Zuhair Niazi

Introduction

I am a Senior in Information Science with a concentration in Health Informatics at USF with plans to become an audiologist; I am proficient in English, Urdu, and Hindi. In my degree, I have learned how to manage and protect general and health information, data analysis skills, principles of how individuals collect, use & synthesize information, and improved my information literacy. Prior to my degree, I received certifications in HTML/CSS, SQL, R, and Python.

Research

Currently, I am primarily a researcher and writer, focused on reducing discrimination against people with disabilities, and improving testing methodology for diagnoses of hearing loss. In the midst of my freshman year to the end of my junior year, I was a data analyst at the Global Center for Speech and Hearing (GCHS) USF, where I would analyze PPI, TPPI, SIN-PPI and ABR tests to determine the effects of tinnitus on mice and taught simple data analysis in Tableau and R to prospective Research Assistants (RA). However, I am currently writing a manuscript in oncology, information Science, and a research assistant at the Trafficking in Persons (TiPs) Risk to Resilience Lab that deals with human and sex trafficking, and the iSchool Health Informatics Research Lab (iSHIRL) at USF. In these roles, I primarily provide data analysis using R and Excel for statistical analysis or information management, respectively.

 I have two published papers, the first of which deals with public health info to combat medical disinformation, and my most recent publication on the discrimination of people with disabilities in FDA oncology drug trials waas published in Mayo Clinic’s Global Innovation Proceedings (both can be read here); I also developed my own Information Seeking Model in the context of Information Seeking, which was presented at two conferences, and delivered a podium presentation on it.

Leadership

In addition to my research, I have held positions of leadership. In my freshman year,  I was the Governor for my dorm at USF, where I assisted with planning, management, and budgeting of all events for the dorm, ran join meetings with the hall council of Juniper Hall and both dorms RLC’s, with a total recurring meeting size of 20 members, with an expected event to average 100+ residents. Additionally, I was a lead programmer for the Society of Competitive Programmers 2021 Engineering Expo, where I aided in web development and database management. Currently, I am the treasurer for the USF branch of the Academy of American Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEES).

The Future

Using this research experience, and personally dealing with low frequency hearing loss, I plan to go to school for a combined Audiology-PHD degree to help patients with hearing loss; my preference would be to help children with low frequency hearing loss so that they may be diagnosed in a timely manner, and receive the maximum benefit of hearing aids, unlike me who got misdiagnosed till I was in my sophomore year of high school. Furthermore, I would like to conduct my own research into the testing methodology and metrics of hearing loss to standardize hearing exams, and ensure all frequencies are being tested so that the diagnoses are accurate, fair, and timely.

In my spare time, I write on my SubStack about philosophy, writing techniques, and technical topics such as how to use mind mapping in planning and daily tasks. Additionally, I am a novice photographer, and am most interested in photographing architecture, animals, and cityscapes; you can see my work on my Instagram Zazu.tiff.

For a full list of the projects I am working on, please visit the projects page