Since 2023, I lead the Human-Centered Security and Privacy group at the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy (MPI-SP). Our vision is to make technologies safer and more equitable for everyone, particularly for underserved communities. Below are a few topics we are currently working on:

  • Accessibility: e.g., identifying and understanding the challenges faced by deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals and older adults
  • Cross-cultural studies: e.g., examining security and privacy advice and experiences in the majority world
  • Responsible AI: e.g., developing interventions that help laypeople better understand the risks and harms of artificial intelligence (AI) systems
  • Trust and safety: e.g., auditing and mitigating emerging threats on online platforms, such as scams and image-based sexual abuse

We are strong believers of interdisciplinary research and have established several collaborations with scholars in law and social sciences. We always look for opportunities to engage with communities, companies, policymakers, and non-profit organizations to translate our research into impacts.

Our research has been funded by the Max Planck Society, the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft or “DFG”), Google, and Meta.

Group Members

I am extremely lucky to work with the following amazing people:

Ph.D. Student

Research Intern/Visiting Scholar

Alumni

  • Collins Munyendo (visiting PhD student, the George Washington University, 2023-2024)
  • Kyle Beadle (visiting PhD student, University College London, 2024)
  • Smirity Kaushik (visiting PhD student, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2023-2024)
  • Jackie Hu (research intern, 2023 --> PhD student, University of Michigan)
  • Johanna Gunawan (visiting PhD student, Northeastern University, 2023 --> Assistant Professor, Maastricht University)
  • Mindy Tran (research intern, 2023-2024 --> PhD student, MPI-SP)
  • Princessa Cintaqia (research intern, 2023 --> PhD student, Boston University)
  • Xinru Tang (research intern, 2023 --> PhD student, UC Irvine)

Please feel free to reach out to any one of them if you are interested in learning what it’s like to work with me. If you are interested in joining our group, please read this page first before reaching out to me.