 Welcome back! In the span of only a couple of weeks, so much has been done! I’ve learned so many skills and was able to gauge my strengths and weaknesses throughout our initial kickoff experiment. My project focused on the effects of valerian, an herbal supplement that acts as a mild sedative, and disrupted circadian rhythms on female fertility. To do this, I gave some fruit flies valerian and wrapped some vials with tinfoil to disrupt the flies' circadian rhythm. Then I tested female fertility using, you guessed it, the female fertility assay! In essence, I transferred the flies into a containment cage attached to a grape plate. Then I let the flies sit in a dark area for 1-2 hours before looking at how many embryos there were in the grape plate under a microscope. Then I waited around 2 days to see how many of the embryos hatched. Ultimately, I found that the use of both valerian and disrupted circadian rhythms resulted in the largest number of embryos formed and the highest hatching percentage; however, the use of valerian and disrupted circadian rhythms separately helped in forming more embryos, but not to the same degree as the use of both.  One of the most important aspects of the kickoff experiment to me was understanding what I am good at and what I am not. More specifically, I realized I was inefficient at quantifying objects, like counting embryos on a grape plate. However, I was confident in my abilities to set up viles and follow the directions to have everything ready, before waiting 90 minutes before counting embryos. This helped me realize what was viable when choosing the assays for my final independent project.  When determining what I wanted to study for my independent project, I initially wanted to do something related to agriculture. This idea stemmed from the debate of whether organic vegetables were really worth it, which led me to want to research certain fungicides. However, many were too toxic and already thoroughly studied, leaving few gaps in the literature. After that, I landed on sodium nitrite, one of the most prevalent preservatives in the processed meats industry. According to the NIH, “highly processed foods accounted for two-thirds of the calories consumed by youth in the US.” As this number continues to increase, and evidence of the detrimental effects of processed foods mounts, understanding the long-term effects of persistent ingestion of these foods with such preservatives on gut health is necessary. That is why I am choosing the study “How do persistent doses of sodium nitrite affect the gut-microbiome and overall health of Drosophila melanogaster? Do differing dosages result in similar effects in the gut-microbiome?
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 Hey everyone! The first few weeks of TRIP have really flown by. I can’t believe that it’s already been five weeks since the program first kicked off. A lot of the time I’ve spent in TRIP during the last 5 weeks has been dedicated to my kickoff experiment, where I studied how Valerian and a disrupted circadian rhythm affect fly anxiety. To do this, I used the centrophobism assay. I placed flies in petri dishes and observed their movement patterns in and across the center of their chambers. I presented my experiment and different tips and tricks for the assay in our kickoff experiment presentations, which were a great experience all around.
 Watching my peers present their kickoff experiments inspired me to form my own ideas for my independent project. I’ve always been interested in the brain, which is why I chose to study anxiety for my kickoff experiment. When I saw that some of my peers used head trauma as a stressor, my interest was immediately piqued – I’ve had friends go through TBI and seen some of my favorite athletes suffer from CTE. So, for my independent project, I decided to look into the effects of head trauma and omega-3 fatty acids on fly memory. Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to have a positive effect versus cognitive decline – I wonder if it’ll be able to alleviate further negative effects like the one head trauma has on memory? After discussing with my fellow TRIP students, Dr. Austria and Dr. Valdes, my project is officially ready to go. I can’t wait to get started next week!
 Hey everyone, guess who’s back! These last weeks at TRIP have flown by, and it’s hard to think that I’m halfway through! Lately, I’ve been working on my kickoff experiment, in which I looked at how Vitamin D3 and sugar affect fly motility. I predicted that the high sugar diet would cause inflammation in the flies and reduce their motility, and that the Vitamin D3 would help mitigate the negative effects from the sugar. This experiment was a great way to see how to properly conduct research in a lab setting, while giving me ample time to consider what I wanted to research myself. I was able to learn some experimental techniques that were completely new to me at the time, like how to conduct the negative geotaxis assay. Although the name certainly seemed scary at first, nothing felt better than quickly running through trials and jotting my data down onto a notebook, and later into a spreadsheet (shoutout to Dr. Nick for giving me a hand with the whole process!).  When I learned that I had to present my kickoff experiment to my peers, I was, frankly, a little bit terrified. While school had certainly thrown my way a few presentations here and there, I was still unsure of how my presentation skills were. After whipping up a slideshow, I came to TRIP and presented without a second thought. And just like that, it was over. As I went to sit down, thinking over the feedback from the instructors, I felt that I had improved- even if only by a little. And that was enough for me.  The independent project had always felt so far away, yet so anticipated- and yet, as I finished off my kickoff experiment, it was suddenly right in front of me. I, of course, had no issue picking what I wanted to experiment with: goji berries. These bright red, usually dried berries have been perched upon countertops in bags and floating in bowls ever since I was a kid. And while I now trust my parents when they advise me to eat my greens, I can’t help but be uncertain about why I should eat these reds. The true health benefit of these berries, a superfood that has (according to my mom) been ‘rising in popularity lately’, had always seemed so elusive to me. And now is my time to see it for myself. I hypothesize that my mom will be right, of course, but being ‘good for you’ is not very specific. So, I will be looking at the physical health of the flies through the negative geotaxis assay that I had practiced, as well as bringing in a larval locomotion assay that I had not tried before. After all, if these flies are model organisms for humans, then I suppose I’m closer to being a larva than I am to being an adult. Overall? It’s been great! Getting to make new friends and learn new things has been beyond fun. The flies that I got to take home on day 1 made for wonderful companions while they were with me (let’s say they’re in a better place now). ‘Til next time!
 Hello, everyone! I can’t believe over a month has passed since the program began. I have had a blast these past few weeks, learning how to conduct various behavioral assays and lab techniques through my kickoff experiment. I investigated whether circadian rhythms affected female fertility by encasing my flies in foil to simulate total darkness and adding Rhodiola, a stress-alleviating herb, to their food. My results indicated that while Red Clover and a high sugar diet individually increased female fertility, usage of both decreased fertility in comparison to my control vial. For my independent project, I decided to investigate whether a high fiber diet could mitigate the transgenerational effects of PFO. I selected this topic because PFO was a type of long-lasting "forever" chemical frequently used in consumer products around the world since the 1950s. Although the chemical is now under stricter regulations, due to the chemical’s use and longevity, there is widespread contamination in the world's water, soil, and food resources. Scientific studies have shown that all humans have nearly universal exposure to this chemical. If under prolonged or hefty exposure, PFAS levels can take decades to return to baseline. Inside the body, it may reduce fertility, contribute to hypertension, cause developmental delays in children, increase the risk of cancer, and lower immune system function. I wanted to see whether pollution would carry generational consequences for our offspring and if a high fiber diet could help alleviate some of these issues.
Finally, I would like to end this update by expressing my thanks to Dr. Austria, Dr. Valdes, Dr. Maskalenko, our TAs, and my peers. I am incredibly grateful for all their support over the past month. I look forward to starting my kickoff experiment next week!  |
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