A TRIP Down Memory Lane by Noah Perot

Hi everyone! My name is Noah Perot, and I am a senior at Friends’ Central School—more importantly though, I am a science enthusiast! TRIP has been one of the most interesting and rewarding programs I’ve participated in and might even top the list for my favorite week of summer (TBD!). Over the past week, I’ve learned how to tell apart male and female fruit flies, make fly food, and even how to transfer flies from vial to vial without losing any (well, maybe just one or two). One of the challenges I’ve faced over the past week has been making sure that I follow each step of the protocol as accurately as possible. Sometimes missing a step isn’t the end of the world, such as tapping a fly vial a couple more times than necessary. But other times, if you forget to set a timer, you may end up with permanently frozen flies! (Thankfully, I was able to avoid this outcome.) Whenever I was unsure about what came next, my TAs and Dr. Austria were patient and supportive, answering my questions and then some.

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For my project, I studied the effects of valerian and constant darkness on fly motility, anxiety, and female fertility. Each of the assays, or tests, that I used brought their own challenges. For example, the female fertility assay required using the microscope to tell apart hatched and unhatched embryos. When the embryos had been laid in the blob of yeast in the center of our grape plates, however, this became a somewhat mighty task. Still, it was amazing to see that dozens and dozens of eggs had been laid in just a few hours by these prolific fruit flies. The centrophobism assay, used to measure fly anxiety, seemed like it would be easy, but the need to film the assay from above using a camera clamp proved somewhat tricky for my slippery iPhone 11. The negative geotaxis assay was one of my favorites. Used to measure fly motility, the assay involves tapping flies down in a vial and seeing how far they climb up after three seconds. After a few rounds, it began to feel like a race, and I became quite disappointed when the flies that had been exposed to both valerian and constant darkness seemed woefully drowsy compared to the rest. Overall, it was really fun to work with these little fruit flies, and I was fascinated by the dozens if not hundreds of assays used to study fruit flies as a model organism for humans. Next time you leave out fruit too long and fruit flies start calling your kitchen home, take a moment to remember how much these little guys have done to pioneer many of the advances in cancer treatment and other fields of medicine

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Another big component of what made my week at TRIP unique was getting to hear from professionals at Fox Chase who work in a variety of different areas to keep the hospital running. On the very first day, we heard from Dr. Nkemdilim Mgbojikwe, who is a hospitalist, a career I had never even heard of! She and several other speakers spoke of a lack of linearity in their career paths; most people don’t know exactly what they want to do twenty or thirty years down the line. In order to be successful, you also have to be able to adapt to different workplace environments and pivot when personal or professional circumstances or needs change. This was both eye-opening and reassuring as someone who is interested in science and medicine but unsure exactly what I want my career to look like. I was also inspired by Brice Corbin, who oversees the patient experience at Fox Chase. While not a doctor, Mr. Corbin leans on his 20+ year career working in hospitality to ensure that patients and their families feel welcomed and heard in the hospital setting. His positivity and friendliness were inspiring and made me realize how important maintaining a good attitude is in any setting

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​I believe TRIP is unique because its goal is multi-faceted. While science and experimentation form the core of the program—I loved learning scientific techniques and proper lab protocol—I believe the career talks and exposure to research, and hospital settings were just as influential on my growth as an aspiring scientist. Seeing people with such different backgrounds all come together to make things run smoothly made me realize what an inclusive community science and medicine can be. Crucially, it was great to experience all this alongside peers who are as passionate and excited about the future of STEM as I am. I am grateful to everyone who helped make the program what it was, and I can’t wait to see what’s next!

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