​So far, TRIP has been an amazing experience! I’ve loved getting to know everyone in the program these past couple of weeks. We’ve shared ideas, helped each other brainstorm, and worked through challenges together. It’s been a great learning experience, and I’ve really appreciated the collaborative atmosphere in the lab. Since my last blog, I’ve completed my kickoff experiment, learned how to conduct the Social Space Assay, analyzed data using cool software, and presented my findings to my peers and mentors. The Social Space Assay determines how social the flies are by measuring the distance between them. If they’re closer together, they’re more social. Unexpectedly, the flies that experienced head trauma were more social than the control group rather than less social, as I initially thought. Maybe the head trauma disrupted their brain in a way that increased sociability by affecting neurotransmitters or triggering a stress response that made them seek comfort in other flies. Or maybe they were just completely dazed and disoriented, and their normal social instincts went out the window. It’s hard to say for sure, but it really makes me wonder how much of our social behavior is driven by instinct or brain chemistry rather than being entirely conscious or intentional. Along with that, presenting my results was a great learning experience. It pushed me to think critically about data. I learned how to organize my slides properly, explain my results clearly, and keep an audience engaged. I’m excited to apply what I’ve learned from this kickoff experiment to my independent project and the symposium.

​For my independent project, I’m investigating how early-life stress, specifically UV radiation exposure in embryos, affects memory in larval fruit flies. I’m also looking at whether Vitamin D3 supplementation might help protect the flies’ brains from the potential negative effects of UV radiation and improve memory. I came up with this experiment idea because I’ve always been fascinated with the connection between our environment and brain development. Specifically, how early-life stress, like childhood trauma, might shape cognitive function and whether or not supplements like D3 can help the brain cope with trauma and stress. There’s still so much we don’t fully understand about how stress in childhood affects the brain later on in life, especially in teenagers, so I wanted to dig deeper into this idea. If an early-life stressor does impact cognitive function by affecting memory, it could suggest that young people who experience trauma may face challenges in areas like learning and academic performance. Understanding these effects could be an important step toward acknowledging how much our environment shapes us, and maybe, we could find better ways to support those who have been impacted by early-life stress. I can’t wait to start researching and see where it takes me!

Hello everyone! It’s been a while since I last shared a blog post. These past few weeks, full of enriching learning experiences, have flown by so quickly! I am glad to be a part of this program because I have made many friends along this journey and found new interests that I hadn’t considered before.

​A few weeks ago, I started my introductory experiment, in which I studied the effects of Vitamin D3 and intestinal inflammation (induced by Dawn Soap) on adult male fly motility. I gained experience and knowledge in conducting the Negative Geotaxis Assay to quantify drosophila locomotion, different forms of intestinal inflammation, Vitamin D3’s role as a dietary supplement used in treating gastrointestinal diseases, and much more! From the experimental data, I found that Vitamin D3, despite its beneficial properties, decreased fly motility compared to that of the control group. This made me wonder if these results indicated the concentration of Vitamin D3 being too high or if it was because the drug was consumed alone 24/7 by the flies and thus triggering a reverse effect on gut health. The stressor, in this case soap, had significantly decreased fly activity. Which makes sense because soap can trigger symptoms like intestinal inflammation and cause damage to the digestive system, as a result affecting fly health and activity. And finally, when combining both the drug and stressor, I concluded that vitamin D3 ameliorated the effects of the soap on the flies’ locomotion. The data showed that Vitamin D3 had increased motility when added with the soap. By understanding these outcomes and expanding my perspective on the digestive process, I have become invested in exploring the branch of gut health!

I am so grateful for the learning opportunities from these past few weeks as I have refined skills in micro pipetting, calculating solutions and dilutions, creating and importing graphs using Google Sheets and Excel, and understanding error bars. And throughout the program, all the mentors have been kind in guiding, giving feedback, and brainstorming ideas. It’s exhilarating to be a part of this program and build numerous relationships with people of similar interests. With the conclusion of the Kickoff experiment, I am eager to begin my independent project!

​Diving further into my newly found interest in gut health, I have decided to study the effect of Chicory Root Fiber (Inulin) on fly anxiety and fecal droppings. Recently, I had faced bowel movement issues like constipation, which took a toll on my body physically and mentally. It felt as if I were a soda geyser, loaded with coke and mentos, waiting to erupt, except the soda bottle cap was closed shut. This made me feel more uneasy and worried about my health. Not long ago I talked to my parents about the pain I was going through. At the moment, all I could do was lie in bed and be comforted by my mom. Despite the winter storm and snow accumulation later that night, my dad rushed to Wegmans to buy me some laxatives and fiber supplements. My parents’ love and support encouraged me to take care of my health and act. I started taking those fiber supplement gummies daily, and since then, I have been feeling a lot better with improved bowel movements. This might be because of the supplement containing Inulin, a prebiotic known to help with constipation and improve gut health. This inspired me to study the mental effects Inulin had on flies. If it improved gut health would this correlate to a better mood or less anxiety? I hope that by quantifying centrophobism and the number of fecal droppings along the walls of vials, I’ll be able to understand the role of Inulin in alleviating anxiety and increasing the frequency in excreting fecal matter.

