 As I am working through finalizing my data and symposium presentation, I have been reflecting on these past weeks that flew by. Every day in the lab greatly expanded my knowledge and broadened my experience. In just ten short weeks, Dr. Austria, Dr. Purdy, Dr. Valdes, and Mr. Cozzone taught me brand new skills and helped me hone them until they became muscle memory. In Week 1, I was scared to use micropipettes and talk to new people. In Week 10, I could micropipette smoothly and joke with our lovely TA’s about stealing Martie’s job (sorry Martie. You are an irreplaceable social media manager). I’m going to miss everyone and everything in the lab, except maybe the smell of fly morgues  As mentioned in my previous blog, I wanted to study the effects of prebiotics and probiotics on the gut microbiome and overall health of the organism. I fed some flies prebiotics, some probiotics, and some a combination of both. I used the Negative Geotaxis assay and Microbiome Assay. The Negative Geotaxis Assay measures activity and energy levels by calculating the percentage of flies that can fly past a certain threshold in a set amount of time, allowing me to quantify the health of the flies. The Microbiome Assay is a bit rough on the flies; I had to wash a few flies from each vial in ethanol, killing them and the bacteria on their outsides. Then I had to remove the ethanol, add MRS broth, and crush up the flies to release the bacteria on their insides. Lastly, I plated this fly-broth solution on an Agar plate that helped bacterial colonies grow so I could count them. This process involved a lot of careful steps, autoclaved materials, and troubleshooting. I am immensely grateful for Dr. Austria’s help with all of this. She patiently guided me through the assay process, brought in materials from Fox Chase Cancer Center, and helped me work around any issues I encountered. I would have been utterly lost without her, so special shoutout to Dr. Austria.   The issues we had mainly stemmed from growing the bacteria. We had to figure out the best ratios of flies to MRS broth and the best Agar to grow the colonies on via trial and error. Ultimately, we found the perfect combination, allowing me to get three solid replicates of data. This process, along with the processes of running the Negative Geotaxis assay, quantifying development of the flies, making new vials for new replicates, and sorting flies takes up a lot of time, more time than I had estimated, most weeks. Myself and my fellow TRIP mates are very thankful for the patience of our instructors and TAs that put up with us arriving early and staying late. One plus of running late, however, was mixing with Session B. I got to interact with even more cool people I am forever appreciative of everything I learned at TRIP and everyone I met. This was truly a life-altering experience. I know it will help me with whatever I decide to do in life, but for now, goodbye everyone! Thanks for reading! 
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 Hi everyone! Thanks for joining me on my final blog post to end this incredible “TRIP”. These last three months have flown by, and I’ve gained invaluable knowledge and experience through my time at TRIP. It feels like just yesterday I walked into the lab—wide-eyed and full of wonder about all there was to learn. Now, I can confidently perform a variety of assays and understand the ins and outs of conducting research, all thanks to this incredible program! For my independent project, I chose to study the effects of sudafed on anxiety and sociability depending on varied concentrations.  My interest in this niche stemmed from a broader curiosity about congestive medicine and its potential side effects. Sudafed is a widely used decongestant, but its effectiveness has recently been brought into question as it has adverse side effects such as rapidly increasing heart rate and causing tremors. I originally hypothesized that as concentrations of Sudafed increased, sociability would decrease and anxiety would increase. To explore its impact on behavior, I conducted two different assays: the Open Field Test and the Sociability Assay.  For the Open Field Test, I set up 12 agar plates—each with one fly—and recorded a two-minute video per plate. I then analyzed how many times each fly crossed the center of the plate and how much time it spent there. This test measures anxiety because fruit flies, being natural prey, tend to avoid open areas. If a fly frequently crosses or lingers in the center, it suggests a reduction in anxiety levels. For the Sociability Assay, I created four social chambers–each with five flies–and allowed them to roam freely for 15 minutes before taking a snapshot of their positions. Using image analysis software, I measured the distances between flies to quantify their social tendencies. The closer the flies were to one another, the higher their sociability. This assay helped determine whether exposure to Sudafed influenced social interaction.  Through four separate trials of each assay, I was able to conclude that Sudafed doesn’t have a major effect on anxiety, but it does noticeably decrease sociability in the flies. As the concentration of Sudafed increased, the average distance between flies consistently decreased, which suggests they were less inclined to socialize. When it came to anxiety, I was surprised to find that the flies exposed to Sudafed actually showed lower anxiety levels compared to my control group. This wasn’t what I expected and definitely left me curious about what might be going on behind the scenes
