Sometimes, in genetics, two wrongs do make a right. A research team recently showed that two harmful genetic variants, when occurring together in a gene, can restore function—proving a decades-old hypothesis originally proposed by Nobel laureate Francis Crick. Their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), not only experimentally validated this theory but also introduced a powerful artificial intelligence (AI)-driven approach to genetic interpretation led by George Mason University researchers. 

The project began when Aimée Dudley, a geneticist at the Pacific Northwest Research Institute (PNRI), approached George Mason University Chief AI Officer Amarda Shehu after following her lab’s work on frontier AI models for predicting the functional impact of genetic variation. That conversation sparked a collaboration that married PNRI’s experimental expertise with George Mason’s computational innovation to discover some surprising ways variant combinations can shape human health. 

The problem 

Every year one in three Americans is diagnosed with a genetic disorder. Symptoms manifest in infancy for about 70% of individuals. Sadly, 35% die before the age of 5. Advancements in clinical genomics offer hope to better understand and possibly treat these disorders. 

“High-throughput genomic screening has been a wonderful feat for humanity,” said Shehu, “but one of its side effects is that it has produced massive amounts of data, outpacing our ability to interpret what that data means for health and disease.”  

Research in the Shehu lab has for years focused on building frontier AI models to advance genetic interpretation, but all data available link only isolated, single variants to measured functional activity. Because each person’s genome contains billions of base pairs, with about five million variants existing between two individuals’ genomes, looking at one variant at a time rather than combinations of variants could only reveal so much. 

“It looked like we had hit a wall,” Shehu said, “that is, until Dr. Dudley contacted my lab more than a year ago.” 

Key investments at Virginia Tech, George Mason, University of Virginia help the Commonwealth position itself as a home for AI innovation

George Mason University

Three years after Open Ai launched ChatGPT, Virginia continues to capitalize on its position as a global tech leader to solidify its place in the AI industry. With over 31,000 AI-related job postings in 2024, Virginia ranked fourth nationally in the Stanford AI Index Report, trailing only states with far bigger workforce populations (Texas, California, and New York).

Decades of strategic investment in the technology sector have propelled the Commonwealth to the forefront of the global AI landscape. Dubbed “Silicon Valley East” by Business Traveler, Virginia is unmatched in highly skilled and concentrated tech talent, especially in Northern Virginia. In 2024, the Commonwealth had the third-highest share of technology companies (per WalletHub), and Business Facilities ranked Virginia’s tech talent pipeline third in the country.

Virginia’s position as a top state for tech talent is not by chance, but the product of significant historical and ongoing investments in its tech talent pipeline, including the landmark Tech Talent Investment Program (TTIP). Launched in 2019, TTIP is a $1.1 billion, 20-year commitment to increasing the number of BS and MS graduates in computer science and related fields by at least 30,000. TTIP was conceived as part of Virginia’s 2018 winning proposal to Amazon for its HQ2 facility, and institutions are using TTIP monies and other funding sources to fuel research, facilities, and programs dedicated to expanding and maintaining a robust and innovative tech talent workforce.

“As we expand our three campuses across Northern Virginia to create a thriving tech corridor from Washington D.C. to Prince William County, George Mason and our partners have been propelling the region together,” said George Mason University President Gregory Washington. “The Commonwealth is seeing an enormous return on investment as our students graduate at record numbers and stay to work in the region, helping to propel the state as a leader in business, nationally and globally.”

When George Mason University cyber security engineering student Noah Hinger interned at Surefire Cyber in summer 2023, his managers were so impressed with his work that they invited him back. Thanks to his previous experience, the Honors College student was able to take on more responsibility this summer at the computer security company and contribute to more projects. 

“The experience from my first summer here let me understand what was happening and contribute across the company,” said Hinger, who is a sophomore in the College of Engineering and Computing. “Surefire Cyber has an amazing internship program. They’re investing in us by having professional development meetings and providing us with the opportunity to talk to experts from different fields.” said Hinger. 

“I think it’s helped me a lot to be able to practice my independence and accountability,” said Hinger, who also competes in George Mason’s Chess and Competitive Cyber Clubs. “I’ve had the chance to do projects on my own without necessarily needing to report to someone, and I’ve also learned so much from all the smart people at Surefire Cyber.” 

What made you choose Surefire Cyber for your internships?  

