About

Zeshawn M. Ali, DO, is a resident in the Department of Psychiatry at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, currently at the PGY IV level. He completed his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree in 2014 at the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 2011 from the New York Institute of Technology. Dr. Ali holds a medical license in New Jersey, issued by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, valid through 2026. His professional focus is within the field of psychiatry, and he is affiliated with Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, contributing to clinical practice and education in this specialty.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Sociology
• Political Science
• Psychiatry
• Law
• Political economy
• Medicine
• Criminology
• Clinical psychology
• Internal medicine

Selected publications

• Feminism for the World

  Pluto Press eBooks · 2025-08-20

  book
  PublisherDOI

• Social Discourse Analysis in Ahmad Mahmoud’s The Neighbors Based on Pierre Guiraud’s Social Semiotics

  Treasury of Persian Language and Literature · 2025-01-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The novel The Neighbors by Ahmad Mahmoud is regarded as one of the most prominent examples of the social novel in contemporary Iranian literature, offering an accurate depiction of the lives of the lower classes, workers, intellectuals, and social actors of the 1940s and 1950s (Gregorian Calendar). With a realist approach, the novel uncovers the hidden layers of social life and relations of power. Despite numerous studies on this novel, few investigations have been conducted based on Pierre Guiraud’s theoretical framework of social semiotics. Guiraud considers signs not as limited to language, but as traceable in customs, identities, rituals, behaviors, fashions, and social games (Guiraud, 1975). The purpose of this research is to analyze the representation of cultural and social signs in The Neighbors using social semiotics and to demonstrate how these signs contribute to the formation and continuity of social and political discourses within the text. The findings indicate that social etiquette and politeness in the novel reflect class distinctions and relations of power; the individual and collective identities of the characters are formed within a framework of tension between tradition and modernity; and social behaviors, whether at the individual or collective level, reflect the nature of human beings in critical situations. Furthermore, social codes such as clothing, language, and urban symbols carry class-based and cultural meanings. Ultimately, this study shows that The Neighbors is not merely a literary work but a socio-discursive text embedded with a complex network of signs. The social-semiotic analysis of this novel provides a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying identity, culture, and politics in Iranian society during the historical period in question.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• On Empire, Continuities, and Ruptures

  Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · 2025-09-01

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Intifada (انتفاضة) and the Feminist Imagination

  Pluto Press eBooks · 2025-08-20

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Authors' response

  Journal of Forensic Sciences · 2024-08-16

  letterOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Politicizing Ethics

  Comparative Studies of South Asia Africa and the Middle East · 2024-12-01 · 4 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract Drawing on critical feminist and decolonial perspectives, this article takes research on Iraq as a framework to raise essential questions about politics and geopolitics of knowledge production and about what constitutes the global academy today. It analyzes the structural, infrastructural, and political dimensions that led to Iraq being researched and theorized outside of its borders, and it highlights the systemic inequalities existing between scholars based in the United States and scholars based in Iraq. The article also questions the production of knowledge and the development of research agendas stemming from institutions based in and tied to an imperial power that has destroyed the very possibility of the existence of a robust academic life in Iraq. It also proposes an alternative research imaginary that politicizes research ethics by putting justice and equality over an obsession for research.

  PublisherDOI

• Visibility of inflicted bruises by alternate light: Results of a randomized controlled trial

  Journal of Forensic Sciences · 2024-02-07 · 10 citations

  articleOpen access

  Difficulty visualizing bruises resulting from interpersonal violence, especially in individuals with dark skin, contributes to disparities in access to justice. The purpose of this analysis was to compare bruise visibility of detected injuries using white light versus alternate light sources (ALS). Visibility was assessed using the 5-point Bruise Visibility Scale (BVS) for white light and the ALS Visibility Scale (AVS) for ALS. Bruises were induced using controlled application of a paintball to the upper arm on 157 healthy adults across six skin color categories. Using a crossover design, the light source used first to assess the bruise (white light or ALS) was randomized. Each bruise was examined up to 21 times over 4 weeks using white light and 10 combinations of wavelengths (350 nanometer [nm] - 535 nm) and colored filters (yellow, orange, and red). Multilevel modeling was used to analyze the repeated measures data with a total 20,103 bruise assessments. Results revealed 415 nm with yellow filter resulted in an almost 0.5-point increase in BVS/AVS score across all skin colors (Estimate = 0.46; 95% CI: 0.43, 0.49; p < 0.001), a clinically significant improvement in ability to visualize bruises. Conversely, 515 nm (Estimate = -0.80; 95% CI: -0.84, -0.76; p < 0.001) and 535 nm (Estimate = -0.64, 95% CI: -0.67, -0.60; p < 0.001) with red filter resulted in more than 0.5-point decrease in BVS/AVS score. The use of ALS is supported by the data and results in improved bruise visibility during medical forensic examinations.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A synthetic cytotoxic T cell platform for rapidly prototyping TCR function

