Faisal Kabir’s first steps in UIU led him to the world of AI and healthcare

In the early 2000s, United International University (UIU) was new — a campus finding its identity, a community still taking shape. Among the students who walked through its doors as part of the one of the very first batches in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) was Md Faisal Kabir.

For Kabir, those first years at UIU were more than just an academic experience; they were the foundation of a journey that would take him from late-night coding sessions in Dhaka to a tenure-track faculty position in the United States, and now to leading a project funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, to harness Artificial Intelligence (AI) for improving healthcare access.

Kabir earned his BSc in CSE from UIU in 2005. Six years later, he completed his MSc in CSE at the same university, part of which was conducted at the University of Bradford, UK, under the European Union's eLink Scholarship in 2010.

He recalls the problem-solving skills and up-to-date curriculum at UIU as being pivotal, not only in supporting his later research but also in helping him complete his Ph.D. in Computer Science from North Dakota State University (NDSU) in 2020.

His memories of those early UIU days are still vivid: group projects that required collaboration and creativity, coding through the night, the camaraderie of friends learning together, and experiences outside the classroom — sports events, study tours, and promotional programs that showcased UIU to a wider audience.

One aspect that stood out to him was the strong connection between students and faculty. It was a relationship that would shape how he approached teaching later in life.

While computer science was evolving rapidly, it was an undergraduate thesis in AI, supervised by Dr Chowdhury Mofizur Rahman that proved decisive for Kabir's future.

AI research was still emerging in Bangladesh at the time, but under Dr Rahman's mentorship, Kabir developed a solid understanding of core concepts and research methods. This early exposure was instrumental in steering his career toward AI and machine learning (ML), areas that now define his research portfolio.

The connection between that thesis and his present work is direct. The NIH grant he leads today, to establish an AI health research lab, builds on knowledge first developed in those formative UIU years.

After completing his undergraduate degree, Kabir joined UIU as a lecturer in the CSE department in 2006 and later became an assistant professor, serving until 2014.

Those eight years allowed him to carry forward the student-centered environment he had once benefited from. His approach to teaching emphasised mentorship, accessibility, and the same collaborative spirit that had shaped his own education.

Kabir's time at UIU wasn't confined to the classroom. He was one of the founders of the UIU Computer Club, an initiative that grew into one of the university's most active student organisations. Later, he served as its moderator, guiding its technical and academic programs.

His involvement extended to the UIU Social Services Club, where he helped organise outreach activities such as winter clothing drives for underserved communities. One particularly memorable effort took him to northern Bangladesh to distribute warm clothes — a moment that blended teamwork with social impact.

Kabir also took part in awareness campaigns like smoking cessation drives, which strengthened his leadership, communication, and organisational skills. His commitment to public health advocacy earned him the Young Leadership Award at the World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Taiwan in 2007, followed by participation in the summer program at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2009.

These experiences created a pattern of engagement and service that continued in later stages of his life. During his Ph.D. studies at NDSU, he served as a Global Outreach Ambassador and Graduate School Senator in the student government. Today, he continues this commitment as Chair of the IEEE Susquehanna Section's Computer Society Chapter.

Kabir sees his degree in computer science as something that extends far beyond his professional role. The analytical thinking and problem-solving skills developed at UIU have proven useful in everyday life and community work. They have also given him the confidence to contribute meaningfully to social initiatives.

If he could offer advice to his university self, Kabir would stress building problem-solving abilities, taking part in programming contests, and engaging in hands-on projects. He would also encourage joining student organisations for the networking and leadership opportunities they provide.

Now based in the United States as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Computer Science department at PSU Harrisburg, Kabir's work spans teaching, research, and service. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in AI, ML, natural language processing, and related areas. His research addresses data science, explainable AI, large language models, and their applications in healthcare and interdisciplinary contexts.

In 2025, Kabir and Sara Imanpour, Assistant Professor of Health Administration at Penn State Harrisburg, received $100,000 through the AIM-AHEAD Program for Artificial Intelligence Readiness (PAIR), funded by the NIH. The award will support the creation of an AI Health Research Lab aimed at improving healthcare access and outcomes.

The PAIR program is designed to enhance AI readiness at institutions across the country, focusing on training, improved grant writing skills, and fostering collaboration. For Kabir, the grant represents an important step toward a vision of using AI not just for automation but for making healthcare more equitable, accessible, and human-centered.

The lab will also mentor undergraduate and graduate students, giving them practical experience in applying AI to health-focused research. This, in many ways, mirrors Kabir's own experience at UIU, learning in an environment that valued both technical skill and collaborative exploration.

Even with the NIH grant and his position in the U.S., Kabir's journey can be traced back to UIU — to the teachers who encouraged him, the clubs he helped build, the leadership roles he took on, and the thesis project that introduced him to AI.

Those years didn't just prepare him for a career; they shaped the values that still guide him — collaboration, service, and a belief in using technology for social good. In many ways, the AI Health Research Lab at PSU Harrisburg is an extension of the same principles he practiced at UIU: combining technical expertise with human-centered goals, and creating opportunities for others to learn and contribute.

From being a first-batch undergraduate at a young university in Dhaka to becoming a principal investigator on a federally funded U.S. research project, Kabir's path demonstrates the enduring impact of a strong academic foundation paired with active engagement in one's community.