Hello!
 
My name is Sofiya Lysenko, and I am rising sophomore attending Abington Senior High School in Abington, PA. This summer, I’m super excited to be a part of TRIP! I’ve learned so much in the past few weeks, from how to contain the flies’ excitement to explore the word outside of their hackneyed vials to how to measure the amount of glucose in their hemolymph.

When I realized that I will be an interviewee for the TRIP Initiative Program, I had to brainstorm how to make myself seem great! I started to revise things that I would say and how to act. For example, giving a stern handshake and saying, “Hi, I am Sheril Pinnock. Nice to meet you! ...etc.” The usual stuff. Then it hit me, ‘What if you get picked, what will be your experiment? Hmm. BPA! Eureka!'

My name is Sheril Pinnock and my experiment is, ‘The Effect of Bisphenol A on Drosophila Melanogaster (AKA- the fruit fly).’ I am 8 days into being a TRIP student and I have learned so much about the job of a research scientist and some of the equipment they use. Also, I have experienced what it feels like to be harassed by the paparazzi because thanks to Ms. Smith and whoever takes pictures, I have also discovered another reason for why I hate taking pictures.

Back to my experiment: Why I chose to use BPA is to find out how being exposed to BPA can affect the human body (specifically fertility in females and metabolism is males), because everyone is ingesting or touching something that has BPA but doesn’t know that it could be extremely harmful. With the continued help of Dr. Purdy and all the wonderful TA’s, I hope to find something that should scare me and my audience. I could have never had a better summer!!
 
P.S. I really don’t like that last picture, but I think it goes well to show off the childish science geek in me.

Author: Sheril Pinnock

Hello! My name is Saket Gokhale, and I’m a rising junior at Methacton High School. Some of my favorite things to do are play tennis, watch sports, and watch action films. I have a fervent interest in the sciences and hope to pursue a career in medicine!

My TRIP experience is one that cannot be replicated. I never thought that I would be working with fruit flies, especially since I try to kill flies when they come in the house. However, I understand the importance fruit flies serve to the scientific community due to their surprising similarities to humans. We spent our first few sessions exploring techniques such as sorting, transferring, and making fly food and grape plates. For my first screen, I investigated the effect of fenugreek and head trauma on the activity of the fly. I inflicted head trauma using the apparatus and then conducted the negative geotaxis assay, which I thought was an innovative way to gauge activity. I found that the drug and the head trauma balance each other out in terms of fly mobility.

For my independent project, I wanted to look into the effects of supplements that could help alleviate the symptoms of diabetes since my family has a history of this disorder. I am researching the effects of natural ingredients on the glucose levels of the fruit fly. First, I’m exposing the flies to regular and high sugar food. Then I am splitting these two groups into five: regular food, sugary food, food with fenugreek, food with cinnamon, and food with turmeric. This way, I can also assess any short term and long term changes with exposure to the different types of food. I’m using the glucose assay as a measurement procedure. I’m looking forward to know the results! Throughout the process, I have received tremendous help and guidance. Thanks to the amazing mentors and helpers who made this journey a valuable learning experience to cherish! 

Author: Saket Gokhale