A career in artificial intelligence (AI) research wasn’t what Aws Al Jumaily (BSc ’23, MSc ’25) had planned when he came to Brock as a Public Health student in 2018.

But encouragement from his older brother, a fellow Brock graduate, led to a new major and ultimately, a new passion.

Now, Al Jumaily has earned a Master of Science in Computer Science along with Brock’s highest graduate honour, the Governor General’s Gold Medal. Presented annually to the graduate student with the highest academic standing across all programs, the honour was awarded on Thursday, June 12 during the University’s 117th Convocation.

“Computer science wasn’t something I ever imagined myself doing,” says Al Jumaily, who graduated with a 98 per cent average.

Now, he can see his successful path forward.

Despite his accomplishments, Al Jumaily acknowledges that the journey hasn’t always been easy.

“In high school, I wasn’t great at math or coding,” he says. “I had to self-teach a lot, and I made peace with the fact that it would be hard. You have to assume it’s going to be difficult and commit to putting in the time.”

Over the years, he says he adopted study strategies learned as an undergraduate student and became more comfortable asking questions in class, “even at the risk of sounding annoying or repetitive.”

Al Jumaily’s coursework was challenging, but his biggest takeaway from his graduate studies is patience, especially in research.

“There’s never a moment when you feel completely done. I always have more ideas I want to explore,” he says. “But I’ve learned how to recognize when something is good enough to share and save ideas for future iterations of research.”

His research optimizes artificial intelligence and drug design, and his thesis focused on training AI models to improve drug-like molecules.

“At first, the model is like training a puppy; it doesn’t know what it’s doing and generates random molecules that score poorly,” he says. “But over time, with enough feedback, it learns how to make better choices through positive reinforcement learning.”

The goal is to train the system to take a designated lead molecule and modify its structure to enhance its effectiveness as a drug.

His passion for AI-driven drug design began during his undergraduate thesis under the supervision of Yifeng Li, who continues to mentor Al Jumaily at the Brock Biomedical Data Science Laboratory.

Li was glad to see Al Jumaily receive such a prestigious award.

“Aws began working with me in 2021 as an undergraduate and received tough training in fundamental AI theory, applying it in real-life projects like drug and material design,” Li says. “His persistence and focus brought him to this point, and I’m excited that he’s continuing with us as a PhD student.”

Li is already working on his PhD in Intelligent Systems and Data Science at Brock alongside his brother, who is in the same PhD program.

“After five years as an undergrad and two years in the master’s program, it’s great to be staying in the same lab and growing with the same group,” Al Jumaily says. “I’m really excited to take everything I’ve learned and apply it to new challenges.”

Looking back, he is grateful for those who have shaped his journey, from his brother introducing him to computer science to the research opportunities and encouragement provided by Li.

And none of his achievements would have been possible, he says, if not for the sacrifices made by his parents when they moved their family to Canada from Iraq in 2006.

“I’ve been incredibly lucky. I owe this to my family, my mentors and everyone who believed in me.”

From June 10 to 13, about 3,800 graduands from seven Faculties will receive their degrees as part of Brock’s 117th Convocation. All ceremonies take place in the Ian Beddis Gymnasium of Brock’s Walker Sports Complex and will be livestreamed online at brocku.ca/livestream. A full collection of Convocation photos by ceremony will be available on Brock University’s official Facebook page.

For more information and the full schedule of Brock’s Spring Convocation, visit brocku.ca/convocation

A gallery of images and videos of the  morning and afternoon Faculties of Education and Mathematics and Science ceremonies are available below.