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FROM CLASSROOM TO SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL Most high school science students learn about discoveries made by others. Alex Batchik ’26 helped make one of his own.
reflected. “ It showed me how to fail and fail, and fail again. In science, you must try and try and try again until you succeed. ” For Dr. Turk, Alex's success represents the kind of learning that defines Gilmour's approach to science education. “ Alex wasn't completing a predefined lab exercise," he said. "He was helping solve a problem that the field itself is still working through. ” He added, “Watching students grow from learning about science to contributing new knowledge is one of the most rewarding parts of teaching.” This fall, Alex will take that experience to the University of Notre Dame, where he plans to major in neuroscience before pursuing medical school. Long before stepping onto a college campus, however, he has already achieved something few high school students can claim: helping advance scientific knowledge through published research.
conducting research alongside scientists at Cleveland State University after Dr. Turk connected him with Dr. Nolan Holland's laboratory. As the project evolved, Alex became far more than an observer. He helped design DNA constructs, perform laboratory experiments, analyze results and troubleshoot unexpected challenges, contributing to work that ultimately earned publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. The experience also changed his understanding of what science really is. “ What I learned from this process was that science is a much more collaborative endeavor than I had initially thought, ” Alex said.
This past year, Alex and Gilmour science instructor Edward Turk, Ph.D., together with collaborators at Cleveland State University, co-authored a research paper published by the scientific journal Biochemistry . Their work describes a new approach to assembling highly repetitive DNA, a long-standing challenge in molecular biology with potential applications in synthetic biology, biomaterials, drug delivery and protein-based therapeutics. The achievement grew from a relationship that began in Dr. Turk's molecular genetics research course, where students tackle authentic scientific questions rather than predetermined laboratory exercises. Alex's interest in research only deepened. He continued the project as an independent study and, through Gilmour's Science & Medicine VECTOR cohort, spent the summer
Just as importantly, he discovered that progress rarely comes without setbacks.
“ This experience impacted me by showing me what it means to be a true scientist, ” he
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