Pr. Soumaya Cherkaoui's  research and teaching interests are in wireless networks. Particularly, she works on  next generation networks (5G and beyond), Edge intelligence/Network Intelligence, and communication networks/edge intelligence for verticals such as Connected and Autonomous Cars,  IoT, and  Industrial IoT. She leads a research group which conducts research funded both by government and industry. Before joining academia as a professor in 1999, she worked for industry as a project leader on projects targeted at the Aerospace Industry. Pr. Cherkaoui has held invited positions at leading institutions including the  University of California at Berkeley. Bell Laboratories, Monash University, and the University of Toronto, as well as an adjunct position at Lulea University, in Sweden.

In 2010, she was appointed member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Network of Centres of Excellence Auto21, Canada. Since 2017, she has been serving as member of MITACS Research Council. Pr. Cherkaoui avails of a long research experience in the wireless networking. She was named Distinguished Lecturer by the IEEE Communication Society. Her work resulted in technology transfer to companies and to patented technology.  Pr. Cherkaoui has published over 100 research papers in reputed journals and conferences. She co-edited several collective works, has been an associate editor and guest editor of several IEEE, IET, Wiley and Elsevier Journals. She is currently on the editorial board of IEEE Network, the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, IEEE Systems, Elsevier Vehicular Communications, and IET Quantum Communication. Her work was awarded with recognitions and best paper awards including a best paper award at the IEEE Communications Society Flagship conference IEEE ICC in 2017. She has chaired prestigious conferences such as IEEE LCN 2019, and has served as a symposium co-chair for flagship conferences including IEEE ICC 2021,  IEEE ICC 2018, IEEE Globecom 2018, IEEE Globecom 2015, IEEE ICC 2014, and IEEE PIMRC 2011. She is a Professional Engineer in Canada, a senior IEEE Member, and is serving as the Chair of the IEEE Communications Society IoT-Ad hoc and Sensor Networks Technical Committee since 2020.