Ali Abbas, a graduate from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar's (CMU-Q) Class of 2018, tied for first place in the inaugural Technology Research Track at the seventh Surgical Research and Innovation Ideas Ibn Al Abbas Symposium.

Abbas’ project, titled “Medical dictionary translator,” was conducted in collaboration with Dr Ibrahim Alnadhari from Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC).

Abbas developed the project as part of his senior honours thesis for the Information Systems Programme at CMU-Q. The project addresses the communication gap between healthcare providers and patients in Qatar, who often do not speak a common language.

Abbas uses a technological interface that facilitates communication in a health care setting, including a machine learning translation system. The project has also won the Qatar National Research Fund award at CMU-Q’s Meeting of the Minds research symposium in 2018. Abbas’ faculty adviser was Selma Limam Mansar, associate dean for education and teaching professor of information systems.

HMC has introduced the Technology Research Track to support the development of technologically oriented, clinically focused ideas. The track promotes collaboration between multidisciplinary perioperative and technical teams.