COMPUTATIONAL LINGUIST AND AI RESEARCHER
Dr. Karine Megerdoomian is a computational linguist and AI researcher who works at the intersection of language, technology, and society. Her work blends deep linguistic insight with applied NLP to develop multilingual AI systems, with a focus on underrepresented languages, narrative structure, and language-based consulting.
With over 20 years at the forefront of AI, Dr. Megerdoomian has led mission-critical innovation in narrative analytics, multilingual NLP, and responsible AI integration. As founder of Zoorna Technology Solutions and Zoorna Institute, she brings strategic insight and hands-on experience bridging research and deployment for public sector, nonprofit, and education clients.
About Me.
Published Research
Recognized for publications in formal linguistics, Persian NLP, heritage language pedagogy, and multilingual blog analytics. Awarded and cited for strategic research contributions in social media analytics, narrative analysis, and risk detection, with outcomes including IP disclosures and technology licenses.
Leadership in NLP
Awarded for thought leadership and for spearheading large-scale R&D projects in NLP, including successful technology transfers to the U.S. federal judiciary and the Veterans Administration. As a Principal AI Engineer at MITRE, I directed a diverse portfolio of projects on multilingual NLP, system evaluations, and social media analytics.
Research Leadership &
Linguistic Advocacy
As founder of Zoorna Institute for Language, AI and Society, I lead the development of tools and resources for underrepresented languages and the design of linguistically grounded AI systems.
Educational Initiatives
Developed and taught interdisciplinary courses in computational linguistics, social media analytics, and heritage language and linguistics as Adjunct Faculty at Georgetown, UCSD, AUA, and US government. Recently launched AI4Her to expand access to AI literacy and GenAI training for women.
AI Strategy & Consulting
As the founder of Zoorna Technology Solutions, I advise academic, public sector, and nonprofit clients on AI strategy, business transformation, LLM deployment, and multilingual NLP system development---particulary for the education sector.
Community Engagement
I am leading outreach efforts that promote AI literacy and multilingual NLP awareness. Delivered invited talks and served on panels on women in AI and AI for Good, and regularly contribute to the research community through program committees, conference organization, and journal and grant reviews.
Animal Welfare
In parallel, I also lead Artemis House, an animal rescue initiative dedicated to saving and rehabilitating cats, reflecting a long-standing commitment to community care and advocacy beyond the world of AI.
Experience.
Work History
AI Strategist & NLP Consultant
Ethical AI for Real-World Impact
Multilingual NLP Researcher
Low-Resource Language Technologies
Founder & Research Director
Zoorna Institute for Language, AI & Society
Led impactful work in AI adoption, knowledge extraction, social media analytics, narrative modeling and risk detection. Spearheaded development of national-scale NLP-driven systems applied across judicial, healthcare, and educational domains.
As founder of Zoorna Technology Solutions, I advise clients on AI-driven business transformation in high-stakes environments.
Designed cutting-edge NLP resources and systems for Persian, Armenian and other underrepresented languages. Built lexicons, corpora, evaluation and transliteration tools to enable scalable AI in cross-linguistic and sociopolitical contexts.
Founded and direct a nonprofit research institute focused on bridging AI and linguistics with social challenges. Oversee interdisciplinary teams and research projects spanning temporal reasoning and event detection, bias in LLMs, and AI education initiatives.
AI Literacy Advocate
Expanding Access & Inclusion in AI
Linguistic Researcher
Complex Predicates, Heritage Languages, Syntax-Semantic Interface
Educator & University Instructor
Teaching & Curriculum Development
Launched and lead the AI4Her initiative to empower women and girls in AI. Design and teach programs in GenAI, prompt engineering, and responsible AI, tailored for learners from diverse backgrounds.
Conduct original research at the intersection of syntax, semantics, and morphology---focusing on Persian and Armenian. Publications explore the structure of complex predicates, aspect, and argument realization, with applications in computational grammar and annotation.
Taught across Georgetown, UCSD, and AUA. Designed courses on AI and NLP for discourse analysis and sociopolitical framing, Persian and Armenian heritage language and linguistics, and computational tools for narrative analysis.