tayf
Engineering the Electromagnetic Interface to Life.
I develop electromagnetic and computational interfaces that sense, communicate with, and ultimately control living systems, from proteins and cells to neural tissue and future wireless networks. My research vision is summed up in TAYF.
TAYF (طيف) — Arabic for spectrum
TAYF brings these ideas into a common framework, using electromagnetic waves not only as carriers of information, but as engineered interfaces between physical and living systems. Across scales, the goal is to uncover how fields can probe biological dynamics, convey information, and ultimately enable precise interaction with living matter.
→ Read more about meabout
I am a postdoctoral fellow in the Ultrabroadband Nanonetworking Laboratory at the Institute for Intelligent Networked Systems at Northeastern University, working with Josep Jornet as my advisor.
My path took me from Abu Dhabi to Toronto to Boston.
Abu Dhabi
Khalifa University
Advisor: Raed Shubair
B.Sc. in Telecommunication Engineering · 2015
M.Sc. in Electrical & Computer Engineering · 2017
Toronto
University of Toronto
Advisors: Raviraj Adve & Andrew Eckford
Ph.D. in Electrical & Computer Engineering · 2023
Boston
Northeastern University
Advisor: Josep M. Jornet
Postdoctoral Fellow · Present
My fascination with the nanoscale began during my senior undergraduate year as I developed a deeper understanding of communication systems. During my Ph.D., one question kept returning:
Can electromagnetic waves communicate with biology — not just carry information between devices, but directly interact with proteins and living systems?
Exploring that question led me into the world of bioelectromagnetics. What began as an investigation of terahertz interactions with individual proteins gradually evolved into a broader pursuit spanning sensing, actuation, communication, and intelligence across biological and engineered systems.
TAYF is the culmination of that journey — a research vision dedicated to engineering an electromagnetic interface to life.
→ Dive more into my researchresearch
Research Program
TAYF asks a single question across scales: how can electromagnetic fields carry information into, through, and from living systems?
trajectory
Past: THz molecular communication
Now: sensing + actuation across biological scales
Next: programmable electromagnetic biointerfaces
Research at a glance
Selected Research Highlights
Talking to Proteins
Using terahertz electromagnetic signals to probe and actuate molecular dynamics.
Structured Beams Inside the Body
Engineering near-field wavefronts for robust sensing and communication in tissue.
Biological Intelligence
Connecting cellular and bacterial information processing with future network architectures.
Current Research Projects
THz Intra-body Communication, Sensing, and Actuation
- Question
- How can nanoscale wireless systems communicate, sense, and actuate reliably inside biological tissue?
- Approach
- Physical-layer and propagation modeling for wireless nanonetworks operating inside biological tissue: THz channel characterization, wave–tissue interaction modeling, signal processing, and information-theoretic analysis of intra-body links.
- Impact
- Establishes the engineering foundations for implantable nanoscale wireless devices capable of real-time sensing and actuation at the molecular level, with applications in continuous health telemetry, closed-loop therapeutics, and future 6G body-area networks.
Near-field Wavefront Engineering: Communication and Sensing
- Question
- Can structured near-field wavefronts create new degrees of freedom for communication and sensing?
- Approach
- Exploits near-field electromagnetic effects to unlock spatial degrees of freedom beyond far-field limits, enabling high-capacity THz links and super-resolved sensing.
- Impact
- Advances a system-level near-field THz framework applicable to dense wireless infrastructure (AI factories, intra-datacenter links) and sub-millimetre sensing, directly enabling the distributed ISAC architectures targeted by NSF and DEVCOM programmes.
In collaboration with Brown University and Rice University (United States)
EM Wave Propagation in Hydrogel-based Neural Tissue Scaffolds
- Question
- How do optical fields and scaffold mechanics jointly shape the interface experienced by growing neural tissue?
- Approach
- Investigates electromagnetic wave propagation through riboflavin-crosslinked hydrogel media as a system-level design problem, characterizing how structured illumination shapes the resulting scaffold properties.
- Impact
- Establishes structured illumination as an engineering-controlled propagation variable, enabling reproducible scaffolds for neural tissue modeling and new routes for EM-based characterization of engineered biological media.
In collaboration with the University of Essex (United Kingdom)
Bacterial Intelligence and Biofilm-based Biocomputing
- Question
- Can living microbial communities become both sensing media and computational substrates?
- Approach
- Characterizes EM wave propagation through biofilms and harnesses bacterial collective signal-processing for biocomputing and non-invasive infection sensing, integrating gene regulatory neural network models with 6G mMTC system design.
- Impact
- Expands molecular communication theory to living computational substrates, with relevance to biocomputing architectures, EM-based detection of antimicrobial-resistant biofilms, and bio-inspired intelligence for 6G network control.
In collaboration with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (United States)
publications
2026 Publications
The complete, continually updated record is on Google Scholar.
