Biography
Dr. Merikhi serves as an Assistant Teaching Professor and the Principal Instructor for the Informatics program at Northeastern University’s Toronto campus. As the only full-time Informatics faculty member on this campus, she oversees the program locally by welcoming new students through orientations and concentration webinars, working with Advisors for course planning, coordinating and mentoring part-time faculty, and actively engaging in campus events. Beyond teaching, she contributes to curriculum development, course design, and program growth, working closely with the faculty lead to expand and strengthen the Informatics curriculum.
Programs Affiliated: Informatics
Teaching and Research Focus Area:
Her teaching experience spans both graduate and undergraduate levels. Prior to joining Northeastern, she taught a range of electrical and computer engineering courses, including Advanced Computer Architecture, Digital Design, Advanced Computer Networking, and Advanced Network Security. At Northeastern University, her teaching is centered on the Informatics program, where she leads courses such as Foundations of Informatics, Information System Design and Development, the Experiential Network (XN) course, the Capstone course, and IT Infrastructure.
On the research side, her focus currently lies in artificial intelligence, human-centered computing, and the design of multi-agent chatbot systems for neurodivergent communication. She also explores secure and scalable architectures for open-source large language models, with an emphasis on data privacy, multi-tenancy, and performance optimization. Her earlier research centered on optimizing content delivery systems, particularly through cache-aided networks and Video on Demand (VoD) services. This work developed methods to lower transmission rates while enhancing users’ overall Quality of Experience (QoE).
Professional Background:
She brings a blend of academic and industry experience to her role at Northeastern. She has worked as a consultant and engineer, managing and securing enterprise networks, designing cloud-integrated communication systems, and implementing advanced security solutions. Her work has spanned projects involving IoT systems, cloud infrastructure, and large-scale network operations, where she collaborated with cross-functional teams to deliver practical, reliable, and secure technology solutions. Alongside this, she has also trained faculty, students, and professionals on emerging technologies, programming, and digital tools.
Academic Background: She holds a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, where her research focused on cache-aided delivery networks and Video on Demand (VoD) services, leading to reduced transmission rates and improved user Quality of Experience (QoE). Following this, she completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Toronto, where she pursued interdisciplinary research at the intersection of artificial intelligence and the human sciences.
Publications and Awards:
Her research has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals and conferences in the fields of computer networks, information systems, and artificial intelligence, IEEE, ACM, and SMC. The full list of her publications is available on her Google Scholar profile.
