Prof. Dr. Kassem Kallas | Cyber | Best Researcher Award

Senior Scientist at National Institute of Health and Medical Research, France

Dr. Kassem Kallas, Ph.D., Ing., EMBA, is a Senior Scientist and Junior Professor specializing in Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity. He holds a Ph.D. in Information Engineering and Science from the University of Siena and an EMBA in Strategic Leadership from Valar Institute. With experience across academia and industry, Dr. Kallas has worked on major projects funded by DARPA, NIST, ANR, and INRIA. His research tackles adversarial machine learning, federated learning security, and watermarking in deep learning. He previously served as a Research Fellow at NIST and a Scientist at INRIA. Currently affiliated with INSERM and IMT Atlantique, his work focuses on AI privacy in healthcare. Recognized for research excellence, he earned top honors at ICASSP and MMEDIA, among others. He is an IEEE Senior Member, active mentor, and published expert in AI security, image forensics, and signal processing.

professional profile

Scopus Profile

Education

Dr. Kallas’s academic journey reflects interdisciplinary depth and global exposure. He is currently pursuing his Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches (HDR) at the University of Western Brittany (2024–2025), emphasizing AI security and intellectual property protection. He recently completed an Executive MBA (2023–2024) with a stellar 94.8 average, leading a consultancy project earning full marks. He earned a Ph.D. in Information Engineering and Science from the University of Siena (2013–2017), focusing on game-theoretic models for cybersecurity. He also completed a second-level Master’s in Wireless Systems from Politecnico di Torino (2012–2013), and holds an M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Telecommunications Engineering from Lebanese International University (2010, 2012). His educational trajectory demonstrates a blend of engineering, management, and strategic thinking that underpins his research and leadership roles.

work Experience

Dr. Kallas has held key roles across top institutions in AI and cybersecurity. Since December 2023, he serves as a Senior Scientist and Junior Professor at INSERM and IMT Atlantique, focusing on federated learning security in healthcare. Previously, he was a Research Scientist at INRIA (2022–2023), contributing to the SAIDA project for defense-oriented AI security. From 2020–2022, he served as a Research Fellow at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), enhancing wireless communication systems for nuclear and chemical applications. Earlier, he was an R&D consultant and postdoc at ViDiTrust and the University of Siena. He has also supervised numerous PhD and master’s projects, demonstrating his leadership in guiding AI innovation. His roles bridge research, development, and mentorship across global institutions and startups, with advisory positions in blockchain and digital forensics ventures.

Research Focus

Dr. Kallas’s research intersects AI, cybersecurity, and signal processing. His main focus lies in defending AI systems against adversarial threats—particularly backdoor attacks, watermarking of deep neural networks, and securing federated learning models in sensitive domains like healthcare. His doctoral work applied game-theoretic frameworks to sensor networks for adversarial information fusion. He has advanced the field through research on deep learning robustness, AI watermarking, and privacy-preserving machine learning. As part of SAIDA (INRIA), he investigated defense techniques for deep neural models in defense applications. At INSERM, he now applies these principles to medical data security, contributing to ethical and resilient AI in healthcare. He also co-supervises research on face recognition vulnerabilities and vision transformers. His strategic research outlook combines theory with real-world impact, pushing AI systems toward safety, accountability, and trust.

Awards and honors

Dr. Kallas’s career is marked by international recognition for academic and research excellence. He received the prestigious Top 3% Paper Award at ICASSP 2023 (among 6000+ submissions) and was honored with Springer’s Best-of-the-Best PhD Thesis recognition. At MMEDIA 2017, he earned the Best Paper Award for his contributions to multimedia forensics. His academic prowess was further recognized through the Zenith Scholarship from Valar Institute and an EMBA Excellence Award from Rennes School of Business. In 2022, he was elevated to IEEE Senior Member status, a recognition of his professional impact. He also received multiple research fellowships from EOARD and the University of Siena, supporting advanced studies in adversarial signal processing and game theory. Certified in GANs, Deep Learning, and Blockchain, Dr. Kallas continues to stand out as an influential figure in AI security and innovation.

🧰 Skills

Dr. Kallas brings a versatile skillset blending technical depth with strategic leadership. He is multilingual—fluent in Arabic (native), English (C1), Italian (C1), and French (B2)—and adept at academic writing, teaching, and public speaking. Technically, he excels in adversarial machine learning, image forensics, deep learning, AI system security, and watermarking. His experience includes designing security protocols, implementing AI-based systems, and consulting on wireless and blockchain technologies. He holds certifications in Machine Learning (Stanford), Deep Learning, GANs, and Data Science (IBM), and has completed specialized training in AI applications and doctoral supervision. His business acumen is proven through his EMBA and leadership of consultancy projects. His mentorship and jury participation in PhD and industrial internships further reflect his collaborative, research-driven mindset.

Conclusion

Dr. Kassem Kallas is an outstanding candidate for the Research for Best Researcher Award. His technical mastery, academic leadership, international reputation, and dedication to scientific advancement exemplify the qualities sought in a top-tier researcher. With continued outreach and translational focus, his already-impressive career is poised to reach even greater impact.

Publications to Noted

Title: Strategic safeguarding: A game theoretic approach for analyzing attacker-defender behavior in DNN backdoors
Authors:

Kassem Kallas

Quentin Le Roux

Wassim Hamidouche

Teddy Furon
Journal: EURASIP Journal on Information Security
Year: 2024

Title: A Double-Edged Sword: The Power of Two in Defending Against DNN Backdoor Attacks
Authors: