I am interested in plant ecology and freshwater ecology, and especially how climate change shapes plant and freshwater community structure. My educational background is on Plant-soil feedback, but I am now working on connectivity and flux between terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems, especially focusing on the role of litter and invertebrates. 

I am interested in the application of mathematics, Bayesian statistics, and machine learning, in everything from avalanches and language models to economic applications.

Abu-Alam's research interest is in using big data for sustainability analytics, footprint analysis, and increasing the innovation capacity of academic institutions. Moreover, Abu-Alam has a long career as an Earth Scientist.