Hello everyone! This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to attend TRIP (Teen Research Internship Program) Explore at Fox Chase Cancer Center, and to say my experience was absolutely amazing is an understatement. Although I was nervous at first, I found myself looking forward to performing the different assays and the lectures as the week went by. During the program, I was able to perform hands-on assays with the fruit flies and involve myself in the scientific process. These exposures have been an eye-opening experience and have helped me see laboratory research in a new perspective. Through my failures and errors, I learned that only by accepting your mistakes can you further grow as a person. I can confidently say that I am now able to live transfer flies without losing any of them in the process (after losing tons of flies during my assays). I enjoyed every single part of this experience from the laboratory tours to just simply eating lunch with my peers. Although a week seems like a long time when looking at it from afar, it was already the end of TRIP before you knew it! Through summer TRIP I have learned new lab abilities, made new connections, and further enhanced my critical thinking and analysis skills.

​My absolute favorite parts of the program were the facility tours and the lectures. To be able to see the working environments of the different scientists and hearing them talk about their work passionately has made me feel so touched. I’ve always had the idea that scientists were mean, strict egoists who expected everyone to be a know-it-all. However, I have long given up on that stereotype, and I realized that scientists can be warm and understanding. At times, I would get sleepy during the lectures, but I would always perk back up when the lecturer would share their own personal path through life. Dr. Purdy and Dr. Kott’s lectures stood out to be especially. I was able to realize that you don’t have to know exactly what you want to do for the rest of your life by the age of 16. It's okay to change your mind and experience something new, something different. Difference doesn’t have to be scary, and sometimes that change will be the best thing to happen to you!

​Although this was not my first time working in a lab setting or with fruit flies, I would feel completely lost at times. Performing the assays was definitely the most difficult component of the program, and I struggled with live transferring the files the most. However, learning is definitely not linear, and there will be bumps here and there. Through practice and error, I was able to learn a new technique that allowed me to successfully transfer my flies, both in a timely manner and with minimal fly loss. Additionally, I would sometimes have trouble knowing what to do when my food fell out of my vial or when I was confused about a procedure step, but Dr. Austria and the TAs were always there to help answer questions! There was the perfect balance of independence and guidance, allowing us to grow in a safe and supportive environment. I will be sure to use the knowledge and skills I’ve enhanced and gained from this experience throughout the rest of my life and whatever the future holds.

​Overall, TRIP Explore was an amazing program and I am beyond grateful for this opportunity. We were surrounded by supportive mentors and likeminded peers. I’ve made new friends, and I enjoyed spending time with them, whether it be our long lunch breaks or just simply collecting data from our assays. Thank you to Dr. Austria and the wonderful TAs, Izzy and Martie, for making this program so welcoming and enjoyable. I am forever grateful and thank you for the unconditional love and support you gave us.  

​I first heard about TRIP in an email sent out by my chemistry teacher. It immediately grabbed my attention because it offered a new perspective on scientific research. However, the program offered a lot more insight than I initially thought, as it not only demonstrated the experience in the lab, but it also provided tours of multiple facilities and presentations from across the cancer center. Because of the diverse aspects of the program, it showed me a multitude of different paths in STEM, rather than the limited ones that I saw beforehand.

​First and foremost, the program is focused on research and working in the lab. However, I had a very limited idea of what lab work was. In my mind, it was like the activities that we did in my previous courses, but in TRIP, I learned very quickly that lab work can be a lot harder than that. On the first day, we learned how to transfer flies, and I was immediately humbled, as it needed to be done quickly and efficiently while also being done carefully. Not only did I have to minimize the time with an open vial, I also had to sort them on ice to keep them unconscious. This required me to work as quickly as possible because if I wasn’t able to complete it fast enough, the flies would die. Although this process was intimidating at first, it became a lot easier over time, to the point where I would only lose one or two flies every time I sorted them. It was very rewarding to be able to learn a new hands-on skill in science and greatly improve, but the mistakes shown through in my results, as some of them were completely invalidated. However, it opened up another world of potential improvement in lab skills.

