Samah Alshrief
Available for consulting & speaking

Samah Alshrief, Ph.D.

Data, computing, and AI
in the service of research.

AI data scientist, research-computing specialist, and higher-education policy analyst.

I help universities and researchers turn complex questions into working data and computing. I build research data services, private AI tools, and the infrastructure that makes computational research possible. A particular focus: connecting small institutions to the national computing resources their researchers already qualify for.

Work with me Download CV
Ph.D.
Higher Ed Policy
5+ yrs
Research data services
Private AI
RAG systems
HPC & Cloud
AWS · Linux
Member of RDAP CaRCC NASPA ASHE AERA

About

Research runs on data. I make that part work.

I'm a data scientist and research-computing specialist at Seton Hall University, where I help faculty, students, and whole institutions turn stalled research questions into working data pipelines, computing workflows, and evidence they can stand behind. I helped launch the university's first computational research projects, and I now co-lead its Research Computing Initiative.

My work sits where three fields meet. I hold a Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership, Management, and Policy, with a concentration in research, assessment, and program evaluation, plus a Master of Science in Data Science and Engineering and a Master of Education. That mix is the point: I can build the technical thing and explain, in plain terms, why it matters to the people who fund it.

The through line is evaluation and evidence. I trained in quantitative methods at ICPSR's Summer Program at the University of Michigan, and my policy work runs from program evaluation and budget analysis to interrupted time-series studies of enrollment policy. Along the way I've contributed to more than $136,000 in funded projects, supported IRB applications for research teams, delivered over 100 data consultations, and coordinated 43 concurrent research projects. I serve as Seton Hall's ICPSR Official Representative and a Women in Data Science (WiDS) ambassador, and I mentor people moving into data careers.

Based in New Jersey and New York City. I work with teams on site and remotely.

Research Data & Computing

Data management systems, research data services, and high-performance and cloud computing.

  • HPC, Linux & AWS LightSail for Research
  • Research data management & IRB support
  • Sequence data analysis (SRA / NCBI)

Policy & Evaluation

Program evaluation and policy research grounded in rigorous methods.

  • Assessment & program evaluation
  • Quantitative & qualitative methods (ICPSR-trained)
  • Higher-education policy research

Higher Education

A practitioner inside the university, building research-computing capacity and training people to use it.

  • Adjunct professor & data instructor
  • Research Computing Initiative co-lead
  • DataLab & DiploLab

Applied & Private AI

Document-grounded AI built on institutional data, with attention to privacy and ethics.

  • Private AI / RAG (Python, Streamlit, ChromaDB)
  • Prompt engineering & AI agents
  • AI literacy training

Work with me

Services

Advising, training, and building for universities, research teams, government agencies, and organizations working with data and AI.

National Computing Onboarding

For small and mid-sized institutions without a research computing office: I connect your researchers to national resources like the OSPool and NSF ACCESS (much of it free to use), pick the right venue for each workload, and get the first pilots running so the capability outlasts my visit. I know both sides of this gap because I'm building the same capacity inside a university now.

Consulting & Advisory

Research data strategy, research-computing setup (HPC and cloud), data governance, and IRB-aligned data management. Helping teams stand up the infrastructure and practices that make computational research possible.

Training & Workshops

Hands-on sessions in data science and research tools (R, Python, STATA, ArcGIS, Atlas.ti, Qualtrics, research data management, and AI literacy), tailored to your team's projects and skill level.

Private AI Builds

Design and deployment of document-grounded, private AI tools over your institution's own data: retrieval-augmented systems that keep sensitive material in-house, as in my syllabus-analysis platform.

Speaking & Talks

Talks and guest sessions on AI in higher education, research computing, private AI, and data ethics, for conferences, campuses, and organizations.

Program Evaluation & Policy Analysis

For agencies, institutions, and nonprofits: evaluation design, quantitative and qualitative analysis, and plain-language reporting on what a program actually does. My doctorate concentrated in research, assessment, and program evaluation, with ICPSR-trained methods behind it.

Dissertation & Research Support

Methods and data support for doctoral students and research teams: study and survey design, quantitative and qualitative analysis, and getting messy data ready for a dissertation or a manuscript.

Mentorship

One-on-one mentoring for students and early-career researchers building data, computing, and AI skills, from a first analysis to a research-computing workflow they can run on their own.

Ways to work together

Discovery call
A short call to scope your project or event and see if I'm a good fit.
Workshop or talk
A half-day or full-day hands-on session, or a guest talk for your team or event.
Project or advisory
Scoped consulting or a private AI build, per project or on a monthly retainer.

See services and pricingRequest a consultation

Selected Work

Projects

A sample of applied projects across AI, research computing, and data science. The full record is in my CV.

Seton Hall · 2025-present

Private AI for Syllabi Analysis

Designed and deployed a private AI app for Business School faculty to analyze syllabi and generate document-grounded feedback, built with Python, Streamlit, ChromaDB, and a retrieval-augmented pipeline.

Private AIRAGPython
Seton Hall · 2024-present

Research Computing Initiative

Part of the team forming a Research Computing Committee and an internal grant proposal for HPC clusters, high-performance storage, and scalable resources to support computational research across disciplines.

