Hayder Assafli was born in 1987 in the southern Iraqi governorate of Dhi-Qar and raised in the northern governorate of Kirkuk. Dr. Assafli graduated from Baghdad College High School, one of Iraq's most highly regarded preparatory schools. He earned his B.Sc. degree in Laser and Optoelectronics Engineering from the University of Technology in Baghdad. Mr. Assafli worked as an engineer and a teaching assistant at the same university before traveling to the United States to continue his studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he completed his M.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering in 2013. Dr. Assafli obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Technology in Baghdad, specializing in Electronics and Communication Engineering. He currently works in the Department of Medical Instrumentation Techniques Engineering at Northern Technical University.