Meet Dr. Dixon

Bio

Dr. Dewayne A. Dixon is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Morehouse College who loves helping students see how mathematics and artificial intelligence can come together to answer real questions about the world and about human health. 

Dr. Dixon's journey is something of a homecoming. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Morehouse in 2014, and today he teaches and mentors in the very community that helped shape him as a young scholar. He went on to earn a PhD in Mathematics from Howard University, with a specialty in machine learning, bioinformatics, and genetics.

At Morehouse, Dr. Dixon teaches foundational computer science courses, including Discrete Structures and Introduction to Theory of Computation. He takes special joy in mentoring. He guides undergraduate researchers across the AUC as well as graduate trainees at Morehouse School of Medicine. His teaching connects the beauty of mathematical foundations to computation, modeling, and emerging technologies, and he is developing new courses that introduce students to the ideas at the heart of artificial intelligence.

Dr. Dixon's research uses explainable machine learning and deep learning to make sense of complex biological systems. His doctoral dissertation, Core Epigenetic Module Biomarkers among Various PTSD Subtypes, drew on DNA methylation data to uncover network-level biomarkers across PTSD subtypes. This work points toward more personalized care for neurological and psychiatric conditions. His interests reach across bioinformatics, genetics, neuroscience, and the mathematical foundations of AI, and he has shared this work at the Society for Mathematical Biology Annual Meeting, the Military Health System Research Symposium, and the Joint Mathematics Meetings.

Before returning to Morehouse, Dr. Dixon served as an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Hampton University and as an Instructor in Mathematics at Howard University, where he created and piloted some of the first courses in machine learning and deep learning.

A current MGB-SIAM Early Career Fellow, Dr. Dixon is deeply committed to mentorship and to building warm, inclusive learning spaces where the next generation of scientists can thrive.