Meet Our PEPS

Dr. Amir Salarpour joined Clemson's TigerSec Lab in 2024, working with Dr. Pese on AI security. Their research focuses on identifying vulnerabilities in AI tools and preventing potential hacks. One primary focus of the lab is on autonomous vehicle perception and on developing defenses against attacks such as prompt injection and physical adversarial patches that create hazardous and sometimes deadly conditions. As a result, Dr. Salarpour's work centers on the security of autonomous vehicle systems, including
perception and planning.

An impactful part of his career as a PEPS at Clemson has been mentoring Ph.D. students and collaborating across institutions. His role has helped shift from focusing solely on technical research to developing leadership skills, guiding projects, building collaborations, and understanding research from a broader perspective. Dr. Salarpour came to Clemson after conducting security research at Carnegie Mellon. While in his previous role, he connected with faculty at Clemson whose work aligned with his research and initially joined the University as a visiting scholar before transitioning to a postdoctoral role with Dr. Pese. An important thing he would tell those interested in a postdoc role is that a postdoc is an important bridge between Ph.D. training and leading research, and it helps shift someone's mindset from implementation to innovation and leadership.

Dr. Amir Salarpour (third from right) with colleagues in their workplace.

Dr. Pro Manna is a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Shyamalika Gopalan’s lab at Clemson University, where her work explores human evolutionary history and its impact on modern genetics. Focusing on how genetic risk predictions transfer across populations, Dr. Manna’s research addresses important challenges in equity and accuracy in genomic medicine. Since arriving in February 2026 at Clemson, she has benefited from strong mentorship, a collaborative environment, and robust computational resources.

During her time as a Postdoctoral and Early Professional Scholar (PEPS), Dr. Manna has built an independent research program, developing large-scale simulations to better understand differences in genetic risk prediction across populations. This work has been presented at national and international conferences, and Dr. Manna has also remained active in service and outreach through professional societies, such as the Society for the Study of Evolution. Drawn to Clemson for its strong research alignment and supportive academic community, Dr. Manna continues to grow as both a researcher and mentor, taking full advantage of opportunities for collaboration and professional development.