A journey ends, but a new TRIP begins by Brandon Ngo

Nothing in my life has yet to compare to the experience I had at TRIP, from the people to the science, skills, and dedication required to succeed. My project is not just a testament to what I learned over around 3 months in TRIP, but also to the support I received from my wonderful instructors Dr. Austria, Dr. Nick, and Dr. Valdes, and TAs Hannah, Sabina, and Martie. Their guidance brought me through challenges in the lab, while their humor and company brought me through the long days. For this, I am ever grateful.

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It has been nearly 14 weeks since my first day at TRIP, and my expectations have been far exceeded. I learned how to micropipette, plate bacteria, and screw open and close things with one hand (getting closer to my ambidextrous ambitions). I also learned how to measure fly health in 6 different ways with 4 different assays: the negative geotaxis assay, development (analysis), social space assay, and microbiome assay. Moreover, I could pursue my dream project: testing if titanium dioxide, especially when photoactivated, is safe for humans, as tested with flies as model organisms. There were several troubles, like a whole tube of agar plate broth being contaminated with bacteria. Despite this, after 6 weeks, I became a subject matter expert on titanium dioxide, photoactivation, and how they both have a negligible effect on fly health. Nevertheless, this project is only a stepping stone for my research career, and I aim to continue practicing the techniques I learned in the near future.

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​Beyond the hard and soft skills I developed in TRIP, I also gained something more invaluable: a network of friends and mentors. Not only did I get to meet and reconnect with an old friend, but I also met nearly 2 dozen new friends, mentors, and inspirations. With how long my project took every day, I practically joined Session B and got to meet everyone there as well. They are amazing scientists and even better people whom I hope to get to know better.

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Overall, TRIP has been a wholly enlightening experience, far more intensive yet rewarding than I could have imagined. Nonetheless, TRIP is only the beginning of what I hope to be a long and fruitful future in discovering more about our natural world through the uncharted territories of the laboratory, all the while laughing and bonding with new friends along the way.

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