A TRIP Coming to an End! by Surali Panchani

It has been three months since TRIP started and I can’t believe how much I’ve learned! TRIP has been one of the best experiences I have had and I would 100% do it all over again. While the symposium approaches and everyone is getting ready to present, I am reminded of how much I have grown as a student and a scientist! TRIP has taught me how to deal with failure and problems that aren’t planned and it has even taught me that research is something I want to do in the future.

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For my independent project, I decided to test a herb called Asafoetida. The name sounds funny but it’s a lot less complicated than it seems! Asafoetida is a herb that is commonly used in my household in my mom’s cooking. My mom always says that she puts it in food so our stomach won’t hurt. Knowing this, I wanted see the other implications of Asafoetida. I decided to do a little research and I found that it is supposed to lower blood sugar in humans but it is also harmful to pregnant women if it is eaten in big amounts. With this in mind, I decided to see whether or not Asafoetida lowers glucose levels in diabetic flies and also see if it affects the fertility of the flies. My results for fertility ended up being inconclusive, which is why I then decided to focus on development. I wanted to see if there were any background effects of Asafoetida on my flies and if there was delayed development.

I have finished experimenting for my project and now the time has come to put all the data together and analyze it for the final presentation! Three months have flown by and I have found people that I will remain friends with for a long time! TRIP has been an amazing journey and I’m so sad it is over!