Mars rovers, medical AI and MICCAI Society, oh my!

Thrasher, originally from Charles Town, West Virginia, first encountered WVU as a prospective undergraduate student. His early impression of the University was shaped by the success of its University Rover Challenge team, which he described as “how competitive it was.” He recalled learning that WVU had achieved milestones in the competition that other universities had not, an accomplishment that stood out to him during his college search.

“I thought that was so impressive,” Thrasher said. “I was like, man, I really want to do that.”

Although his academic path eventually shifted away from robotics hardware, that initial exposure to innovation and competition set the stage for his evolving interests. During his undergraduate studies, Thrasher began exploring software development and later enrolled in an artificial intelligence course, which significantly influenced his trajectory.

“To be blunt, I just thought it was cool,” he said. “We made machines think.”

That early interest grew into a more defined focus as he pursued independent study and undergraduate research. Rather than taking a traditional internship, Thrasher dedicated time to developing foundational skills in artificial intelligence, completing small projects and gaining a clearer understanding of the field. This experience ultimately led him to pursue graduate school and research opportunities.

As an undergraduate researcher, Thrasher worked on a project aimed at detecting illicit substances in social media content using artificial intelligence. The experience introduced him to the research process and clarified his long-term goals.

“I realized the research pipeline is super cool,” he said. “"For the first time, I felt like I was pushing the boundaries of science and that I was actually doing something important. And I realized how passionate I was about AI research. That's when I decided firmly on a Ph.D,” he said.

Now working as a graduate research assistant, Thrasher focuses on artificial intelligence applications in healthcare, specifically Alzheimer’s disease progression analysis. His work emphasizes not only detection, but also predicting how the disease may develop over time.

“It’s much more relevant to predict how it’ll progress over time and what the patient’s survival rate would potentially be,” he said.

His research includes collaboration with the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, where interdisciplinary efforts are advancing new approaches to neurological disease. One area of exploration involves analyzing retinal scans to identify early indicators of Alzheimer’s, a method Thrasher described as “exciting for the future of Alzheimer’s care.”

Reflecting on his motivations, Thrasher noted a shift in how he views artificial intelligence and its applications.

“I really like the idea of using this thing that I think is really cool and applying it to something that’s actually useful and actually helpful to people,” he said. “I think healthcare is just like the perfect place to do that.”

In addition to technical innovation, Thrasher’s work also addresses real-world implementation challenges. His recent research examines how AI models perform across diverse populations, identifying potential biases that could impact clinical outcomes.

“A lot of times… we just put the numbers on the paper to show our method outperforms baselines” he said. “But that misses a lot of really important real-world considerations.”

By evaluating how models perform across variables such as sex, race and education level, his work aims to improve the reliability and fairness of AI systems in healthcare settings.

Thrasher’s academic journey has also included opportunities to engage with the global research community. He traveled to Morocco to present his work on Alzheimer’s progression analysis at an international conference, The MICCAI Society Conference in Morocco, focused on medical imaging and computer-assisted intervention.

“It was the first time I was surrounded by academics in my field that weren’t the people in my lab,” he said. “I was seeing the big grand scheme of things… how big this is. It’s much bigger than myself.”

Thrasher works in a very niche field within machine learning called survival analysis. At MICCAI he was able to meet people working within that category. He notes that the connections he made through this conference are valuable both personally and professionally.

“MICCAI was the first time I got to really interact with people in my field outside of WVU. I work with MRIs, but being a computer scientist, I never understood the technical details about my data. The Hopkin's group just so happened to specialize in MRI processing. My discussions with them really helped my understanding of my data and made me realize some of the mistakes I had been making with how I was using it,” Thrasher said.

Throughout his time at WVU, Thrasher credits the Statler College with providing the resources and support necessary to explore his interests. As an undergraduate, he founded an artificial intelligence student organization after recognizing a gap in opportunities for students interested in the field.

“It did not take very much effort for the university… to just start funneling resources,” he said, noting support from faculty and the broader college community.

He also emphasized the accessibility of research opportunities, describing how faculty connections helped him secure his first research position.

“There’s been a ton of support from the university, from the college and from the individual faculty,” he said. “They’ve just sort of nurtured this little interest that I had and allowed me the room to grow it into what’s ultimately going to be a career.”

Now, Thrasher plans to pursue a career in the biotech industry, where he hopes to continue developing artificial intelligence tools for clinical use. His long-term goal is to contribute to technologies that can be implemented by clinicians in real-world healthcare environments.

For students considering a future in engineering, computer science or research, Thrasher encourages early involvement and exploration.

“Just do it,” he said. “If you have the tiniest interest in whatever it is… just get involved.”

At the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, students have opportunities to engage in hands-on research, collaborate with faculty and explore emerging fields like artificial intelligence and healthcare technology.

Learn more about academic programs, research initiatives and student organizations at West Virginia University and discover how you can begin building your own path in engineering and innovation.