Surefire Cyber is a digital forensics and incident response company. When an organization gets hacked, they call Surefire Cyber to conduct an investigation and restore systems so that everything’s OK. As a technology intern, I am helping develop the code that our forensic analysts use to figure out what’s happened and retrieve all the essential data. Surefire Cyber is really exceptional at using a lot of automation tools so that the forensic analysts can focus more on the big picture and the data they’re working with.  

What does a typical day interning at Surefire Cyber look like for you?  

I work under two groups: software development and information operations, or DevOps, and security engineering. For DevOps, I help to manage company infrastructure and work on a lot of coding assignments.  

Traditionally, there are software developers, and there are operations, which maintain it. DevOps is kind of a hybrid role, which means it entails coding, setting up servers, and being responsible for maintaining the infrastructure.  

How would you say George Mason has helped prepare you for this role?  

I definitely think more critically when problem-solving this time around, and I think that’s in part due to George Mason, especially the Honors College research and literature classes that I’ve taken. I’m learning about a lot of new technologies in real time, so I have to be able to research and read about them and then apply that knowledge to my work. The courses have definitely helped me when it comes absorbing the information I’m reading about and then transferring it to my assignments at Surefire Cyber.  

Another thing about the Honors College is that I get to meet different people from different disciplines, and that’s really helped me at Surefire Cyber when connecting and networking with colleagues. I think that’s been really rewarding and something that George Mason’s helped prepare me for.  

I’ve also gotten a lot of experience in my systems engineering and digital systems engineering classes, and getting to see what goes into a lot of security minded decisions is very similar to what I’m doing in this internship.  

What’s your favorite thing about interning at Surefire Cyber?  

My favorite thing about the company is that it’s always driving innovation and new discoveries within cybersecurity and digital forensics. They’re always pushing for the best and trying to help people. That’s the whole point of digital forensics is to be there for and helping them out on the worst day of their life.  

A team of faculty and students from George Mason University recently discovered a vulnerability in a widely used anonymization tool. They presented their findings last week in Taiwan at the Association for Computing Machinery Conference on Computer and Communications Security (ACM CCS), one of the world’s most prestigious computer security conferences, with a very low paper acceptance rate.

The project was supported by a Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) grant from the program, “Securing Interactions between Humans and Machines,” and as a requirement of the grant, the project crossed different parts of the university. The College of Engineering and Computing collaborated with Mason and Partners (MAP) Clinics, which provided the data.

Fatima Majid, a George Mason University senior majoring in cyber security engineering, was not just the only one-person team in the top 10 award winners at a recent National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) cyber competition, she was the only student team. Majid placed ninth out of 51 teams, most of them comprising industry experts.  

“I went in, and they were all professional teams, like from Lockheed Martin. I thought, ‘I want to go home,’” said Majid with a laugh, describing her initial cold feet. “But I told myself I could do it. It helped that it was hosted at George Mason, and I had professors there giving me support.”  

Her project focused on how the Department of Defense (DoD) can protect critical U.S. infrastructure against low-cost drone attacks at scale, informed by Ukraine’s “Operation Spiderweb,” which used 117 drones to attack Russian air bases in June 2025.  

Majid spent the summer in Richmond during a public policy internship. Photo provided

Majid’s lightbulb moment came with a flash as bright as a Virginia speed camera catching a lead-footed driver. Considering the significant network of traffic cameras in the commonwealth, she conceived SkyEyes. This applies an artificial intelligence (AI) model to the live feed of the Virginia 511 camera network, which provides real-time traffic information to citizens and transportation officials. SkyEyes demonstrated how a low-cost, AI-enabled surveillance layer could differentiate threats from non-threats, employing geofencing logic to define safe versus threat zones around sensitive sites. 

“I understand how drones work because of what I’ve done at George Mason’s MIX lab—and since I know how to build it, I also know how to jam it. I trained the AI model on a data set provided from a contest sponsor, and that data set had drone imaging and drone prototyping,” she said. “The camera feeds can find objects flying, but what if it’s an Amazon drone, for example? Then I added geofencing and threat analysis to observe the behavior of the drone—if it’s a drone at 2 a.m., for example, maybe that’s sketchy. So, the model gets smarter.”  

Majid said that to access the cameras, all she had to do was make a phone call to the right person and explain her project. She cited time spent this summer at the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine in the Undergraduate Policy Program (VASEM UPP) in Richmond as giving her confidence and exposure to how government works.  

