Ali received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from the Department of Computer Engineering, University of Basrah, Iraq, in 2003 and 2006, respectively, and received his Ph.D. degree from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA, in 2021. He joined the faculty of the Department of Computer Engineering, University of Basrah in 2007, where he is currently serving as a lecturer. Ali has been a guest researcher at the Integrated Circuits and NeuroImaging Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, since 2021.

Ali's current research focuses on developing mathematical models and computational algorithms for estimating the spatio-temporo-rhythmic characteristics of the dynamic functional connectivity in the brain, using functional imaging modalities. This includes detecting the changes to the functional state of the brain, localizing the functional networks underlying these changes, and recognizing the functional networks common to or discriminatory of the different cognitive and motor tasks. Ali's research interests also include employing the knowledge acquired by the developed analysis techniques in the field of brain-computer-interfacing (BCI).