HPCInfrastructureStrategy
Seton Hall · 2023-present

AWS Research Computing

Helped launch the university's first cloud research-computing project (RStudio on AWS LightSail for Research) and taught sequence-data analysis using SRA and NCBI toolkits.

AWSRStudioGenomics
Seton Hall · 2023

Biomechanics ML Analysis

Built predictive models on 3D biomechanics data of baseball players, using regression, decision trees, random forests, and SVMs, to identify predictors of speed and reduce injury risk.

Machine LearningSports Analytics
Seton Hall · 2022-present

DataLab

Coordinated 43 concurrent research projects, delivering data-management and analysis training across quantitative, qualitative, ArcGIS, and social-media methods, with one-on-one student consultations.

TrainingResearch Support
Seton Hall · 2022-2023

DiploLab

Served as data specialist for the School of Diplomacy, supporting Atlas.ti and Stata training and building lesson content with the policy librarian for international-relations research.

QualitativePolicy

Background

Experience & education

100+
Data consultations delivered
43
Research projects coordinated
$136K+
Grants contributed to
12+
Talks & presentations

Experience

Data & ILL Specialist, Research Data Services
Seton Hall University
Feb 2020 - present
Adjunct Professor
Seton Hall University
2023 - present
ICPSR Official Representative
Seton Hall University
2023 - present
Women in Data Science (WiDS) Ambassador
Seton Hall University
2025 - present
Data Instructor
Seton Hall University
2020 - present

Education

Ph.D., Higher Education Leadership, Management & Policy
Seton Hall University · concentration in research, assessment & program evaluation
2022
M.S., Data Science & Engineering
Seton Hall University
Expected 2026
Graduate Certificate, Data Science
Seton Hall University
M.Ed., Higher Education Leadership
Mercer University
2014
Certification, Quantitative Methods of Social Research
University of Michigan · ICPSR Summer Program
2018-2020

Selected skills

Private AI & RAGPrompt engineeringPythonR / RStudioSTATASPSSTableauPower BIAtlas.tiArcGISJupyterAWSLinux / HPCQualtricsData management & ethicsProgram evaluation

Teaching

Courses & training

University courses and hands-on workshops in data science, research methods, and computing. Click a course to request its syllabus.

Geographic Information Systems (ENVL 3150)

Seton Hall University · Adjunct Professor
Request syllabus

Statistics & Research in the Health Sciences (IPHS 3550)

Seton Hall University · Adjunct Professor
Request syllabus

Statistical Methods (ELMP 6005)

Seton Hall University · Adjunct Professor
Request syllabus

Workshops taught

Research Computing in AWSData Manipulation in STATAIntro to ggplotSequence Data AnalysisQualitative Data Analysis in Atlas.tiBuilding Surveys in QualtricsIntro to JupyterIntro to Power BIStoryMaps in ArcGISResearch Data ManagementConstellate Text Analysis

Writing & Talks

Ideas & presentations

Selected talks below. Articles and commentary on AI, research computing, and higher education are coming here. Subscribe or reach out to follow along.

Selected talks

  • 2026
    Agentic AI in Higher Education: Designing Autonomous Agents for Education
    Women in Data Science (WiDS), Seton Hall University
  • 2026
    Building Private AI Over Institutional Data
    Women in Data Science (WiDS), Seton Hall University
  • 2026
    AI Literacy
    Love Data Week, Seton Hall University
  • 2022
    The DataLab: Innovative Collaboration Between Faculty, Students, and the Library
    Southeast Data Librarian Symposium
  • 2021
    Starting Research Data Services During a Pandemic
    Access Conference
  • 2021
    Data Ethics
    ICPSR Biennial Meeting

Articles

Questions

Frequently asked

A few things people usually want to know before reaching out.

Who do you work with?

Universities and colleges, research teams, government agencies, nonprofits, and doctoral students. The common thread is work that runs on data, research computing, or AI, whether that's setting up research data services, evaluating a program, or building a private AI tool.

Can you help a small institution that has no research computing office?

Yes, that's a focus of my work. Many small and mid-sized campuses already qualify for national resources like the OSPool and NSF ACCESS, much of it free to use, but never get set up. I connect your researchers to the right resource, match each workload to the right venue, and get first pilots running so the capability stays after the project ends.

What is private AI and how is it different from a public chatbot?

Private AI is a document-grounded system built over your institution's own material, so answers come from your data and sensitive content stays in-house. A public chatbot answers from general training data and sends your prompts to an outside service. When the material is confidential or governed by policy, a private, retrieval-augmented setup is usually the safer choice.

Do you work remotely, and where are you based?

I'm based in New Jersey and New York City and work with teams remotely. Workshops and talks can be delivered on site or online depending on what suits your group.

Do you offer training for staff who aren't technical?

Yes. Sessions in data tools, research data management, and AI literacy are tailored to your team's projects and skill level, including groups that are new to the material. The aim is habits people keep using, not a one-time demo.

How do we start working together?

Start with a short discovery call to scope your project or event. From there, engagements usually take the shape of a workshop or talk, a scoped project, or ongoing advisory. Use the contact form to tell me a little about what you need and I'll reply, usually within a couple of business days.

Contact

Let's work together.

Tell me a little about your project or event and I'll reply, usually within a couple of business days.

Fill in the form and I'll reply from my inbox, usually within a couple of business days.

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