K. L. Akerlof, an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at George Mason, said, “The VASEM UPP is a unique opportunity for undergraduates to learn about opportunities in science policy at the state level. The immersive experience of spending a week in Richmond visiting the General Assembly and state agencies, while getting a crash course in how research evidence relates to public policy, can open new doors and career pathways.” 

Majid said the strong showing gave her tremendous exposure to influential professional contacts. She fielded several questions about her simulation and future professional plans from a man she only later realized was Retired Brigadier General and NDIA Executive Vice President Guy Walsh. 

“Because he showed interest, after he walked away, a crowd of people gathered around to ask me questions. It was very validating.”  

She also had a long conversation about her project with Harley Stout, acting chief digital and AI officer at the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

Majid is still pleasantly shocked by her top-10 finish. She is working with Mohamed Gebril, an associate professor in Cyber Security Engineering, on expanding the research. She is confident that such a cost-efficient solution for critical infrastructure protection against drone attacks will attract more funding opportunities.  

She credited the supportive culture at Mason—and her family—for keeping her grounded and encouraging her throughout, saying their support made the accomplishment even more meaningful.

When George Mason University cyber security engineering major Connor Wadlin learned about ransomware attacks on organizations, such as the one on the Health Service Executive in Ireland, in his CYSE 445 System Security and Resilience class, it confirmed his commitment to dedicating his educational and professional career to protecting and preserving human lives.

“There’s nothing more important than protecting and defending others. As an engineer, I’m driven to get important work done by thinking about complex problems and finding suitable solutions,” said Wadlin, who is from Leesburg, Virginia.

Since winter 2024, the Honors College student has been interning at the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative(CCI) Northern Virginia Node, George Mason’s branch of the statewide network dedicated of excellence in cybersecurity research. CCI’s mission includes workforce development through training the next generation of cybersecurity experts.

“It’s a super exciting job because I get to work with AprilTags, which are on objects that the drone’s camera then sees and scans. Instead of sharing data, the tags utilize location information for navigation, tracking objects, or pathing purposes,” he said.

Wadlin is also simulating drone flight with the Microsoft tool Air Sim, a project he presented at the CCI Symposium in April. “I created a model with a 98% accuracy, really high F1 score—higher than what we could find on the market—detecting collisions so the drones would be able to respond to anomalous factors such as objects that get too close, environmental variables, cyber-attacks, and more,” he explained.

Wadlin learned about many of the tools he’s currently using for CCI in his classes with College of Engineering and Computing professors, such as his mentor Mohamed Gebril, an associate professor in the Department of Cyber Security Engineering. 

“George Mason supports people where they are to get them where they want to be,” Wadlin said.  

The skills Wadlin has acquired during his time at George Mason and in his work with CCI have enable him to help other students in their studies.  

“Connor is a very skilled student and has been able to develop different programs, as well as 12 labs for sophomore- and freshman-level students at George Mason. He even assists the students during our workshops,” said Gebril. 

Wadlin is participating in George Mason’s Bachelor’s to Accelerated Master’s Program and will to pursuing a master’s degree also in cyber security. Gebril said he’s looking forward to having Wadlin in his classes again as a graduate student. 

“It will be a smooth transition from the undergraduate to the graduate level because the curriculum aligns well with the CCI mission, which is to equip our students with the tools to conduct research activity and develop cutting–edge technology,” said Gebril. 

Wadlin’s team is also working to develop a first–of–its–kind cyber drone race that incorporates cybersecurity challenges and artificial intelligence for undergraduate students.  

Wadlin was diagnosed with autism at 19 and sees this diagnosis as working to his advantage by allowing him to see things from different perspectives and approach problems with his own unique ideas. 

“As an engineer, you have to ask yourself ‘how is this making the world a better place?’ That’s always got to be the end goal,” said Wadlin. 

In the rapidly evolving field of cybersecurity, the integration of generative AI and large language models (LLMs) is a game-changer. While offering immense potential for positive applications, these tools also pose significant risks if misused. Mohamed Gebril, an associate professor at the Department of Cyber Security Engineering at George Mason University, is spearheading a project to use generative AI and LLMs to better identify the very threats they pose.  

The project is a collaborative effort between George Mason and the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) funded by the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative Northern Virginia Node. Gebril, along with VMI’s Sherif Abdelhamid, is assembling a team including master’s and undergraduate students to assist with research and is preparing educational workshops to introduce high school and middle school students to the research topic. Gebril’s approach aims to equip future cybersecurity professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to tackle emerging threats.

