Carl Tyce ’23 Awarded Research Grant from American Society for Cell Biology
When asked about his first scientific research project at DeSales, sophomore Carl Tyce ’23 likens the experience to riding a bike. After years of simply reading research, Tyce says the training wheels are finally coming off.
The American Society for Cell Biology awarded Tyce, a biology major in the STEP program, a $2,000 grant. That money will allow him to spearhead a project to incorporate statistics into the molecular biology curriculum.
“Stats is really the way that you support your claims,” he says. “If you can’t support your claims, you can’t do science. Having a knowledge of statistics is important so students not only perform science themselves, but gather the information, organize it in a way that they deem fitting, run the test, and interpret and report the results.”
Tyce plans to build off a laboratory project by Dr. Lara Goudsouzian, associate professor of biology, that centers on invasive species in our area. He plans to take data from that project and use it as an introduction to statistics within the curriculum.
First, he’ll gather all the research and foundational information before developing the student materials this summer. Then in the fall, he’ll compile the assessment data and analyze the results. He hopes to eventually publish a paper about the experience.
“I’m only a sophomore and I’m already doing independent research, which is crazy to think about. I’ve always seen science research, but now I finally get to experience it for myself. It’s really eye opening, and it’s a lot of fun.”
Tyce, who previously received DeSales’ coveted Leadership Scholarship—a full-tuition scholarship—first learned of the grant opportunity from Goudsouzian. He credits Goudsouzian and the rest of the faculty with helping to make the project a reality.
“If I went to a bigger school, I wouldn’t have this opportunity,” he says. “I wouldn’t get to know my professors in such a personal way. If I hadn’t gone to office hours and Dr. G hadn’t talked to me about what I want to do with my career, I would have never been able to get this grant.”
