Mountain Top University (MTU) graduate, Chukwuma Hilary, has put the country on the global research map with his groundbreaking study on worm mating behaviour, using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to revolutionise biological research.

Hilary’s work, recently published in an internationally recognised scientific journal, showcases how AI can be leveraged to advance the study of animal behaviour, unlocking insights that could have a far-reaching impact across multiple scientific fields.

His team went a step further by enhancing DeepSORT, a widely recognised state-of-the-art object tracking algorithm. Outperforming such advanced models is a daunting challenge in AI research, yet Hilary’s modifications led to an astounding 77 per cent improvement in tracking accuracy.

Recall that for years, Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), which are tiny nematode worms, have been widely used by scientists to study genetics, neurobiology, and even environmental pollution. However, manually tracking these microscopic creatures has always been a tedious and time-consuming task.

Surprisingly, Hillary, a Nigerian, who had his first degree in computer science from Mountain Top University, Ogun State, has developed a state-of-the-art AI-powered system to automate tracking of microscopic creatures, saving researchers valuable time and significantly improving accuracy.