Hey everyone!!! My name is Samhita Ganti, and I am a junior at the Downingtown STEM Academy. 

In my free time, you would definitely catch me with my violin. I participate in both my school orchestra and out of school orchestra. Being the section leader for the second violin in the Chester County Youth Orchestra, provided me with leadership skills, which also helped to showcase my dedication for this instrument. I have been playing this for around 8 years now, where last year I was given the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall virtually.  In school, I am involved with Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) and Scientista, where I take part in leading science experiments at my local middle schools. This club provided me with the opportunity to inspire young minds about the great world of science, something that happened to me when I was a 6th grader in this very club. Outside of school, I love to spend my time volunteering to help out our community. I serve as a Project Manager at Strive2Thrive, where I collaborate with different countries to set up tutoring classes for underprivileged students. 

I am so grateful to be a part of the TRIP community, mostly to strengthen the knowledge I currently know about the subjects I love (chemistry and biology) and start learning about flies!! I am looking forward to being able to design my independent research project. My kickoff experience focuses on how St. John’s Wort and disturbed circadian rhythms affect fly anxiety. I am so excited to see what this program has in store for us!!!

Hey everyone! My name is Warrin John, and I am a student at the Downingtown STEM Academy. I joined TRIP as I saw it as a great opportunity to conduct hypothesis-driven research through a real laboratory environment. When I had first heard about TRIP through one of my friends, I knew right away that no matter what I HAD to be a part of this. Science has always been an interest to me, especially how it connects to improving people's lives, and I felt that TRIP was the perfect place to further explore that passion of mine. Also, my current favorite subject in school is Biology, so looking deeper into this particular area is super exciting. So far, I’m looking forward to having a fun experience with many like-minded individuals who share similar passions!

So, who am I? I am 17 years old and am particularly interested in healthcare and dermatology. One of my favorite things to do is eating and trying new foods. Currently my favorite food is two sliders and fries from Asads Hot Chicken (all extra hot) and a chocolate milkshake. Aside from eating, my favorite things to do in my free time are go to the gym or watch a horror movie with my little brother. I like to go to the gym because I am always finding ways to improve as a person both physically and mentally. I find it very rewarding to put myself through a challenge of consistency and see my progress overtime. As for watching horror movies, my favorite one right now has to be the platform because it shows a completely dystopian yet realistic depiction of a fictional prison system that causes people to completely change and infringe their sanity. I am also involved in a wide variety of school clubs and extracurricular activities that take up most of my free time. As far as school clubs, my favorites are DECA and HOSA as I have qualified for the international conferences in both and got to travel to different states because of them. Some extracurriculars I partake in outside of school include volunteering as I help out at the Phoenixville Tower health hospital every week and I am a part of SEWA which is a youth-lead hindu volunteering organization. I also work on personal projects that cater to my future career in dermatology. For example, I have worked on machine learning models for skin condition recognition and also conducted research on skin health. I also have been playing the piano ever since I was 5 years old. I love the piano because to me, it’s a calm place for me to just sit down and disconnect from everything that's going on. Also, the feeling of finally memorizing and playing a song from start to finish without flaw is the best! Lastly, my favorite animal is a dog mainly because I have the cutest dog whose name is Joy. Joy lives up to her name and brings loads of happiness and energy into my family’s life. She’s my constant reminder to embrace the little things in life—unironically, as she weighs only 15 pounds!

My first day of TRIP was very exciting and funny. In the beginning we started with a Bingo Icebreaker where I was able to learn everyone's names and some hobbies or facts that they aligned with. I tried my best to win but unfortunately, I went on a 0-7 losing streak at the end which cost me the entire game. We then went through a Lab scavenger hunt which I found very helpful. Through this I was able to familiarize where everything was in the case, I would need it for part of my experiment. Next, the funniest part of the day was photos where we were asked to pose for what felt like hundreds of photos and we couldn't stop laughing whenever we were trying to pose. We also went over the basics of unit conversions and even practiced using micropipettes. It felt good to get a refresher on these things as I know I will be needing it throughout my entire TRIP experience. Finally, using our micropipetting skills, we ended off the day with preparing fly food for our kickoff experiment. 

