The Dean’s Prize is awarded twice annually only to medical who exhibit outstanding scholarship through long-term research spanning six to twelve or more months. Aboubacar was determined as a recipient of the award because his abstract showcased exceptional research and great significance. Aboubacar’s project, titled “Novel Machine Learning Approach to Assess Function in Musculoskeletal Mice Models” seeks to apply a novel data acquisition system to reveal clinical data in upper and lower extremity musculoskeletal injury models in mice. 

Researchers studying musculoskeletal injuries in mouse models often rely on subjective methods to observe behavior, which can be inaccurate, particularly in the early stages. Aboubacar improved this by using a new setup and machine learning to measure function and pain objectively in models of rotator cuff tears and ischemia-reperfusion injuries, validating their effectiveness.

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This new method reliably measures function and pain in two mouse models from the day of injury, a first in this field. It also shows promise in assessing treatment effectiveness and is relevant across various medical models. Congratulations Aboubacar!