news
Accepted into the 2024 Digital IDEAS Summer Institute!
April 2024
I have been accepted to attend the Digital IDEAS Summer Institute: Digital X Climate hosted by the Digital Studies Institute at UM-LSA where I will attend keynote lectures, and participate in panel discussions, workshops, and group discussions about the relationship between digital culture and climate, broadly defined.
My participation has been funded by the Mellon Foundation-sponsored DISCO Network who have so generously offered me a $1500 scholarship to attend.
Passed my Pre-Candidacy Defense!
March 2024
I successfully defended my pre-candidacy paper, U.S. Arab/SWANA Diaspora’s Technocultures of Consent: The Case of Online Dating Apps, during an oral defense on March 20th. Thank you to my committee members, Dr. Nazanin Andalibi, Dr. Sarita Schoenebeck, and Dr. Apryl Williams for their support, feedback and helpful questions! (Photo: Ella Byworth for MetroUK)
Submitted my Pre-Candidacy Paper to my Committee!
February 2024
I completed my pre-candidacy paper—part of my 2nd PhD milestone—and submitted it to my committee. I will be defending this work in March.
My committee is made up of my advisor, Dr. Nazanin Andalibi, and Dr. Sarita Schoenebeck and Dr. Apryl Williams.
Artwork by Dua Duran
Gave a talk at the University of Michigan!
February 2024
I gave a talk to Dr. Oliver Haimson’s class (SI 315: Interpersonal and Psychological Implications of Social Media) at the University of Michigan about Algorithms, Identity and TikTok. I loved hearing students’ questions regarding the paper and research as a process! I had lots of fun and enjoyed seeing how much everyone engaged with the work.
2 Papers Accepted to CSCW 2024!
November 2023
My paper “Patent Applications as Glimpses into the Sociotechnical Imaginary: Ethical Speculation on the Imagined Futures of Emotion AI for Mental Health Monitoring and Detection“ with Alexandra H. Vinson, Shobita Parthasarathy, and Nazanin Andalibi was accepted at CSCW 2024.
Another paper I was a co-author on, “Emotion AI Use in U.S. Mental Health Care: Potentially Unjust and Techno-Solutionist” with Kat Roemmich, Shanley Corvite, Cassidy Pyle, and Nazanin Andalibi was also accepted to CSCW 2024.
Photo by Harry Campbell for the New York Times
Pre-Candidacy Proposal Approved!
April 2023
I completed my first PhD Milestone, the Pre-Candidacy Proposal for my upcoming Pre-Candidacy Project titled “U.S. Arab/SWANA Diaspora’s Technocultures of Consent: The Case of Online Dating Apps“. This proposal is essentially a grant proposal, that explains to an audience “why the research questions are significant and worthy of study, what hypotheses are going to be tested, what methods are going to be used, and, for empirical projects, which analyses will be conducted.” It was approved by my advisor, Dr. Nazanin Andalibi, on April 19th, 2022.
Gave a talk at the University of Washington!
April 2022
I gave a talk to Dr. Tanu Mitra’s class (INSC 598 C: Social Computing) at the University of Washington about Algorithms, Identity and TikTok. Thank you so much to Dr. Mitra for the invitation, and to your classmates for their wonderful and thought-provoking questions.
Photo by J_art/Getty Images
Paper Accepted at CSCW 2023
November 2022
My paper “‘I like to See the Ups and Downs of My Own Journey’: Motivations for and Impacts of Returning to Past Content About Weight Related Journeys on Social Media” with Nazanin Andalibi was accepted at CSCW 2023.
Paper History: rejected once, major revisions before acceptance
Married my Best Friend, Kaan Toy!
August 2022
On August 13th at the Muddy Acres Flower Farm, I married my best friend, Kaan Toy, in an intimate ceremony with our immediate families. It’s extremely exciting to start this next chapter with Kaan as we begin our lives together!
Accepted into Doctoral Program at the University of Michigan School of Information as a UMSI Merit Scholar
February 2022
I am thrilled beyond belief to share that I have accepted my offer to the PhD in Information program at the University of Michigan School of Information and will begin this Fall semester! I am grateful to have been selected as a UMSI Merit Scholar, and to be co-advised by Dr. Nazanin Andalibi and Dr. Kentaro Toyama.
ILLUSTRATION BY JULIANNA BRION, Featured in The New Yorker (2016)
Honorable Mention Award for Best Paper for CSCW 2021
October 2021
I am excited to share that my paper received an Honorable Mention Award for Best Paper at the ACM CSCW 2021 conference, “Algorithmic Folk Theories and Identity: How TikTok Users Co-Produce Knowledge of Identity and Engage in Algorithmic Resistance“.
Paper Accepted at CSCW 2021
May 2021
My paper “Algorithmic Folk Theories and Identity: How TikTok Users Co-Produce Knowledge of Identity and Engage in Algorithmic Resistance“ with Daniel Delmonaco, Motahhare Eslami and Nazanin Andalibi was accepted at CSCW 2021.
Paper History: major revisions before acceptance
Graduated UMSI’s MHI Program
May 2021
I graduated with a Master of Health Informatics from the University of Michigan School of Information and School of Public Health with a concentration in data analytics and UX research. I was a recipient of the Margaret Mann Award.
I also graduated with a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from the A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.
Completed REMS Fellowship
August 2020
I completed the REMS Fellowship at the University of Michigan School of Information. As a REMS Fellow, I worked with Dr. Nazanin Andalibi and UMSI PhD Student Daniel Delmonaco on a project exploring the social media platform TikTok, algorithms and identity.