👋 Hello there, I’m Khalid!

I am a PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering (concentration in Medical Imaging) at Illinois Institute of Technology, working under the supervision of Prof. Konstantinos Arfanakis in the MRIIT Lab, which is part of the Medical Imaging & Artificial Intelligence Research Center, and collaborating with the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center on age-related neuropathologies. Previously, I completed my BSc in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Islamic University of Technology, Bangladesh, where I conducted my undergraduate thesis under the supervision of Prof. Golam Sarowar.

My research focuses on autopsy-confirmed MRI, PET, and blood-based biomarkers to characterize:

• Alzheimer’s disease neuropathologic change (ADNC)
• Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy neuropathologic change (LATE-NC)
• Cerebrovascular diseases like Arteriolosclerosis, Atherosclerosis and Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy (CAA)

What I do

Broadly, I develop machine learning models and method pipelines that link in-vivo and ex-vivo MRI with neuropathology and cognition, with the goal of building deployable biomarkers that generalize across scanners, sites, and cohorts. Check out our Tangles Marker! For related work from our lab, see ARTS [Paper] [Software] (in-vivo MRI marker for arteriolosclerosis)] and MARBLE [Paper] (in-vivo MRI marker for LATE).

This includes work on:

• MRI‑based markers of neurofibrillary tangles, translating autopsy‑grounded signatures into tools that can be used in living cohorts.
• Quantifying brain structure and atrophy patterns to separate and combine the effects of Alzheimer’s disease, LATE, and cerebrovascular diseases.
• Tracking vascular and neurodegenerative diseases over time, integrating imaging and blood biomarkers to understand progression and its impact on cognition.

I’m excited about places where these tools can be used to

• Clean up heterogeneity in Alzheimer’s and mixed-pathology trials
• Design efficient MRI- and blood-based screening and staging strategies
• Translate pathology-grounded imaging markers into robust, containerized software that collaborators can run on their own infrastructure

How I work

I’m a visual problem-solver — I think in sketches. Before I code, I draw the pipeline: figures, logic, and failure points. Clarity first. Keyboard second.

Beyond the lab

I believe in Slow Science - good questions take time to mature.

I trust a Matador pen and an A4 paper checklist more than any productivity app.

Currently, I’m re-reading Austin Kleon’s Show Your Work! - a personal favorite.

I’m also constantly searching for the best chai or qahwa spots in the city; if you know a great Yemeni café, please send the recommendation my way.

Connect

I am currently in the final stages of my PhD (expected defense: April 2026) and am actively seeking postdoctoral opportunities in multimodal neuroimaging and biomarkers.