This TRIP has been an unforgettable experience that’s allowed me to explore my curiosity with no bounds. Thank you to Dr. Austria, Dr. Purdy, Dr. Valdes, and Mr. Cozzone for your constant guidance and support. A huge thank you as well to our incredible TAs, Amritha, Phoebe, and Martie for always making me laugh and creating such a warm, welcoming lab environment. And finally, thank you to all my amazing labmates for making this a fun, collaborative, and supportive experience. Thank you for following my TRIP journey over the past 11 weeks—I’m excited to see where everything I’ve learned takes me! Signing off, one last time, Anika Gupta  When I first joined TRIP, I had no idea how much I would grow as a scientist, a problem-solver, and a communicator. Over the past few months, I’ve been actively involved in research, learned how to design and troubleshoot experiments, and figured out how to push through setbacks and challenges that come with scientific work. For my independent experiment, I decided to explore how early-life stress affects memory affects memory in teenagers, and whether or not Vitamin D3 may be able to improve memory. The rationale behind this question comes from my interest in how early stressors, such as childhood trauma, can affect cognitive function, especially in teenagers who are dealing with the aftermath of early-life stress while navigating the challenges of adolescence. If we understand these effects better, we might find ways to support cognitive development and emotional well-being in teenagers struggling with trauma and stress from their childhood.  So, what did I find? UV exposure significantly impaired memory in larvae, which supports the idea that early-life stress can lead to long-term cognitive consequences. This is especially important for understanding how trauma, even at early stages, can affect memory and potentially influence learning and memory abilities later in teenagers. I also found that Vitamin D3 helped partially improve the memory loss caused by UV exposure, and even slightly improved memory in unstressed flies. While it’s not a cure-all, this suggests that Vitamin D3 could offer some neuroprotective benefits and possibly provide a small but meaningful boost for individuals recovering from early trauma. Looking ahead, further research could help determine the best dose of Vitamin D3 for improving memory, and it would be really interesting to see if long-term use could not only improve memory but possibly even reverse some of the permanent effects of early-life stress. This could be a step toward finding real solutions to help those who have experienced early-life stress and trauma.  One of the most rewarding parts of TRIP was designing my own experiment from scratch. It was both exciting and overwhelming to have that level of freedom and responsibility. There were definitely moments when things didn’t go as planned: vials got mixed up, flies randomly disappeared, and protocols had to be adjusted. But each challenge taught me something new, and I became more confident each week. I also loved getting to know my fellow TRIPmates. Everyone brought their own unique ideas and perspectives, and the community we built together was one of the best parts of the experience.  Looking back, I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be part of TRIP. I’ve learned how to ask meaningful scientific questions, troubleshoot experiments, analyze data, and present my findings to others. These skills will stay with me as I move forward in every aspect of my life no matter where I end up. TRIP has shown me the power of curiosity, persistence, and teamwork. To anyone thinking about applying to TRIP: do it. You’ll work hard, learn a lot, and come away with an unforgettable experience.  These past few weeks of TRIP have been extremely fun and interesting. Since my last blog post, I've had the opportunity to work with actual fruit flies and run my kickoff experiment with them. My kickoff experiment analyzed the impact of black cohosh and a disrupted circadian rhythm on female fly fertility. To my surprise, the results showed that both black cohosh and a disrupted circadian rhythm had negative effects on female fertility. The assay I had to perform for my kickoff experiment was the female fertility assay. This assay was the most time-consuming and intense assay in my opinion. I was tasked with quickly transferring the flies from the vials to the conical tubes without knocking them out with CO2. How, may you ask? We just had to dump them into the conical tube and keep tapping so hopefully none would fly out before we place the grape plate on top to cover it. Thankfully I did not lose many flies. After I did this for all four of my vials, I let them incubate inside a box for a darker environment. After 2 hours we checked the embryos that were laid in the grape plates under the microscopes. Some of my vials had upwards of 100 embryos! From this assay, I learned that there are a lot of variables and a lot that can go wrong when running an experiment, so it is always best to conduct more than one trial. I then presented my findings to the rest of my peers and received some valuable feedback.  After our presentations, we began brainstorming out independent projects. I initially wanted to explore how UV light causes oxidative stress, but I was aware that UV light has many other effects on cells, including causing damage to DNA which would make it harder to focus on oxidative stress only. For my experiment to be more controlled, I decided to use hydrogen peroxide instead since it is a known oxidative stress inducer. This led me to think of antioxidants and how they might protect cells. I then came across Selenium which was interesting due to it being an essential element of glutathione peroxidase, an enzyme that helps in the decomposition of harmful ROS. By testing whether selenium can reduce the effects of hydrogen peroxide, I hope to better understand how it protects cells from oxidative damage   Hey Everyone! Long time no see! These past 5 weeks have been so eventful, and I am glad to say that I learned a LOT. For these past weeks, I have been working on my kickoff experiment, where I studied the effects of St. John’s Wort and disrupted circadian rhythm on fly anxiety. I predicted that a high amount of St. John’s Wort, my drug, would induce a higher anxiety in the flies and that constant darkness, my stressor, would also cause a spike in the anxiety as well. Although, I thought that if this stressor and drug were to work together, that the fly anxiety would calm down and decrease overall. I was able to test the impact of these variables by conducting the Open Field Test, which tested for the anxiety of the flies. Being able to conduct this experiment helped me to become comfortable with the lab, the equipment, and of course my favorite, the flies.  