Connecting the dots

By Owen Covington

Senior Michael Dryzer’s curiosity has led him down different paths throughout his time at Elon. An Honors Fellow and Lumen Scholar, he was initially interested in astrobiology, the study of life on other planets. But a project as a first-year student at Elon soon shifted his focus to the human brain as he examined artificial intelligence and its potential long-term impact. “What I wanted to do is to look at AI from a neural network standpoint, and try to emulate what happens in the brain, but on a computer,” says Dryzer, of Knoxville, Tennessee. “I was thinking that if we could figure out ways to model regular brain function in a person, then we could also try to do that for people with some sort of intellectual disability, such as autism, then look at how the models differ.”

His renewed interest in the brain would coincide with a change in his relationship with his older sister, Danielle, who was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at age 5. During a study abroad experience in Australia his sophomore year at Elon, Dryzer watched a TED Talk by the late comedian, journalist and disability advocate Stella Young, who insisted that people not set low expectations for those with disabilities. The focus should instead be on supporting them and empowering them. 

As a child, Dryzer often didn’t know how to treat or understand his sister because she was different. Growing closer to her in middle school, he started showing her love and respect, but he also pitied her. Hearing the lessons and insights from Young, Dryzer’s attitudes about his sister shifted again. “Watching that TED Talk, I realized that there are certain things that my sister can do and understand better than I can,” he says.

That shift—to now understanding and appreciating his sister’s differences—was reaffirmed by a visit to Elon’s campus in February 2018 by Temple Grandin, an animal science professor at Colorado State University and a voice for the autistic community. It also solidified his desire to dive into autism research once he leaves Elon. He will pursue a doctoral degree in biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University after graduation. There, Dryzer will focus on neural engineering at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, where he will work in a leading research center for autism and related disabilities. Driving him will be a desire to positively impact the lives of many who have autism spectrum disorder like his sister. “I strongly believe that she has been the greatest teacher in my life, in terms of my emotional health and teaching me empathy for other people,” Dryzer says. “She’s proud of me, and I love that. I love making her happy, and proud.”

Grounded in research

Dryzer was drawn to Elon, and the Honors Fellow Program in particular, because it offered him the opportunity to conduct research. “I really liked the guarantee that you’re going to be doing research,” he says. “With the Honors Fellow Program, I knew I’d be provided the resources to find a mentor and would have the guidelines I would need to succeed.”

​Indeed, Dryzer will begin his doctoral work at Johns Hopkins with years of research experience that few undergraduates can list on their resumes. As a recipient of Elon’s Lumen Prize, its most prestigious undergraduate research award, Dryzer has been exploring ways to create reliable and effective sanitation solutions for communities around the world. This research with mentor Scott Wolter ’85, an associate professor of engineering, is part of an effort that includes researchers from Duke University who are participating in the “Reinvent the Toilet Challenge,” an initiative backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. If successful, Dryzer’s work will contribute to an innovative toilet that could operate “off-the-grid” in a cost-effective and sustainable way.

The experience in the lab and in presenting the research, both at conferences and in front of Gates Foundation representatives, has been invaluable, he says. Working on the project, he’s already built relationships with researchers around the country and the world while learning how to work within an expansive and complex team. 

For Dryzer, graduate school provides an opportunity to build upon this and other experiences he’s gained as a researcher at Elon and work on a project with the potential to deliver a tangible and overwhelmingly positive impact on people’s lives and health. “I want to help my sister, but I want to do it in a way that increases her potential for the person she is, and maintain respect for what she wants,” Dryzer says. “For right now, the goal is to try to understand how people with autism are different. Then we should set the goal of adding things in our communities that are more inclusive for those with autism, similar to how we have ramps for people in wheelchairs.”

Pursuing a doctoral degree will also continue Dryzer’s fascination with how the human mind works, while allowing him the opportunity to demystify science for those not as well-versed in the field. His Lumen Prize research has helped him work toward becoming a stronger science communicator, a role that he sees grow more valuable each day as many in society appear to turn their backs on science. “In this age when people are starting to lose faith in science, I think it is increasingly important for people to become more scientifically literate,” he says. “I have learned how to distill very complex scientific concepts and principles, and then convey them to people without a STEM background.”