​I joined TRIP because I’m passionate about science, math, and research. I’ve always been curious about how things work, and this program feels like the perfect opportunity to explore those interests while preparing for a future career in the medical field. The first day was such a mix of excitement and nerves, but everyone I met made me feel at home. The TAs were incredibly kind and approachable, always ready to help when I had questions. Dr. Purdy and Dr. Austria were both so patient and supportive - Dr. Purdy helped me navigate some tricky math in the packets, and Dr. Austria made sure we were comfortable with preparing food for the flies. I already feel like this is going to be an amazing experience, and I’m so excited to dive deeper into my research and grow alongside such a talented group of people!

Hi everyone! My name is Rhianna Zhang, and I am more than excited to embark on this TRIP! I’m currently a junior at Council Rock High School North in Newtown, PA. TRIP felt like the perfect fit for me because it grants me the freedom to create my own experiment on a topic that I’m curious about, while providing me with much-needed mentorship and resources along the way. Additionally, I have always wanted to pursue a career in STEM, and TRIP is a fantastic opportunity to connect me with like-minded peers!

​Here’s a little bit about me. Outside of school, one of my favorite ways to spend my free time is playing video games with my friends– right now, our current obsession is Minecraft. Additionally, I love listening to music when doing anything and everything! Some of my favorite artists at the time are Cocteau Twins, Lana Del Rey, Wave to Earth, and my top artist of 2024 was Kendrick Lamar. I’m also a huge foodie and love eating at new restaurants (especially the ones trending on social media), and I have a terrible sweet tooth, which is one of the reasons why I chose my kickoff experiment, “How do Ginkgo Biloba and a high-sugar diet affect fly motility?” I’m so excited to see how this experiment will turn out!

​At Council Rock North, I’m a captain of the Speech and Debate team, an activity that has turned me into both a leader and a public speaker, empowering me to mentor and make connections with my peers. I also cheer for my school’s competitive cheerleading team, a sport that is both challenging and enriching. I’m also involved in my school’s Student Government and Model UN and created a few STEM affinity clubs on my own that I am heavily dedicated to. These clubs center around creating a space for students to explore topics that are rarely addressed in my school’s standard curriculum and pre-existing extracurriculars. For example, I offer mentorship for programmers of all levels at the Computer Science club, be it designing a C# and Python curriculum for beginners or guiding upperclassmen through coding a neural network.

Hi everyone! I’m Nuha Maryam and I’m a sophomore at Conestoga High School.

​Ever since I was little, I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors. I love hiking, climbing trees, and basically anything that gets my hands dirty. My family and I love taking care of plants, so our house is filled with greenery. I’m also passionate about drawing. Although I’m not the most talented, sketching and doodling have always been something to do in my free time.

​Today marked the beginning of my immersive research experience with TRIP. We began with an icebreaker to get to know each other. We learned about how to use micropipettes and started setting up our kickoff experiments. My research focus will be to study whether or not a high sugar diet affects female fertility. It was really fun to apply concepts that I’ve learned in AP Chemistry to today’s lesson, such as the concentration of solutions and basic equipment and procedures in the lab. I can’t wait to see what else TRIP has in store!

​Hello! I am Mitchell Morin and a junior from William Tennent HS, the home of TRIP. I’ve always been interested in STEM and have been part of my school’s robotics team since I joined in 7th grade. This year, I am proud to be the programming team lead. In addition to robotics, I have enjoyed numerous challenging science and CS courses that I’ve taken throughout high school. I hope to apply some of the knowledge I have learned in those classes, as well as all of the skills I will develop throughout TRIP, to meaningful, hands-on research unlike any opportunity I’ve had before.

​During TRIP, I am excited to work with others who share my passions. I’m eager to collaborate with peers and mentors to overcome the various obstacles I will face and ultimately grow as a person. The skills that I gain from this program, such as critical thinking, data analysis, and (perhaps most importantly) communication, will translate directly towards my future journey after TRIP. Overall, I hope that I become more confident as a person and that some of the connections that I make with like-minded scientists will persist long after the program.

​That being said, why jump ahead? Yesterday was the beginning of my TRIP experience, and it was a great day. It was a pleasure to meet everyone in session A and all of the great mentors! After the icebreaker activity, we explored the lab to familiarize ourselves with all of the materials and safety precautions. Then, we learned all about micropipettes (why are so many different things called pipettes anyway?) and how to use them. After that, we took some group photos before returning to the lab. Next, I solved some problems on diluting stock solutions to desired concentrations. I already had some experience with this in AP Chem, but it was a great review and reminder to always be careful with units. Finally, I began preparing four vials of fly food for my kickoff experiment, which is “How do Melatonin and a disrupted circadian rhythm affect female fertility rates?”. I definitely made mistakes, but I’m confident that I will learn from them and improve! Oh, and for my fellow Eagles fans, GO BIRDS!