​In a similar vein, the facility tours painted a picture of the daily life of a researcher, by allowing me to see it in action at the professional level. For example, the cell culture facility demonstrated not only the precision required to maintain sterility when working with cells, but also the various methods of storing and manipulating them. Another example is the genomics facility, where they are able to sequence and study DNA. However, this also showed how the ecosystem between researchers worked, as the facility rents out the machines to whoever wants to use them. In other words, it demonstrated the collaboration required for research, which added a new depth to my understanding of the career.

​Finally, the presentations given showed me the uncertainty of the future. A lot of them set out to go into a specific profession but came out to be something else entirely. Additionally, this allowed me to see the myriad of different careers and roles that can be found in a hospital. For instance, we received two different career talks by nurses, but they still had vastly different roles as one was an educator while another was a bedside nurse with a diverse array of nursing experiences. This showed me that wherever people end up in STEM, there is going to be a specialized niche that they can fit into.

​Even though TRIP is presented as a hands-on learning experience, it is so much more than that. It is a wonderful look at the complex interactions and daily life of many different aspects of a hospital. Of course, it gave me valuable skills for working in the lab, but it also opened my mind to a variety of possibilities for my future because of the numerous perspectives on science and medicine. Not only that, but the facility tours provided insight into the higher level of academic research that I was unable to have before. Overall, the TRIP program helped excite my scientific imagination and my desire to be challenged.

It has been an absolute privilege to participate in the summer TRIP program at Fox Chase Cancer Research Center. This program has not only improved my confidence in choosing healthcare as my primary career pathway, but it has fundamentally changed my view of healthcare and research as a whole. TRIP is tailored to expose young high school students to different careers in healthcare. Throughout my time at Fox Chase, my mind was enthralled, partly because I met a histopathologist, PhD RN (which is only 1% of the nursing field), two nursing educators, a urologist, and a biologist, all of whom were extremely passionate about what they do and were more than happy to answer all of our questions. 

During TRIP, we had the opportunity to do several assays with flies, which I found to be both challenging and rewarding. The microbiome assay was very enjoyable, and I learned about the importance of sanitation and got a good grasp of pipetting with different liquids such as broth and ethanol. We were tasked with making both diluted and undiluted samples of bacteria from the crushed-up flies. Both the TA’s and Dr. Austria demonstrated the experiment in such a way that students can navigate the experiment with total ease, so much so that I found the assay to be fun. When signing up for this program, I didn't think I could learn so much in a span of a week, but I must confess that this program has been fascinating and an enlightening experience. 

Before this program, I was unsure about my decision in choosing to pursue a career in healthcare, partly because many healthcare programs required long and rigorous training that my family and I do not have funds to pay for. But after being exposed to so many scientists of different racial backgrounds who were able to find success in the medical field, I was sold. Dr. Austria advised me to focus on choosing a career where I would be fulfilled. It was such an honor to be educated by such a wise and resilient woman.

TRIP has inspired me to look into more research opportunities across Philadelphia. Additionally, I have been looking into different careers such as dentistry and Nurse education, which are all careers that I never considered before TRIP. I also appreciated how TRIP connected me to driven and like-minded individuals such as myself.  My lab mates and TA’s were extremely kind, intelligent, and inquisitive. We shared similar interests and experiences but also had completely different backgrounds, which cured my imposter syndrome in no time. I look forward to applying for the winter program and possibly being a TA for the next summer cycle

In the lab, I worked with fruit flies to study how circadian rhythm disruption caused by constant darkness, along with the supplement Rhodiola, affected health. I performed several assays, including negative geotaxis, microbiome analysis, female fertility, and centrophobism. At first, these assays sounded intimidating, but with support from Dr. Austria and the two teaching assistants, Izzy and Martie, the assays became something I actually looked forward to doing each day. The negative geotaxis assay taught me how to be consistent, because even small differences in tapping or timing could change the results. The female fertility assay took the most patience, since identifying embryos under the microscope was harder than I expected at first. Things did not always go as planned. Sometimes flies died, or my results did not match what I had predicted, and I had to learn to slow down, troubleshoot, and think more critically instead of getting frustrated and quitting. That was one of the biggest lessons from the lab work. ​

