Syntax matters. So does society.
Linguist • AI Researcher • Educator
I study how the architecture of language can shape the next generation of AI.
My current work investigates how large language models interpret structure, meaning, and culture — and where they fall short. My long-term research focuses on bringing insights from syntax, semantics, and low-resource languages into the design of future AI systems, advancing linguistically grounded and culturally aware technology.
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As founder of the Zoorna Institute for Language, AI and Society , I lead research and development projects that bridge language science, AI, and education.
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I also teach AI literacy for professionals, educators, and organizations who want to understand how language, culture, and AI intersect in the real world.
SilkRoadNLP 2026
AI Workshop for the Languages of the Iranian Linguistic Group
Co-located with EACL 2026 in Rabat, Morocco
(March 2026)
I am co-chair of the 1st Workshop on NLP and Large Language Models for the Iranic Language Family!
The workshop provides a collaborative platform for scholars, engineers, and community researchers to explore the linguistic, historical, and social dimensions of NLP for Iranian languages. These include Persian (Farsi), Dari, and Tajik, as well as Kurdish, Pashto, Balochi, Gilaki, Mazandarani, Luri, Ossetic, and related varieties—many of which remain severely under-represented in computational research despite their deep literary and oral traditions. Submission Deadline: 8 January!!
Research & Teaching Interests
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Formal Linguistics: Syntax-Semantics Interface, Complex Predicates
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Multilingual NLP
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Low-Resource Languages
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AI and Education
- Ethics, Bias and Responsible AI
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Heritage Language Analysis
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Pedagogical Linguistics​
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Persian and Armenian Linguistics & NLP
About my Work
I’m a linguist and AI researcher committed to bringing linguistic structure and cultural understanding into the design of intelligent systems. As founder and director of the Zoorna Institute, I lead research and education efforts focused on building linguistically grounded AI for minority and low-resource languages, with a focus on the languages of the Middle East and the Caucasus.
Before founding Zoorna, I worked as a Principal AI Engineer at MITRE, where I led projects in multilingual NLP and social analytics. I earned my PhD in Linguistics from the University of Southern California, specializing in the syntax-semantics interface and event structure.
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I also teach AI literacy programs that help educators, researchers, and organizations understand how AI works, where it fails, and how to use it effectively in real-world settings.
Selected Talks & Publications
Linguistic Data-Driven Approach to Persian Language Pedagogy: Practical Application to Compound Verbs
Book Chapter
Coming Soon.
In Persian Language Pedagogy: New Trends and Innovations. Routledge.
This chapter introduces a collaborative program of practice, which advocates for the integration of linguistic theory, formal language acquisition research, and Artificial Intelligence-driven approaches within the Persian language teaching curriculum. [book information]
Linguistic Knowledge at Work: Automating Event Detection in Probation Texts
Conference Presentation
January 2026.
LEXING: Linguists in Industry, Non-profits, and Government at the Linguistic Society of America (LSA) Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana.
We describe a linguistically driven NLP system that automatically identifies substance-use events, mental disorders, and treatment episodes from text narratives, constructing structured timelines of key events. [LEXING information]
We Politely Insist: Your LLM Must Learn the Persian Art of Taarof
Publication
September 2025
Empirical Methods in NLP (EMNLP). Suzhou, China.
Large language models (LLMs) struggle to navigate culturally specific communication norms, such as the Persian taarof, a social norm in Iranian interactions, limiting their effectiveness in global contexts. [read paper]
AI-enabled narrative analytics for Persian and Kurdish.
Conference Presentation
May 2025
4th North American Conference on Iranian Linguistics (NACIL4), University of Toronto Mississauga.
Presented novel methods for extracting narrative structures from multilingual texts, showcasing advances in NLP for Persian and Kurdish low-resource languages. [learn more]
My journey in AI: A perspective on the role of women in Artificial Intelligence.
Invited Talk
March 2025.
Women's History Month program, Miami-Dade College.
My personal journey through computational linguistics and AI research, highlighting the obstacles women face in the field, from microaggressions to systemic pressures that push many to leave, and inspiring new pathways for women to lead and thrive in AI.
Research Highlights
This site highlights my ongoing work and reflections on language and AI.
For collaborations and research initiatives, please visit
Zoorna Institute for Language, AI, and Society.