Rukhshan Haroon (he/him)
I am a fourth year Ph.D. student at Tufts University, USA. I am broadly interested in accessibility, generative AI, and human-computer interaction research. Recently, I have been redesigning instant messaging interfaces to incorporate assistive AI agents that facilitate smoother, more empathetic online interactions between autistic and non-autistic users. My research advocates for intervention at both ends—autistic and non-autistic—in an attempt to distribute the responsibility for improving communication more evenly.
I am advised by Fahad R. Dogar.
Prior to Tufts, I completed my undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Pakistan. I was advised by Zartash Afzal Uzmi and Fareed Zaffar.
Research Papers
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NeuroBridge: Using Generative AI to Bridge Cross-neurotype Communication Differences with Neurotypical Perspective-taking
The 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2025). Denver, Colorado, USA.
🎖️ Honourable Mention (best paper nomination)
@inproceedings{haroon2025neurobridge, author = {Haroon, Rukhshan and Wigdor, Kyle and Yang, Katie and Toumanios, Nicole and Crehan, Eileen T. and Dogar, Fahad}, title = {NeuroBridge: Using Generative AI to Bridge Cross-neurotype Communication Differences with Neurotypical Perspective-taking}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2025)}, address = {Denver, CO, USA}, year = {2025}, url = {https://rukhshan23.github.io/assets-2025.pdf} } -
TwIPS: A Large Language Model Powered Texting Application to Simplify Conversational Nuances for Autistic Users
The 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2024). St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
@inproceedings{10.1145/3663548.3675633, author = {Haroon, Rukhshan and Dogar, Fahad}, title = {TwIPS: A Large Language Model Powered Texting Application to Simplify Conversational Nuances for Autistic Users}, year = {2024}, isbn = {9798400706776}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, address = {New York, NY, USA}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3663548.3675633}, doi = {10.1145/3663548.3675633}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility}, articleno = {24}, numpages = {18}, location = {St. John's, NL, Canada}, series = {ASSETS '24} } -
On the Frontline During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Gender Inequality and Experiences of Healthcare Workers in Pakistan
Presented at ACM SIGCAS/SIGCHI Conference on Computing and Sustainable Societies (COMPASS) 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Published in ACM Journal on Computing and Sustainable Societies (JCSS), vol. 2, issue 1, March 2024.
@article{10.1145/3616862, author = {Haroon, Rukhshan and Naeem, Ayesha and Sajjad, Priya Fatima and Uzmi, Zartash Afzal}, title = {On the Frontline During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Gender Inequality and Experiences of Healthcare Workers in Pakistan}, year = {2024}, issue_date = {March 2024}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, address = {New York, NY, USA}, volume = {2}, number = {1}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3616862}, doi = {10.1145/3616862}, journal = {ACM J. Comput. Sustain. Soc.}, month = jan, articleno = {8}, numpages = {30}, keywords = {Gender, healthcare workers, Covid-19} } -
LLMProxy: Reducing Cost to Access Large Language Models
Under submission in 2024.
@misc{martin2024llmproxyreducingcostaccess, title={LLMProxy: Reducing Cost to Access Large Language Models}, author={Noah Martin and Abdullah Bin Faisal and Hiba Eltigani and Rukhshan Haroon and Swaminathan Lamelas and Fahad Dogar}, year={2024}, eprint={2410.11857}, archivePrefix={arXiv}, primaryClass={cs.DC}, url={https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.11857}, } -
SoK: A Tale of Reduction, Security and Correctness - Evaluating Program Debloating Paradigms and Their Compositions
28th European Symposium on Research in Computer Security (ESORICS 2023). The Hague, The Netherlands.
@inproceedings{10.1007/978-3-031-51482-1_12, author = {Ali, Muaz and Muzammil, Muhammad and Karim, Faraz and Naeem, Ayesha and Haroon, Rukhshan and Haris, Muhammad and Nadeem, Huzaifah and Sabir, Waseem and Shaon, Fahad and Zaffar, Fareed and Yegneswaran, Vinod and Gehani, Ashish and Rahaman, Sazzadur}, title = {SoK: A Tale of Reduction, Security, and Correctness - Evaluating Program Debloating Paradigms and Their Compositions}, year = {2023}, isbn = {978-3-031-51481-4}, publisher = {Springer-Verlag}, address = {Berlin, Heidelberg}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-51482-1_12}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-031-51482-1_12}, booktitle = {Computer Security – ESORICS 2023: 28th European Symposium on Research in Computer Security, The Hague, The Netherlands, September 25–29, 2023, Proceedings, Part IV}, pages = {229–249}, numpages = {21}, keywords = {Program Debloating, Debloating Comparison, Benchmark}, location = {The Hague, The Netherlands} } -
Unpacking Misinformation Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Study
IEEE Internet Computing, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 7-18, 1 March-April 2022.
@ARTICLE{sajjad-covid, author={Sajjad, Priya Fatima and Haroon, Rukhshan and Naeem, Ayesha and Uswah-E-Fatima and Uzmi, Zartash Afzal}, journal={IEEE Internet Computing}, title={Unpacking Misinformation Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Study}, year={2022}, volume={26}, number={2}, pages={7-18}, keywords={COVID-19;Fake news;Social networking (online);Vaccines;Pandemics;Government;Interviews}, doi={10.1109/MIC.2022.3154318}}
Contact
Email: rukhshan.haroon@tufts.edu
Office: Room # 440K, 177 College Ave, Medford, MA 02155.