Auditing Workbenches and Methodologies (PHAWM): Moshfeghi, Yashar (Principal Investigator) Azzopardi, Leif (Co-investigator) Ruthven, Ian (Co-investigator); 01-Jan-2024 - 31-Jan-2028
Industrial CASE Account - University of Strathclyde 2021 | McGuire, Niall: Moshfeghi, Yashar (Principal Investigator) Goodfellow, Martin (Co-investigator) McGuire, Niall (Research Co-investigator); 01-Jan-2022 - 01-Jan-2027