Bio

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Dr. Sheikh Rabiul Islam is an Assistant Professor of Cybersecurity in the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity (CEHC) at the University at Albany – State University of New York (SUNY), where he directs the Cognitive-Security, Accountability, Fairness, and Explainability (CAFÉ) Lab. His research focuses on Fair and Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) with applications in cybersecurity, health informatics, and social good. His recent work emphasizes cognitive security, particularly safeguarding human and AI-driven decision-making processes against manipulation, bias, and adversarial compromise. He earned his Ph.D. from Tennessee Tech University under the co-mentorship of Dr. William Eberle and Dr. Sheikh Ghafoor.




News

  • Nov 5, 2024, Three papers from my research group have been accepted at the IEEE Big Data 2024 Conference: (1) Leveraging Large Language Models and Deep Learning for Detecting Illegal Insider Trading, (2) Prompt Chaining-Assisted Malware Detection: A Hybrid Approach Utilizing Fine-Tuned LLMs and Domain Knowledge-Enriched Cybersecurity Knowledge Graphs, and (3) Algorithmic Lending Bias: Evaluating the Fairness of Historical Redlining in Loan Approvals.
  • July 5, 2024, Received NSF Award: NSF 2416991: (2024-2027) - Training AI-skilled and Fairness-aware Research Workforce for Cloud Infrastructure Cybersecurity
  • March 18, 2024, Featured in Rutgers Research and Innovation: Ways Rutgers Is Shaping the AI Revolution
  • March 14, 2024, Featured in Rutgers- Camden News: Can AI Improve Public Safety?

    • Education

    • Ph.D. in Engineering (Computer Science) from the Tennessee Tech University. (2015-2020)
    • MS in Computer Science from the Tennessee Tech University. (2015-2018)
    • BSc in Computer Science and Information Technology from the Islamic University of Technology. (2007-2010)

    Activities

    Others

    • University of Hartford: College of Arts and Science Outstanding Faculty Award, 2022
    • Award: Student Travel Award, ACM SIGKDD, 2019
    • GRA from College of Engineering grants recognizing Carnegie classification, Fall 2019 - Spring 2020
    • Award: Ivanhoe Fellowship, 2017
    • Member, IEEE
    • Member, AAAI
    • President, Computer Science Graduate Club, 2018 - 2019
    • Member, Computer Science Student Advisory Council, 2018 - 2019

    Experience

    • Assistant Professor, University at Albany, (2025-): Research interests include Fair and Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) for cybersecurity, health informatics, and social good. More recently, his work has expanded to cognitive security, seeking to safeguard both human reasoning and AI systems from threats that compromise decision-making. Dr. Islam directs the the Cognitive-Security, Accountability, Fairness, and Explainability (CAFÉ) Lab
    • Assistant Professor, Rutgers University - Camden, (2023 - 2025): Research interests include Explainable and Fair Artificial Intelligence for Cybersecurity, Social Good, and Health Informatics. Leading Cybersecurity, Accountability, Fairness, and Explainability (CAFÉ) Research Group at Rutgers.
    • Assistant Professor, University of Hartford, (August, 2020 to August 2023): Worked on extending the scope of explainable AI towards mitigating other pressing AI-related concerns such as fairness and transparency of decisions in different application areas.
    • Graduate Research Assistant , Tennessee Tech University, (August 2018 to May, 2020): Worked on Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) with a focus on uncovering and incorporating useful domain knowledge from an application domain (e.g., Finance, Security) that will enhance the explainability and interpretability of AI-based complex models.
    • Advanced Short-Term Research Intern , Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), (Summer, 2018): Worked on an automated and generalized malware detection technique from host logs.
    • Graduate Teaching Assistant, Tennessee Tech University, (2015-2018): Worked on different research and software development projects. Also, instructed some undergraduate labs (C++, Database).
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    Publications

