Amal Al-Saqqaf

PhD Candidate
Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto
Advisor: Dr. Tom Chau

Education

Amal received her Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering from Taiz University in 2012. During her undergraduate studies, Amal worked on Online Arabic Handwritten Character Recognition as a graduation project. She worked as a TA in the Software Engineering department in Taiz University for two years, and then worked in an NGO as a program manager. After that, Amal enrolled in Computer Engineering Master of Science program in the German Jordanian University. During her graduate studies, she had a short-term traineeship in the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine in Jülich Research Center in late 2017. She also gained some experience in EEG and BCI through her research work on an EEG-based approach for decoding visual imagery for her master thesis, and received her degree in 2020.

Research Interests

Amal’s current PhD research investigates the potential to recognize the drive states (hunger & thirst) objectively and non-invasively using neuromarkers and saliva biomarkers. It also explores the cerebral hemodynamic and salivary correlates of nutritional status in children and youth with disabilities.

Other Interests

Amal has been actively volunteering in community programs and activities related to education, technology, and women empowerment. She participated as an emerging leader in Techwomen2014 program in Silicon Valley, and has been a fellow and an active member in Internet Society and ICANN fellowship program. She is a founding member of IEEE-Yemen subsection and was a Women in Data Science 2020 ambassador in Sana'a. In addition, Amal enjoys travelling, hiking, and photography.