Brian Khumalo
Gainesville,Florida
Summary
Interdisciplinary researcher and founder of an international research health consortium, specializing in the analysis, modeling, and interpretation of complex human behavioral data for clinical and AI applications. Trained in anthropology, cognitive ecology, and biosemiotics, with expertise in multimodal signal analysis (facial movement, gestural, perceptual), semantics, network analysis, and information-theoretic approaches to human behavior. Experienced in cross-functional collaboration with engineers, clinicians, and data scientists across academia and industry. Co-developer of novel facial behavioral analysis and semiotic frameworks for digital biomarker detection - with applications in neurodegenerative disease, affective computing, and human-centered AI.
Overview
3
3
years of professional experience
Work history
Consortium Founder, Research Lead
MASKED Consortium
EU & North America
12.2024 - Current
- Co-lead development of computational approaches to facial hypomimia, gesture loss, and multimodal signal degradation in Parkinson’s Disease and other neurodegenerative diseases across 10 instutions and businesses across Europe and North America.
- Integrated qualitative, clinical, and AI-based facial analysis pipelines.
- Collaborate across industry and academic institutions including the University of California San Francisco, Toronto Metropolitan University, and the University of Turin across engineering, linguistics, and neuroscience to detect biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases.
- Negotiated and secured lucrative partnership with major industry and academic players, opening up new market opportunities.
Graduate Researcher
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida
08.2022 - Current
- Developed theory and methodology connecting ecological information theory, semiotics, and human behavioral data yeilding culturally-atuned datasets on cultural cognition, semantics, and perceptions.
- Used category modeling to examine food perception, identity, and health outcomes.
- Administered and taught several undergraduate-level courses including Medical Anthropology, Digital Anthropology, and Cultural Anthropology.
- Developed strong technical writing skills reflected in produced manuscripts in biosemiotics, cognitive science, and environmental anthropology .
Education
Doctor of Philosophy - Anthropology
University of Florida
United States 08.2022 -
Master of Social Science - Anthropology
Rhodes University
South Africa 02.2019 - 11.2021
Erasmus+ Research Mobility Student - Anthropology and Economics
University of Lille
France 09.2019 - 07.2020
Bachelor of Arts - Anthropology and Law
Rhodes University
South Africa 02.2015 - 11.2018
Skills
- Clinical & Regulatory Familiarity:
IRB protocols, informed consent, clinical communication, digital biomarker pipelines, patient-centered design - Methods:
Multimodal annotation, network analysis, ethnographic and phenomenological analysis, semantic analysis, experimental economics, Facial Action Coding System (in training), consensus and domain analysis
- Programming & Data Tools:
UCINET, R (in training), Microsoft suite
Languages
English
Native
French
Intermediate (B1)
Xhosa
Advanced
Accomplishments
Jesper Hoffmeyer Award for Promising Early Researchers in Biosemiotics
Invited Talks/Letures
- Denver, Colorado, American Association of Biological Anthropologists (AABAs) (2026) Entitled: Linguistic Laws Are Present in Rhesus Macaque Facial Communication (forthcoming).
- Olomouc, Czech Republic, Palacký University, Department of General Linguistics (2025) - Entitled: MASKED Project.
- Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Erasmus University Rotterdam (2025) - Entitled: Applied Biosemiotics: Approaching the Face as A Semiotic Signaling System for the Study of Parkinson’s Disease (MASKED).
- Potchefstroom, South Africa, North-West University Department of Anthropology (2025) - Entitled: What is Anthropology Good For?
References
References available upon request.
Timeline
Consortium Founder, Research Lead
MASKED Consortium
12.2024 - Current
Graduate Researcher
University of Florida
08.2022 - Current
Doctor of Philosophy - Anthropology
University of Florida
08.2022 -
Erasmus+ Research Mobility Student - Anthropology and Economics
University of Lille
09.2019 - 07.2020
Master of Social Science - Anthropology
Rhodes University
02.2019 - 11.2021
Bachelor of Arts - Anthropology and Law
Rhodes University
02.2015 - 11.2018