Hi everyone! I'm Mia Perez, a junior at the Creative and Performing Arts High School, where I major in instrumental music. I love music and science, so when I discovered this program opportunity to enhance my lab skills and conduct a research project, I knew I had to apply. Since taking Environmental Science in my Freshman year, I have developed a passion for labs and research. Trying each year to find opportunities to do lab research, I’m glad I found a program where I can not only do lab work but also combine all my work into a project I get to present. I hope to take my knowledge from this program and decide if it is the best career for me. (So far, so good. I have high hopes!!!)

I am from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and moved to the U.S. when I was 7 years old. Although I’m also of Dominican descent. All my life I have been surrounded by a mix of Latin cultures, eating foods from both countries, learning the history of both countries through my family, and feeling connected to each still now after living in America for almost 10 years, visiting the countries whenever I can. 

At CAPA (my high school) I mainly focus on playing the violin as it is my major, usually taking 3 major classes out of 8 classes total each year. I play in my school's orchestra, and chamber orchestra, and play violin outside of school in a program called AllCity that unites the teens around Philly schools to play all together at the Kimmel Center. I try my best to better the community around me. I am currently the secretary of my school’s Community Service Club, I'm part of the Student Council, I made a project to use music to help special needs kids, and I’m the advertisement head of the prom committee. I strive to make a positive impact on others whether that be inside the schools with school events, leading orientations for new kids, or outside the school like raising over 300 dollars from a Community Service event and donating to help women’s cancer research. 

On our first day at TRIP, we got to know the other people in the program better through competitive bingo and a scavenger hunt. We also learned how to use micropipettes and learn about dilutions. Near the end, we each got our project question and made our fly food for the project, also given a fly family to take home (I’m a bit scared of it…). Overall, it was a great first day getting to know everyone and starting on a journey that I am going to love.

​Hi everyone! My name is Mekhriyona Ilkhomova from Northeast High School. When I found out about TRIP and the opportunity it would give me to get hands-on lab experience and even my own independent lab project, I got really excited. However, as it sank in, I began to get intimidated with this unfamiliar experience that I would have to jump into and do on my own. I decided to apply anyway in order to challenge myself. 

If there’s anything I’ve learned so far in my life, it is that every single time I ever did something that made me uncomfortable, I would always be successful or learn something really valuable. Never from getting out of my comfort zone did I lose anything, ever. I’ll say this, that dream that you think you are too inferior, too unqualified to chase, that step you’re too afraid to take is what would have pushed it over the edge. That action would have transformed into your passionate, glistening dream.

I’ll tell you a story of a time I experienced this so that perhaps you may relate. There’s a business program at my school called DECA in which we compete with others in roleplays and exams. In 2023, I remember how I paced outside the doorway to the classroom and hesitated to walk into the meeting. I’ll just go tomorrow, I thought, trying to give myself an excuse. I began walking to the door, but something stopped me. I stood with my hands on the doorknob and thought why don’t I just check it out and if I don’t like it, I’ll never come back again. And so, with that, I turned back around. 

When I went to that meeting, I found out that it was the last day before they had to turn in the names of all the competitors. I remember walking home and my head was hot and throbbing at having to process so much new information and make split second decisions on things I knew nothing about. But I did go back the following days, and it went much better. I became so inspired by the speech of my advisor, Mr. McNear, and decided I was going all in. I studied daily for hours on practice exams, roleplays, and performance indicators. I would spend any ounce of extra time I had to complete a few practice questions. On my first competition, I stood around everyone else with their beautiful blazers and dress pants. Here was a group like I had never seen before. People my age who were professional, mature, and polished. I felt inferior among a group of intelligent people. So, after the competition, you can imagine how utterly stunned I was when I placed first. I genuinely couldn’t believe it when they called my name to the stage nor could I believe the cold, metal trophy I held like a misplaced object in my hands, all the way back home.

None of this would have happened if I had not done something different that I wasn’t completely comfortable with. Rather, I moved forward to discover and then put my head down and worked. This is indeed a big world, and my goal is to go out and learn as much about it as I can. It can be scary, it can be uncomfortable, and at times it could even bring more harm than good, but ultimately the experience and the self-development along the journey will be far more extraordinary.

Applying for TRIP gave me that same feeling of self-doubt and discomfort, but learning from my previous experiences, I decided to move forward with it. It was my first day yesterday and I’m absolutely in love. At the beginning, doing all the math was frustrating but Dr. Valdes and Dr. Purdy were right by my side to help me. I moved on to making my fly food with the help of Dr. Austria. I am in love with this program because of their principles. Dr. Austria would not tell me the answer. Instead, she would ask me questions until I figured it out. She was very patient, giving me the space to think critically. As I started to get the hang of things, I found that this was kind of fun. At that moment I thought that I might have just finally found it— the thing I am passionate about. I won’t speak too soon though. What I will say is that just on the first day, I can tell my research and experimentation in this program will help me learn and develop tremendously. For now, I’ll put my best effort in and see where the rest of my TRIP takes me.