After conducting this test, I was able to quantify the amount of time the female flies spent in the middle of the plate vs the amount of time they spent towards the edge. When doing my research, I was able to understand that the more time the flies spent towards the edge of the plate would showcase that the flies were more anxious overall. In my experiment, I found that constant darkness certainly increased the flies' anxiety, and when the St. John’s Wort was paired with the constant darkness, it decreased their anxiety, but then St. John’s Wort did not fully counter the effects of the stressor. Looking at my data, I was not able to answer one part of my hypothesis relating to the individual St. John’s Wort vial because I went through something that any good scientist goes through… a couple of mistakes. After collecting my data, I was able to present to my peers and receive insightful feedback from my mentors, Dr. Austria and Dr. Valdes’. Overall, this kickoff experiment provided me with a great start to my TRIP experience.  My independent project takes a little bit of a different route, one that I am so excited to be going down. I decided that I would want to study the effect of Vitamin E on different amounts of a sugar diet and how this would affect fly health and sensitivity to pain. I thought this would be interesting to study, as I know many people in my life who struggle with diabetes, and I want to see how this can have an effect on their health and sensitivity to pain. I am so VERY eager to start this process and to continue learning more!!!  Hi everyone! I can’t believe we’re already halfway through the TRIP program. These past five weeks have been such an exciting learning experience! My kickoff experiment explored the effects of head trauma and holy basil on fruit fly behavior. I used the social space assay to observe how these factors influenced the flies’ sociability–basically, I measured how close or far apart the flies stayed from each other in a controlled setting. Through this experiment, I became much more comfortable with transferring and sorting flies, handling the lab equipment, and working through the different assays we use in TRIP. I presented my final findings to the class, which helped me grow in confidence as a researcher!
For my independent project, I’ve decided to study how artificial sweeteners (stevia and aspartame) and sugar impact locomotor activity and energy levels in fruit flies. This topic piqued my interest because of how prevalent these sweeteners are in our daily lives - diet sodas often contain artificial sweeteners, while regular sodas are loaded with sugars. These beverages are marketed as either healthier or more energizing, but the actual effects on our energy and physical activity aren’t fully understood. Since energy levels and activity play an important role in our productivity and health, I’m excited to see whether artificial sweeteners or sugars promote higher activity levels and how they may lead to differences in fly behavior. A big thank you to Dr. Purdy, Dr. Valdes, Dr. Austria, Mr. Cozzone, and the TA’s, Martie and Amritha, for being so supportive and helpful throughout the program! I’m excited to keep learning and can’t wait to see how the rest of my project turns out.  I can’t believe we’re almost at the halfway point in our journey—time really does fly. These past weeks have been both rewarding and fun, and I am more than grateful for this wonderful opportunity.
We have just wrapped up the presentations for our kickoff experiments, where I studied the impacts of a high-sugar diet and ginkgo biloba on fruit fly motility. To test this, I used the negative geotaxis assay, which measures fly activity by quantifying how far up a vial they can climb in three seconds. The flies that had been exposed to the high-sugar diet were less motile than the control group. However, to my surprise, the flies that had been treated with ginkgo biloba, which I had initially hypothesized would benefit their health and motility, ended up being even less active than the flies treated with sugar! I am now brainstorming ideas for my independent project, which I am so excited about. My original idea had been to study the impacts of oscillating magnetic fields on fruit fly vision, due to circulating hypotheses about the physics behind the retina, but I ended up changing the direction of my project after talking to Dr. Purdy and Dr. Austria due to its lack of applicability to human health. I now plan to study fruit flies’ sensitivity to static and radiofrequency fields—I have always been passionate about physics and the ways in which it can intersect with biology. I can’t wait to see how this project will turn out!  It is hard to believe we’re already six weeks into our journey at TRIP! So far, it has been an enriching experience being exposed to the life of curiosity and the scientific method. We just finished the kickoff experiment and are about to dive into the next phase of the program: the independent project. For my kickoff experiment, I studied the effect of red clover and sugar on female fertility. After a little research, I hypothesized that sugar would decrease fertility, and that red clover could possibly mitigate sugar’s effects. I used the female fertility assay, where flies lay embryos on a petri dish with a layer of grape juice solution, then the number of embryos laid per female is calculated. I used the assay to test each of my four conditions: the control, the red clover-based diet, the sugar-based diet, and the combination of both red clover and sugar. I analyzed my results and was surprised to find that red clover decreased fertility and sugar increased fertility, the opposite of what I originally hypothesized. Then, I presented my findings to my mentors and fellow students. The kickoff experiment was very insightful about the procedures in the lab and how to present results from an experiment. Now we have started the independent project. I have chosen to explore the effect of sleep deprivation and curcumin on fly adult and larval mobility. Sleep deprivation is a condition many people suffer from at some point in their lives and causes fatigue and low energy. Curcumin is an ingredient of turmeric, a staple in my diet, which I consume on a regular basis. Curcumin is known to benefit muscle dystrophy and muscle health in general, so I am curious to see if it improves mobility as well. I am excited to jump into my independent project next week.
