Hi, I’m Zainab.
I’m a Ph.D. Candidate at Brown studying Computer Science. I work in the Brown HCI Lab advised by Jeff Huang.

My research focuses on AI-assisted communication tools within Human-Computer Interaction to understand how people connect, build and make meaning of their online relationships across different modes of temporality.
About
Previously, I worked as a software engineer at Pantera Energy and then as a Research Associate at HCI for Social Well-being Lab. I received my B.Sc. from NUCES in 2018, where I majored in Computer Science. Then I worked as a software engineer at Pantera Energy and as a Research Associate at HCI for Social Well-being Lab.
I’m an avid matcha and plant lover.
Projects
(C)heese(B)urger (T)herapy: an accessible chat-based platform that provides peer support administered through Cogntive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) [website]
Live Typing: real-time typing indicators designed to support interaction rich text-based conversations [code] [npm package]
COVID Assisted: Pakistan’s first chat-based platform that integrates eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) for fact-checking information on COVID-19 [website]
HumQadam (Securing Activists for Freedom and Empowerment]: Pakistan’s first AI question-answering system designed to educate women regarding legal actions that can be undertaken for violence and abuse. [app]
Publications
HCI work I have published.
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“Together but not together”: Evaluating Typing Indicators for Interaction-Rich Communication
Zainab Iftikhar, Yumeng Ma, Jeff Huang
ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI). Hamburg, Germany, 2023 -
Child-Computer Interaction in the Global South: Designing for Children on the Margins
Suleman Shahid, Zainab Iftikhar, Rabiah Arshad, Omar Mubin, Abdullah Al Mahmud
In Interaction Design and Children, 2021. -
Technology, Privacy, and User Opinions of COVID-19 Mobile Apps for Contact Tracing: Systematic Search and Content Analysis
Mahmoud Elkhodr, Omar Mubin, Zainab Iftikhar, Maleeha Masood, Belal Alsinglawi, Suleman Shahid, Fady Alnajjar
Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) 23, no. 2 (2021): e23467. -
Designing Parental Monitoring and Control Technology: A Systematic Review
Zainab Iftikhar, Qutaiba Rohan ul Haq, Osama Younus, Taha Sardar, Hammad Arif, Mobin Javed, Suleman Shahid
Human-Computer Interaction–INTERACT 2021: 18th IFIP TC 13 International Conference, Bari, Italy, August 30–September 3, 2021, Proceedings, Part IV 18
Blog
Fun things I develop and share with the internet.