Welcome to the Accessibility and Privacy Enhancing EXperience (APEX) Lab
UT San Antonio Campus
Graduate Students
Graduate Students
Graduate Students
The Accessibility and Privacy Enhancing EXperience (APEX) Lab is led by Dr. Taslima Akter in the College of AI, Cyber, and Computing at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Our research focuses on advancing privacy and accessibility for marginalized populations, with a particular focus on people with disabilities. To learn more about our work, explore our recent publications. Visit the People page to meet the team driving our research forward.
Recent News
Paper accepted at SOUPS 2026
Sohana Akter and Dr.Taslima Akter's paper "I feel as though my privacy is being violated": Privacy Risks and Barriers in Instant Messaging for Blind and Low-Vision Users has been accepted to appear at the Symposium On Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS 2026) in Hannover, Germany.
Dr. Akter featured in CRA Trustworthy AI Research Fellow Spotlight (opens in new tab)
Dr. Akter was featured in CRA's Fellow Spotlight Series, discussing her research on privacy and accessibility for blind and low-vision users and how to build trustworthy and socially responsible AI. Read the full spotlight (opens in new tab).
Sohana Akter presented her research on privacy risk and barriers in instant messaging applications among blind and low vision people at NSF AI Spring School 2026.
Read the details of NSF AI Spring School 2026 (opens in new tab).
Protik Dey and Mohd. Saifuzzaman presented their research on trustworthy GenAI use among blind and low vision people at NSF AI Spring School 2026.
Read the details of NSF AI Spring School 2026 (opens in new tab).
Abhinaya Guduru received the Distinguished Research Award at the 2025 UTSA Excellence in Sciences Awards
Undergraduate student Abhinaya Guduru presented a poster on financial abuse experienced by older adults at the 2025 Undergraduate Research & Creative Inquiry Showcase and received the Distinguished Research Award.