A Christian-owned university, Mountain Top University (MTU), Prayer City, Ogun State has produced an amazing graduate, Chukwuma Hillary Akpu, who recently put the country’s name on the global research map with his groundbreaking work on worm mating behaviour, using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Published in an internationally recognised science journal, the work showcases how AI can be used to advance the study of animal behavior, apart from unveiling 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 Akpu’s modifications led to an astounding 77 per cent improvement in tracking accuracy. This level of enhancement is almost unheard of, marking a major leap forward in automated animal behaviour analysis and cementing his work as a significant contribution to the field.
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.
Akpu revealed that the broader impact of his research lies in its potential to enhance the understanding of biological processes and environmental interactions through more efficient and accurate analysis of C. elegansbehaviour.
He noted that in environmental monitoring, the study of C. elegans mating behaviour aids scientists to understand the impact of environmental toxins on soil conditions.
Akpu explained that the automated analysis tool developed in this research could aid in a more efficient and comprehensive study of C. elegans mating behaviours, which in turn can provide insights into soil pollution.
Akpu who also holds an MSc from the University of Reading, stressed that his work extends beyond this groundbreaking research, which according to him, has also developed novel character-consistent AI image generation models, implemented LLM algorithms to classify diagnosis and reduce loss for a company, crafted a Python emailing package with about 15,000 downloads in three years, and created a vaccination notification app, which increased vaccination rates in babies, all of which have contributed positively to lives and businesses.
According to the elated Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Elijah AdebowaleAyolabi,MTU is a faith-based institution that is deeply committed to research and innovation.
