Ms Tehnan Mohamed graduated with an MSc in Computer Science cum laude.

Having completed her BSc and BSc Honours at the University of Gezira, Sudan, she said that she registered for her MSc at UKZN as it offers unique teaching and learning methods that enhance the development of personal and professional skills.

Mohamed’s research focused on early detection and classification of lung cancer using an optimised deep learning model. The results will help to improve cancer prediction and early diagnosis and thus decrease mortality rates.

Mohamed said that she was driven by her passion to learn more about how data science can solve real-life problems and save human lives, especially in relation to cancer. She is currently registered for a PhD at UKZN that will extend her MSc research by employing more advanced artificial intelligence methods. She aims to develop meta-heuristic methods for early cancer detection using next generation sequencing data with gene expression data.

Mohamed thanked her family for their support and her husband for his encouragement. She also extended her gratitude to her supervisor Professor Absalom Ezugwu for his inspiration, patience, dedication and guidance.

Ezugwu described Mohamed as a young scholar with great promise and commended her for completing her MSc in the record time of one year.

Words: Leena Rajpal

Photograph: Supplied