 It’s hard to believe how quickly time is flying by – I feel like I just started my TRIP, yet I am already almost halfway through and have finished my kickoff experiment. Over the past few weeks, I analyzed how melatonin and disrupted circadian rhythm impact female fly fertility. While conducting this experiment was certainly more challenging than I anticipated, I learned invaluable skills such as time management, data collection, problem-solving, and data interpretation. Through this experiment, I observed results that both supported and refuted my hypothesis. Melatonin and constant darkness significantly reduced the number of embryos laid per female, but these factors combined resulted in only a slight decrease compared to the control. Furthermore, melatonin increased the hatch rate of embryos, suggesting it improved the health of progeny; constant darkness, on the other hand, reduced the hatch rate. Unfortunately, I was sick the weekend of my presentation, which was disappointing because I was looking forward to sharing my findings and getting feedback. Nevertheless, I definitely grew as a scientist over the course of these few weeks, and I’m looking forward to applying what I’ve learned to future research. Building on what I’ve learned during the kickoff experiment, I am eager to dive into my independent project next week. I will be investigating how a high-cholesterol, high-fat diet and fenugreek supplementation impact larval memory and locomotor fitness. This question intrigued me because I eat a diet very high in eggs and have been told numerous times that I need to eat less. So, I want to determine if this high-cholesterol, high-fat diet will truly have a negative impact on model organisms, and if fenugreek, a supplement promoted to lower cholesterol levels, can ameliorate this effect. To do this, I will set up four distinct experimental vials for my fruit flies: a control with normal food, high cholesterol only, fenugreek only, and high cholesterol + fenugreek. Seven days after placing adult flies into these vials, I will perform the larval memory assay to test larval mental acuity. In this assay, I will condition larvae by placing them on a plate with a banana scent and sugar, followed by a plate with a pineapple scent and no food. After a few rounds of conditioning, I will test their memory by placing them in the center of a plate with a banana scent on one side and a pineapple scent on the other. I will measure their memory by tracking how many larvae move toward the banana scent. Additionally, this assay will measure larval fitness, since flies will need to move to approach the scent. This experiment feels especially meaningful to me, and I can’t wait to run it and discover the results! Thank you for following along with my TRIP journey, and I look forward to sharing the outcome of my next experiment!   Hey everyone!! I can’t believe I am halfway through this program; time really does fly. I have learned so much in these first few weeks with handling lab equipment, sorting flies, performing assays, giving a presentation, and getting to know everybody else in the program. As part of my time in TRIP, I conducted a kickoff experiment. My kickoff experiment was seeing the effects of Valerian, a drug used to treat insomnia and anxiety, and constant darkness, known as disrupted circadian rhythms, on the sociability of fruit flies. To test the impact of these stressors, I performed a social space assay, quantifying the distance in centimeters between each of the flies in a chamber. My findings showed that Valerian hurt the flies' sociability, while constant darkness did not have any notable impact. Although when added together, it had the greatest decrease in sociability. Then I took my results, put them in spreadsheets and graphs, and presented my findings. Learning the process of starting with an interesting question and ending with a presentation on an experiment gave me a lot of knowledge about how my independent project presentation will go. After my kickoff experiment, I became more interested in circadian rhythms and the human sleep cycle. For my independent project, I wanted to test how having a disrupted circadian rhythm by being in constant light can affect a fruit fly's memory. I found this important since currently, more than 15 million Americans work the night shift, including my mom, which ruins their sleep cycles and can impact their bodies. After our brainstorming session at TRIP with the help of Dr. Austria and Dr. Valdes, I came out with a clearer, helpful vision, where I will be looking at the changes in larval memory by being in constant light and taking Ginkgo Biloba. To study this, I will conduct a larva memory assay in which I train the larva to associate a specific smell with a reward, and after the training period, test to see if they can recall that association. I am so excited for the upcoming weeks to get started!!  |
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