Automating threat detection

The initiative aims to leverage the power of AI to enhance threat detection and response mechanisms, ultimately making cybersecurity operations more efficient and effective. One of the primary advantages of using AI in cybersecurity is its ability to automate processes that were traditionally manual and time-consuming. Harnessing the beneficial aspects of generative AI for threat-hunting operations involves detecting malicious activities and monitoring data logs in real-time.

“AI has been very helpful in automating this process instead of doing it manually,” Gebril explained. “It can generate the alerts, automate the notifications, and make the instant response.” By automating these tasks, organizations can respond to threats more quickly and efficiently, reducing the potential damage caused by cyberattacks.

Preparing for prompt-injection attacks

A significant challenge in the realm of AI-driven cybersecurity is the threat of prompt-injection attacks, which involve malicious actors using AI prompts to generate harmful outputs, such as malware, said Gebril. His core objective is to create mechanisms for detecting malicious intent, particularly in prompts that are subtle and indirect.

“What we’re hoping to get out of this project is to be able to develop a novel method, a novel mechanism, to detect such malicious intent that is meant to be used or developed by indirect prompt injection attacks,” Gebril said. This involves using advanced AI techniques, such as fuzzy reasoning and deep learning, to analyze and interpret data in real-time.

By leveraging the power of AI, Gebril and his team are working to create more robust and effective threat detection systems, ultimately contributing to a safer digital landscape.

George Mason University Cybersecurity Engineering associate professor Mohamed Gebril led a team of students to the first-ever BattleDrone competition, an exercise coordinated through the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative.

In April, Mohamed Gebril, an associate professor in George Mason University’s Cyber Security Engineering Department, took a team of students into “battle.” The team traveled to Blacksburg, Virginia, for a BattleDrones Competition that was hosted by the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) at Virginia Tech’s Drone Park.

Gebril emphasized that the inaugural battle was not really a competition but a learning experience. CCI began working on this competition in 2020, but the pandemic halted its progress. This was the first time the event was held.

“It was not a competition per se. All the teams worked together to get this project off the ground,” said Gebril, who teaches in Mason’s College of Engineering and Computing. “CCI-VT ran into some issues with some of the computer vision tools, but overall it was a great learning experience.”

The main objective of the competition, according to Gebril, was to have student teams assemble their own drones with materials provided by CCI-VT research group, as well as promote interest in these kinds of activities among younger students.

For the competition, Gebril pulled together a team of Mason cyber security engineering majors interested in hands-on opportunities, which included senior Kylie Amison, senior Corrado Apostolakis, senior Brandon Henry, junior Casey Cho, sophomore Zaid Osta, and Mahmoud Zaghloul, an area high school student.

By all accounts, it was a successful trip.

“The team did really well,” Gebril said. “They were able to assemble the drone successfully. We are also working on continuing this project by adding cybersecurity features to enhance this learning experience.”

Will they compete again?

“Yes, indeed,” he said. “Our students love this project and how it applies concepts learned in classrooms toward this hands-on activity.”

CCI is a network of Virginia industry, higher education, and economic development partners dedicated to cybersecurity research, innovation, and workforce development. Mason leads the Northern Virginia Node of the network.

George Mason University is among the top 10 most diverse and innovative public universities in the country, as well as top 10 in undergraduate cybersecurity, according to U.S. News & World Report’s “2023 Best Colleges List” rankings released Monday.

Mason jumped five spots to seventh nationally for diversity, and moved up one place to eighth nationally and first in Virginia for innovation. Mason remains first in Virginia for both categories. The undergraduate cybersecurity program jumped to 10th nationally among public universities, up from 15th.

George Mason University has been recognized as a Cyber FastTrack National “Top Tier College” that is the best in the nation in Cybersecurity Talent Discovery.

Mason recently topped a nationwide Cyber FastTrack field of 5,200 U.S. colleges for the honor, with a contest-best 312 students discovering their aptitude for cybersecurity careers through a competition sponsored by the SANS Technology Institute. Cyber FastTrack is a free online program for college students and graduates that was designed by world leaders in cybersecurity and backed by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and 24 other U.S. governors in the hopes of closing the nation’s cyber skills gap with China and Russia.