  npj Precision Oncology · 2024-08-19 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  Current tools for functionally profiling T cell receptors with respect to cytotoxic potency and cross-reactivity are hampered by difficulties in establishing model systems to test these proteins in the contexts of different HLA alleles and against broad arrays of potential antigens. We have implemented a granzyme-activatable sensor of T cell cytotoxicity in a universal prototyping platform which enables facile recombinant expression of any combination of TCR-, peptide-, and class I MHC-coding sequences and direct assessment of resultant responses. This system consists of an engineered cell platform based on the immortalized natural killer cell line, YT-Indy, and the MHC-null antigen-presenting cell line, K562. These cells were engineered to furnish the YT-Indy/K562 pair with appropriate protein domains required for recombinant TCR expression and function in a non-T cell chassis, integrate a fluorescence-based target-centric early detection reporter of cytotoxic function, and deploy a set of protective genetic interventions designed to preserve antigen-presenting cells for subsequent capture and downstream characterization. Our data show successful reconstitution of the surface TCR complex in the YT-Indy cell line at biologically relevant levels. We also demonstrate successful induction and highly sensitive detection of antigen-specific response in multiple distinct model TCRs. Additionally, we monitored destruction of targets in co-culture and found that our survival-optimized system allowed for complete preservation after 24 h exposure to cytotoxic effectors. With this bioplatform, we anticipate investigators will be empowered to rapidly express and characterize T cell receptor responses, generate knowledge regarding the patterns of T cell receptor recognition, and optimize therapeutic T cell receptors.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A Synthetic Cytotoxic T cell Platform for Rapidly Prototyping TCR Function

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2023-11-21

  preprintOpen access

  Abstract Current tools for functionally profiling T cell receptors with respect to cytotoxic potency and cross-reactivity are hampered by difficulties in establishing model systems to test these proteins in the contexts of different HLA alleles and against broad arrays of potential antigens. We have implemented and validated a granzyme-activatable sensor of T cell cytotoxicity in a novel universal prototyping platform which enables facile recombinant expression of any combination of TCR-, peptide-, and class I MHC-coding sequences and direct assessment of resultant responses. This system consists of an engineered cell platform based on the immortalized natural killer cell line, YT-Indy, and the MHC-null antigen-presenting cell line, K562. These cells were engineered using contemporary gene-editing techniques to furnish the YT-Indy/K562 pair with appropriate protein domains required for recombinant TCR expression and function in a non-T cell chassis, integrate a fluorescence-based target-centric early detection reporter of cytotoxic function, and deploy a set of protective genetic interventions designed to preserve antigen-presenting cells for subsequent capture and downstream characterization. Our data show successful reconstitution of the surface TCR complex in the YT-Indy cell line at biologically relevant levels. We also demonstrate successful induction and highly sensitive detection of antigen-specific response in multiple distinct model TCRs, with significant responses (p &lt; 0.05 and Cohen’s d &gt;1.9) in all cases. Additionally, we monitored destruction of targets in co-culture and found that our survival-optimized system allowed for complete preservation after 24-hour exposure to cytotoxic effectors. With this bioplatform, we anticipate investigators will be empowered to rapidly express and characterize T cell receptor responses, generate new knowledge regarding the patterns of T cell receptor recognition, and optimize novel therapeutic T cell receptors for improved cytotoxic potential and reduced cross-reactivity to undesired antigenic targets.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Examining the Psychological Burden of Diabetes Mellitus: The Association and Relationship between Depression, Anxiety, and Diabetes Mellitus. A Systematic Reviewr

  Journal For International Medical Graduates · 2023-08-10

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Diabetes Mellitus is a global health issue, and the rising prevalence of depression and anxiety among individuals with diabetes poses a significant concern. Metabolic disturbances in diabetes can potentially impact psychological well-being. The study aims to determine the prevalence of depression, and anxiety, and explore the relationship between these mental health conditions and diabetes.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Sai Dheeraj Gutlapalli

  Richmond University Medical Center

  104 shared

• Marya Ali

  Nishtar Medical College and Hospital

  95 shared

• Sherie George

  Richmond University Medical Center

  94 shared

• Srushti R Shahi

  California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences and Psychology (United States)

  94 shared

• Mrinal J P Oble

  Nishtar Medical College and Hospital

  94 shared

• Shamsun Nahar Sonia

  92 shared

• Abdelrahman Abaza

  California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences and Psychology (United States)

  92 shared

• Aneeque Jamil

  St. Martinus University

  92 shared

Education

• Other

  New York College of Osteopathic Medicine

  2014

• B.S.

  New York Institute of Technology

  2011