SMILES Lab Members
SMILES Lab Members
The Secure Modeling and Intelligent Learning in Engineering Systems (SMILES) Lab at the University of Michigan-Flint brings together faculty, research fellows, and graduate students working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and healthcare. Below are our current members and the alumni who helped shape the lab.
On This Page
Director
Khalid Mahmood Malik
Director of Cybersecurity, Professor of Computer Science
College of Innovation & Technology
Malik leads the SMILES Lab and serves as principal investigator on its sponsored research projects. His work focuses on AI-based cybersecurity, neurosymbolic and multimodal AI, and translational research in healthcare and connected systems.
Research Fellows
Ijaz Ul Haq
Research Fellow
Kutub Uddin
Research Fellow
Nasir Rahim
Research Fellow
Ph.D. Students
Naeem Rehmat
Ph.D. student
Muhammad Saad Saeed
Ph.D. student
Awais Khan
Ph.D. student
James Ryan
Ph.D. student
Muhammad Umar Farooq
Ph.D. student
Muhammad Irfan
Ph.D. student
MS Students
Muzammal Shafique
MS student
Elias Aryee
MS student
Alumni
SMILES Lab graduates have gone on to roles at leading companies, research institutions, and graduate programs. We are proud to celebrate their continued impact.
Ph.D. Alumni
- Fakhare Alam, Ph.D. 2023. Senior data scientist, General Motors.
- Ahmad Mansour, Ph.D. Senior product security analyst, Intuitive Surgical.
- Madan Krishnamurthy, Ph.D. summer 2019. Research scientist, Elanco.
- Mazen Alobaidi, Ph.D. winter 2019. Team lead, Micro Focus.
- Susan Sabra, Ph.D. winter 2018. Postdoctoral researcher, EURECOM.
MS Alumni
- Rayan Raymond, MS 2025. L3Harris Technologies.
- James Ryan, 2023. Currently pursuing a Ph.D. at UM-Flint.
- Bradley Frink, 2022. Workforce Software Inc.
- Pankaj Chobharkar, 2019. Senior product engineer, Stellantis.
- Hisham Kanaan, 2015-2018. Currently at Amazon.
- Kiran Badwaik, 2017. AI Software LLC.
Advisees
- Irma Rrushi, main advisor, 2023.
- Jeremy Santamaria, main advisor, 2022. Resident physician, Spectrum Health.
Connect with the SMILES Lab
Interested in joining the lab or collaborating on research? Visit the SMILES Lab home page to learn about current projects, or contact Khalid Malik at drmalik@umich.edu directly.