Shirley (Shaghayegh) Shajarian
Generative AI and Computer Networks Researcher @ North Carolina A&T State University
📍 Raleigh, NC, USA.
Hey, thanks for stopping by! 👋
I am a Fourth-year PhD student in the Computer Science department at North Carolina A&T State University, working under Dr. Sajad Khorsandroo and Dr. Mahmoud Abdelsalam. I am part of the Autonomous Cybersecurity and Resilience Lab, where my focus is on Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and Autonomous Network Management. My research aims to enhance LLMs by integrating real-time external data through RAG while also developing AI-driven autonomous systems to optimize network operations.
Outside of research, you will likely find me in nature, capturing the peaceful beauty of sunsets. I also enjoy experimenting with new recipes and baking treats that bring people together. In my free time, I am either lost in a good book, exploring new places, or pretending I am a pro at hiking and dancing, which somehow keeps me feeling balanced.
News
| Aug 27, 2026 | 🥇 Honored to win the Best Poster Award at the SIGCOMM N2Women! |
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| Aug 27, 2026 | 🏆 Thrilled to receive the ACM SIGCOMM N2Women Travel Grant Award! |
| Apr 15, 2026 | 🎓 One step closer! I defended my dissertation proposal and officially became a PhD candidate. |
| Jan 20, 2026 | 📝 Excited to share that my paper “ReGAIN: Retrieval-Grounded AI Framework for Network Traffic Analysis” has been accepted at ICNC 2026 (27% acceptance rate)! Read the preprint here. |
| Dec 10, 2025 | 🌐 Just wrapped up an amazing experience volunteering at ACM HotNets 2025 in College Park, Maryland! |
| Dec 05, 2025 | ⚖️ Served as a judge at NSBE 2025 Fall Regional Conference for the AI Impact-A-Thon and Academic Technical Bowl competitions. |
| Oct 15, 2025 | 🎤 I had the honor of presenting my research at the AUCC Data Science Initiative today. |
| Sep 25, 2025 | 🎓 So proud to share that Kennedy Marsh, whom I’ve been mentoring for the past 9 months, successfully defended her master’s thesis on “RAG-Enhanced LLMs for Network Traffic Analysis” today! |
| Sep 20, 2025 | 👩💻 Served as a reviewer for Grace Hopper Celebration 2025, evaluating 30+ workshop and presentation proposals on AI and Cybersecurity. |
| Sep 12, 2025 | 🤖 Featured in an AIhub interview discussing my research on Intelligent Network Management and Generative AI for modern computer networks. |
| Aug 10, 2025 | 📚 Honored to be recognized as a reviewer for multiple prestigious journals including IEEE Access, Scientific Reports, and PeerJ Computer Science. |
| May 15, 2025 | 📄 Our survey paper “Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) for Malware Analysis: A Survey of Techniques, Applications, and Open Challenges” has been published in IEEE Access! |
| May 07, 2025 | 🎓 Presented my research at the 14th Annual Dr. Bala Ram Graduate Research Poster Competition at N.C. A&T College of Engineering. |
| Jan 08, 2025 |  This semester I am the instructor of the “AI and Machine Learning” course at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. |
| Jan 04, 2025 |  I am honored to receive the AAAI 2025 Travel Grant! |
| Dec 04, 2024 |  My poster “Intelligent Network Management: RAG-Enhanced LLMs for Log Analysis, Troubleshooting, and Documentation” has been published in CoNEXT ‘24: Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on emerging Networking EXperiments and Technologies. Link |
| Nov 10, 2024 |  I am honored to be one of two U.S.-based awardees of a $1,400 travel grant for ACM CoNEXT 2024! |
| Nov 06, 2024 |  My doctoral proposal has been accepted and will be presented at the 39th Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), one of the leading conferences in Artificial Intelligence! Link |
| Oct 06, 2024 |  I am excited to announce that our work, “Intelligent Network Management: RAG-Enhanced LLMs for Log Analysis, Troubleshooting, and Documentation,” has been accepted at ACM CoNEXT 2024. Link |
| Sep 29, 2024 |  I am excited to share that our new paper, “Explainable Malware Analysis: Concepts, Approaches, and Challenges,” is now available on arXiv. Link |
| Jul 26, 2024 |  My latest research paper, titled “Transfer Learning with ResNet50 for Malicious Domains Classification Using Image Visualization,” has been published in Discover Artificial Intelligence journal. Link |
| May 06, 2024 |  I have successfully passed my doctoral research examination, the second milestone in my PhD journey at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. |
| Mar 01, 2024 |  I have successfully passed all my doctoral qualifying exams! |
| Jan 12, 2023 |  I have started my PhD Program in Computer Science at NCAT! |