- JSensing the Near-Field at Terahertz Frequencies: Structured Beams as the Missing Half of ISAC
- JNano-Bio Systems for Intra-Body Sensing, Actuation, and Communication in the Terahertz Band and Beyond
- JIntegrating Biological Intelligence into 6G mMTC Systems using Gene Regulatory Neural Networks
- CModeling Airy Beam Propagation for Intra-body Nanoscale Communication
blogs
Content coming soon.
Short reflections on bioelectromagnetics, terahertz systems, research ideas, and the questions shaping TAYF.
honors
Selected Honors, Grants & Awards
- 2026
Selected as an IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Young Professional Ambassador
- 2025
Selected as a Rising Star for the Women in Engineering Workshop in the Asia Dean Forum
- 2025
Recipient of the Mojgan Daneshmand Grant, IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society
- 2024
Selected as an N2Women Rising Star in Networking and Communications by IEEE ComSoc
- 2023
Selected as Innovators Under 35 MENA Award recipient, MIT Technology Review Arabia
- 2022
Selected as an EECS Rising Star, The University of Texas at Austin
- 2022
Appointed Junior Fellow, Massey College, University of Toronto
- 2022
Mitacs Globalink Research Award — $6,000
- 2021
Research Expansion Grant, Photonics Innovation Center, University of Toronto — $10,000
- 2020
IEEE Toronto Section Appreciation of Service Award
Selected Fellowships
- 2024
NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship — $70,000 × 2
- 2019
Ontario Graduate Scholarship for excellence in graduate studies, awarded twice (two consecutive cycles)
- 2018
The Edward Rogers Scholarship, University of Toronto — Full funding
- 2011–15
Khalifa University Scholarship, BSc and MSc in Electrical Engineering — Full funding
teaching
Teaching
Courses Taught
- Detection and Estimation Theory (ECE1521)
- Probability and Statistics (ECE 286)
- Engineering Design and Innovation (ENGR 111)
- Digital Communication (ECCE 362)
- Communication Systems (ECCE 360)
- Signal Processing (ECCE 302)
- Applied Electromagnetics (ECCE 320)
Terahertz Communication Systems: Theory, Modeling, and Applications
academic service
Service & Outreach
- Session Chair, IEEE International Microwave and Antenna Symposium (IMAS), Jeddah, 2026.
- TPC Co-Chair, 13th ACM International Conference on Nanoscale Computing and Communication, St. John's, Canada, September 2026.
- Student Design Competition Chair, IEEE Wireless Power Technology Conference and Expo, Halifax, Nova Scotia, June 2026.
- Session Chair, IEEE International Conference on Communications, Satellite and Space Communications track — Beamforming and Physical Layer Design, Glasgow, May 2026.
- Track Chair for Signal Processing in Wireless Communication, IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference, Chengdu, China, October 2025.
- Session Chair, IEEE EuCAP — Propagation for Body Network and Bio Applications, Stockholm, March 2025.
- Guest Editor, special issue on Interconnecting Molecular and Terahertz Communications for Future 6G/7G Networks, IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological, and Multi-Scale Communications, 2025.
- TPC member: IEEE CCNC (Las Vegas, Jan. 2025), IEEE MILCOM (Washington, Oct. 2024), IEEE GLOBECOM (Cape Town, Dec. 2024).
- TPC Co-Chair, 11th ACM International Conference on Nanoscale Computing and Communication, Milan, Italy, October 2024.
- Panel Organizer, "Nanonetworking: Quo Vadis?", IEEE ICC, Denver, USA, June 2024.
- Participant, Mathematical Models in Biology: From Information Theory to Thermodynamics, Banff International Research Station, August 2022.
- Chair, IEEE Toronto Section ComSoc Chapter — including the IEEE Inter-Society Distinguished Lecturer Day (2025), IEEE Toronto ComSoc Distinguished Lectures, the "Moving the Dial" Women in STEM panel for International Women in Engineering Day, and the IEEE Toronto 5G Summit.
- Reviewer: IEEE TMBMC, IEEE TWC, IEEE TNB, IEEE VT.
Invited Talks & Podcasts
- Lightning talk, "Quantum Biology Forum," United Therapeutics headquarters, April 2026.
- Invited talk, "Talking to Proteins: Decoding the Nano-World Using THz-EM Signals", Wayne State University & IEEE WIE, February 2024.
- Featured on the Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science & Technology podcast on THz-induced protein interactions.
- Panelist, Women and Girls in Science, Aga Khan Museum, February 2023.
- Invited talk, Bioelectrodynamics Webinar Series (Prof. Michal Cifra) — THz effects on proteins, January 2023.
- NMIN HQP Research Presentations Series (10th Round), August 2022; awarded NMIN Travel Award.
Press Coverage
contact
Get in touch
For research, collaborations, or reviewing, reach me at h.mohammad@northeastern.edu, or connect via the links in the sidebar.
© Hadeel Elayan