About

Rim H. Chaif, Ph.D.

Computational social scientist and communication scholar working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, strategic communication, advertising and public relations, and digital media.

I am a computational social scientist and communication scholar studying AI, digital media, strategic communication, and advertising and public relations, with particular interest in how emerging technologies shape persuasion, representation, consumer and audience responses, and health communication.

As a computational social scientist, I treat large-scale digital communication as data. My work combines machine learning, natural language processing, large language models, and multimodal analysis with experimental and survey design and close qualitative reading, so that computational scale and interpretive depth inform each other rather than competing. I develop and validate methods for studying sensitive social phenomena at scale, including the Iterative Bidirectional Validation framework for human-in-the-loop validation of LLM classifications.

Before entering academia, I spent seven years as an investigative and humanitarian journalist producing analytical work on public health, governance, and migration across North Africa and Europe, and through international NGOs and intergovernmental agencies. That applied, cross-cultural background continues to shape how I approach questions of audience, message, and representation.

I am fluent in Arabic, French, English, and Italian.

Education

  • 2022 – 2026

    Ph.D., Journalism & Mass Communications

    University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS. Advisors: Dr. Yvonnes Chen & Dr. Hong Vu.

  • 2017 – 2019

    M.A., Pedagogy Sciences for Intercultural Studies & Media Education

    University of Calabria, Cosenza, Italy.

  • 2011 – 2014

    M.A., Institutional & Corporate Communication

    National School of Journalism and Information Sciences, Algiers. Focus: Strategic and Organizational Communication, Public Relations.

  • 2008 – 2011

    B.A., Business French

    Abu Bakr Belkaid University, Tlemcen, Algeria.

Appointments

  • Fall 2026

    Visiting Assistant Professor of Instruction

    Zimmerman School of Advertising & Mass Communications, University of South Florida.

Languages