    2024

    • Prompt Chaining-Assisted Malware Detection: A Hybrid Approach Utilizing Fine-Tuned LLMs and Domain Knowledge-Enriched Cybersecurity Knowledge Graphs,
      Neha Mohan Kumar, Fahmida Tasnim Lisa, and Sheikh Rabiul Islam
      Accepted in IEEE Big Data 2024
    • Knowledge-infused and Explainable Malware Forensics,
      Neha Mohan Kumar and Sheikh Rabiul Islam
      FLAIRS-37
      [PDF]
    • Explainable Machine Learning Model to Accurately Predict Protein-Binding Peptides
      Sayed Mehedi Azim, Aravind Balasubramanyam, Sheikh Rabiul Islam, Jinglin Fu, and Iman Dehzangi
      Algorithms 2024, 17, 409
    • Advances in Explainable, Fair, and Trustworthy AI,
      Sheikh Rabiul Islam, Ingrid Russell, William Eberle, Douglas Talbert, and Md Golam Moula Mehedi Hasan
      IJAIT
      [External Link]
    • Explainable Deep Learning Models for Dynamic and Online Malware Classification,
      Quincy Card, Daniel Simpson, Kshitiz Aryal, Maanak Gupta, Sheikh Rabiul Islam
      IEEE SmartComp
      [PDF]
    • Multimodal and Explainable Android Adware Classification Techniques,
      Momoreoluwa Ayinde, Sheikh Rabiul Islam, Iman Dehzangi, and Fahmida Tasnim Lisa
      FLAIRS-37
      [PDF]
    • Multi-modal Machine Learning Model for Mobile Malware Classification,
      Fahmida Tasnim Lisa, Sheikh Rabiul Islam, and Neha Mohan Kumar
      XAI 2024

    2023

    • Evaluating Fairness in Predictive Policing System Using Domain Knowledge,
      Ava Downey, Sheikh Rabiul Islam, Md Kamruzzaman Sarker
      FLAIRS-36
      [external link]
    • Incorporating the Concept of Bias and Fairness in Cybersecurity Curricular Module,
      Sheikh Rabiul Islam, Ingrid Russell, and Maanak Gupta
      SIGCSE TS 2023
      [external link]

    2022

    • Book: Explainable Artificial Intelligence for Cyber Security
      Mohiuddin Ahmed, Sheikh Rabiul Islam, Adnan Anwar, Nour Moustafa, Al-Sakib Khan Pathan
      Springer Nature
      [external link]
    • Incorporating the Concepts of Fairness and Bias into an Undergraduate Computer Science Course to Promote Fair Automated Decision Systems
      Sheikh Rabiul Islam, Ingrid Russell, William Eberle, Darina Dicheva
      SIGCSE TS 2022
      [external link] [pdf]

    2021

    • A Supervised Rare Anomaly Detection Technique via Cooperative Co-Evolution-Based Feature Selection using Benchmark UNSW_NB15 Dataset
      A. N. M. Bazlur Rashid, Mohiuddin Ahmed, Sheikh Rabiul Islam
      UbiSec 2021
      [external link]
    • Observing the Unobserved: A Newspaper Based Dengue Surveillance System for the Low-Income Regions of Bangladesh
      Nazia Tasnim, Md. Istiak Hossain Shihab, Moqsadur Rahman, Jillur Rahman Saurav, Sheikh Rabiul Islam, and Mohammad Ruhul Amin
      The 34th International FLAIRS Conference
      [external link] [pdf]

    2020

    • Domain Knowledge Aided Explainable Artificial Intelligence for Intrusion Detection and Response
      Sheikh Rabiul Islam, William Eberle, Sheikh K. Ghafoor, Ambareen Siraj, and Mike Rogers
      AAAI-MAKE, 2020
      [external link] [pdf]

    2019

    2018

    2017

    2016

    2012

    • A clustering scheme for peer-to-peer file searching in mobile ad hoc networks
      Tanzeem Bin Noor, Md Rounok Salehin, Sheikh Rabiul Islam
      International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer and Communication Engineering
      [pdf] [external link] [Journal Paper]
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    Teaching

    Courses Taught

    • Fair and Explainable Artificial Intelligence (Fall 2023)
    • Data Mining
    • Information Assurance & Cryptography
    • Intrusion Detection and Security
    • Introduction to Cybersecurity
    • Data Structures
    • Principles of Database Systems
    • Computer Networks
    • Foundation of Computing I
    • Foundation of Computing II
    • Programming Foundations
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    Grants

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    Hobbies

    He is fond of following activities:

    • Playing Cricket, Lawn Tennis, Table Tennis, and Volley Ball.
    • Running a few times a week.
    • Playing multiplayer computer games (e.g., FIFA, CS Strike, Racing Games).
    • Seeing sci-fi movies, series, and documentaries on Netflix.
    • Cooking
    • Reading and following websites, blogs, and newsletters related to Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity.

    He is fond of the following quotes:

    “ There is no greater thing you can do with your life and your work than follow your passions – in a way that serves the world and you.” - Richard Branson

    “ Respect is how to treat everyone, not just those you want to impress.” - Richard Branson

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    Contact Information

    sislam7@albany.edu Go to Top