Invited to Dagstuhl Seminar 26252 — From Speech Translation to Multilingual Communication
I am honored to be invited to Dagstuhl Seminar 26252: “From Speech Translation to Multilingual Communication – New Research Challenges” taking place June 14–17, 2026 at Schloss Dagstuhl in Germany.
This invitation-only seminar will bring together an interdisciplinary group of researchers from speech translation, interpretation studies, and human-computer interaction to explore how AI can better support multilingual communication in real-world scenarios.
The seminar’s focus on bridging the gap between technical advances and end-user needs resonates deeply with my research on addressing the digital language divide. I look forward to engaging with fellow researchers on critical questions: How do we evaluate translation quality for speech? How can AI tools go beyond translation to truly empower users across language barriers?
Thank you to the organizers Marine Carpuat, Claudio Fantinuoli, Ge Gao, and Jan Niehues for this opportunity.
Learn more: Dagstuhl Seminar 26252
I am a PhD candidate in Informatics in the College of IST at Penn State University, where I conduct research at the PIKE Research Lab under the guidance of Dr. Dongwon Lee. I specialize in AI/ML research focused on Information Integrity, Safe and Ethical AI, including combating harmful content across multiple languages and modalities. My research spans low-resource multilingual NLP, generative AI, and adversarial machine learning, with work extending across 79 languages. I have published 12 papers with 260+ citations in premier venues including ACL, EMNLP, IEEE, and NAACL.
My doctoral research focuses on bridging the digital language divide through transfer learning, classification (NLU), generation (NLG), adversarial attacks, and developing end-to-end AI pipelines using RAG and Agentic AI workflows for combating multilingual threats. Drawing from my Grenadian background and knowledge of local Creole languages, I bring a global perspective to AI challenges, working to democratize state-of-the-art AI capabilities for underserved linguistic communities worldwide. My mission is to develop robust multilingual multimodal systems and mitigate evolving security vulnerabilities while enhancing access to human language technology through cutting-edge solutions.
As an NSF LinDiv Fellow, I conduct transdisciplinary research advancing human-AI language interaction for social good. I actively mentor 5+ research interns and teach Applied Generative AI courses. Through industry experience at Lawrence Livermore National Lab, Interaction LLC, and Coalfire, I bridge academic research with practical applications in combating evolving security threats and enhancing global AI accessibility. I see multilingual advances and interdisciplinary collaboration as a competitive advantage, not a communication challenge. Beyond research, I stay active through dance, fitness, martial arts, and community service.