Out of all the parts of the program, working on the assays in the lab was what I enjoyed the most. It was interesting getting to actually do the experiments myself, instead of just reading about them. Having my own flies to take care of and my own data to collect was such a fun and educational experience. The lab was genuinely fun, even on the days that were challenging, and it made the whole experience feel hands-on in a way that stuck with me. ​

I already can’t believe TRIP is over! Over the 11 weeks of this program, I gained so much of a deeper understanding of what real biological research actually looks like. Before TRIP, I thought that research was mostly about just running an experiment, getting results, and writing a conclusion. But once I started the program, I realized that the planning process is just as important as the lab work. Learning how to handle fruit flies, work with lab tools, and following procedures has been completely new for me, and honestly, I thought it was really intimidating. I quickly learned that science isn’t always neat or predictable, but rather it’s a messy process. Mistakes, confusion, and unwanted/unexpected outcomes are simply part of the process.

​For my independent project, I studied how UV radiation affected melanization in fruit flies, and whether Vitamin E can reduce the effects of the stress responses that followed. UV radiation is a well known environmental stressor that causes oxidative stress, cellular damage, and DNA mutations. In humans, one response to UV exposure is an increase of melanin production, which is essentially why skin becomes darker after exposure to sunlight. Fruit flies also produce melanin and use it as their defense system, just like us! Vitamin E is a common antioxidant that’s found in supplements and skincare products, and my experiment focused on whether Vitamin E supplementation could reduce UV related pigmentation changes during the development of fruit flies. The reason why I chose this project is because I wanted to explore something in skin health, this project strongly connects to real life and human health. Almost everyone is exposed to sunlight, whether it’s tanning on the beach, or taking a walk outside, the question is how do we reduce the negative impacts of UV?

​Overall, TRIP has been a challenging, but super exciting experience for me. One of my favorite parts has been how hands-on the program is, because it feels like I’m doing real science instead of just summarizing things that are already known. I loved learning about how to sort flies, prepare vials, and actually think through experimental design. 

​At the same time, I thought that some parts were stressful, such as learning how to do drug calculations and dilutions. However, my amazing instructors were there to support me and help me understand it. But I also feel like that struggle is what made the experience meaningful. I’m super proud of my independent research, and I learned so much.  

​Hello everybody! I can hardly believe that this program is already over. It feels just like yesterday I was stepping into the lab for the first time, unsure of what to expect and a little intimidated by all the unfamiliar equipment and procedures. Now, only a few days after it ended, I already find myself missing the excitement of lab work. Over the course of this program, I can confidently say that I grew: not just as a student, but as a researcher. I went from a complete newbie —carrying out my assays and still making mistakes—to becoming a pro at those same procedures. More importantly, I learned that mistakes aren't failures; they are simply part of the scientific process.

​My independent project focused on a compound many of us consume daily: Acrylamide. Found primarily in fried or high-heat cooked foods, Acrylamide is a known carcinogen and neurotoxin that can cause negative health effects even at relatively low doses. Because it is so prevalent in a modern diet, I wanted to investigate a potential "antidote,” which led me to Sulforaphane, a compound found in vegetables like broccoli and kale. I chose Sulforaphane because it has shown promise in counteracting compounds similar to Acrylamide. The driving force behind my research was the hope of finding a natural, dietary way to mitigate the risks of everyday toxin exposure.

​To my surprise and relief, the project was a success! I was initially nervous because there wasn't a mountain of previous studies to guarantee my results, but my data spoke for itself. However, the road to those results was bumpy. For example, on the second day when I accidentally deleted over 45 minutes of video data. To make matters worse, I lost most of the conditions from my first set of vials, essentially putting me back at square one. These moments definitely made me rethink my choices; however, I kept going.

​As the final symposium approached, I was really nervous. Presenting research to an audience is intimidating, but the TRIP community of mentors and peers helped me considerably. I owe a lot to Dr. Austria, who gave me a simple but effective piece of advice to always practice out loud. That one tip built my confidence and allowed me to truly tell the story of my research.

This TRIP experience has most definitely had a lasting impact on me. It strengthened my passion for science and gave me a firsthand look at the exciting world of biomedical research. While the program is over, the lessons in resilience and the friendships I’ve made will stay with me for years to come. Once again, thank you to everybody who helped me make this TRIP truly unforgettable.