Master’s Thesis Defense

A Master’s thesis defense was held at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Internal and Preventive Medicine, for the thesis entitled “A Study of Blood Cell Morphology Alterations Induced by Apicomplexa in Cattle Using Novel Techniques”, presented by Hajar Miqdam Hameed under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Basima Abdul Fattah Mohammed, on Wednesday, August 12, 2026.

The examination committee consisted of the following members:

Prof. Dr. Saddam Dhahir Hassan – College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Mosul – Chair

Prof. Dr. Nadia Hamed Mohammed – College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Mosul – Member

Asst. Prof. Israa Abdul Ghani Ghanem – College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Mosul – Member

Prof. Dr. Basima Abdul Fattah Mohammed – College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Mosul – Member and Supervisor

The study aimed to employ modern artificial intelligence techniques, particularly Vision Transformer (ViT) and YOLOv8, to integrate advances in artificial intelligence with the laboratory diagnosis of veterinary parasites. To the best of our knowledge, this is among the first studies in Iraq to directly employ deep learning techniques for the identification of blood parasites in blood smears.

The practical significance of the study lies in its potential to support early and accurate diagnosis and assist veterinarians and laboratory specialists in making diagnostic decisions. The importance of the study extends beyond its current findings, as it represents a starting point and a foundation for broader and more comprehensive future studies in the field of AI-assisted parasitological diagnosis.

Following the student’s confident and scientifically rigorous defense of her thesis and the committee’s discussion and evaluation, the thesis was accepted.

Congratulations to the researcher, her supervisor, the College of Veterinary Medicine, and the Department of Internal and Preventive Medicine on this scientific achievement. We wish the examination committee continued success.

This thesis defense contributes to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education).