Wow the weeks have flown by! We are now approaching week 7 of TRIP and we have begun our independent projects. I’ve found myself eagerly awaiting Saturday afternoons because of how amazing the TRIP family is! It is so much fun to work, learn, and joke around with my peers, the TAs, and Dr. Leystra and Dr. Purdy. Before starting our independent projects, we first worked on introductory experiments in order to familiarize ourselves with the flies, the assays, and the little hassles of the lab (aka releasing flies by accident, contaminating pipettes, and not labeling everything and getting utterly confused). My intro experiment was how valerian, a drug that reduces anxiety and helps with insomnia, coupled with head trauma affects the anxiety levels of flies. I learned how to sort flies on ice and carbon dioxide, how to give head trauma to flies (this was very interesting), and how to perform the centrophobism assay in order to quantify anxiety. I presented my findings to everyone, and while this was nerve-wracking, the support and feedback from the instructors and my peers made this a fruitful experience and taught me a lot on how to deliver information effectively.

After this experiment, it was now time to brainstorm ideas for our independent project. While I was overwhelmed with the endless possibilities, I knew that I wanted to test something to do with behavior and effects of a drug or stressor on cognitive functioning skills. The effect of ibuprofen and Tylenol on memory piqued my interest. I’ve been getting migraines since I was 8 and I take ibuprofen to combat the pain. I scoured the internet to figure out how ibuprofen works and if it had any effect on the mind, and surprisingly, I found that those who took NSAIDS (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as ibuprofen, had nearly the same increased dementia risk as those taking opioids. However, I also found that scientists have found that a daily regimen ibuprofen can prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease. These studies directly opposed each other and I found that a lot of other claims were simply correlation rather than true cause and effect. This inspired the question: How does taking a steady dose of ibuprofen and other common painkillers affect the memory and learning of a developing brain?

​After forming my question, it was now time to plan out my project! Basically, I am going to expose my flies to ibuprofen, Tylenol, and a mix of both drugs, and perform the larval memory assay to quantify their learning and memory capabilities. The larval memory assay tests how many larvae associate a certain smell to a sugar reward after being exposed to 2 different scents- one that rewards them with sugar and one that does not. The more larvae correctly identify the correct scent, the better their memory is. I am hopeful that my assay yields a positive connection between NSAIDS and memory, and I am also really excited to see if painkillers suppress or increase memory!

How does taking a steady dose of ibuprofen and other common painkillers affect the memory and learning of a developing brain? 

Hello, Ella Masino here and I am excited to share with you my experiences within the first few weeks of TRIP. Although I was definitely nervous when the program began, the environment at TRIP has become so educational while still remaining exciting. During my introductory experiment I examined the effect of inflammation on fruit fly mobility using a Negative Geotaxis Assay. I had no idea where to start, but I was given step-by-step instructions and was free to ask any questions I had. I was given the opportunity to learn about topics I had no idea existed. I was fascinated by the immense similarities between fruit flies and humans and was eager to view my results. In my experiment I used detergent as the stressor and Vitamin D3 as my drug. I not only learned more about model organisms and how to effectively perform an assay, I was also able to gain confidence in my work and presenting in front of others. TRIP has also allowed me to meet new people who I would have never otherwise met while forming friendships and problem solving together.

After presenting my initial introductory experiment, I knew exactly what I wanted to test for my independent project: the effects of electronic cigarette juice on intestinal inflammation. My older brother was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease around five years ago and recently has become inseparable from his vape but his doctor recently begged him to quit vaping as the effects would be detrimental to his already fragile health. I was interested to see if I could observe the effects of vaping on intestinal inflammation using our fruit flies; therefore, I decided to ask Dr. Leystra and Dr. Purdy for some advice. As always, they were eager to help and we were able to figure out a way to test my question in the lab. Using a “Smurf Assay,” I will be able to examine the stability of the flies’ intestines by their color. I will feed the flies different vape-juices and expose them to a chemical commonly known as DSS which is known to mock Ulcerative Colitis. I will then place my flies in vials with a dye called “brilliant blue” mixed into their food. This very powerful (and messy) dye will be absorbed into their bodies when they eat normally. Depending on the health of their intestines, the dye will either “leak” through the intestines - causing the fly to have a deep blue color throughout, or the intestine lining will stay intact and the fruit fly can be classified as healthy. Overall, I am very excited to see my results and truly never thought I would be able to do something like this on my own, but with a little help from everyone it became possible so quickly.

I knew exactly what I wanted to test for my independent project: the effects of electronic cigarette juice on intestinal inflammation. 

When we were coming up with independent research project ideas together, I knew I wanted to do something with antibiotics, and many people were suggesting to relate them to probiotics. That made me think of my past experiences: whenever I had a stomach ache, my grandparents always gave me yogurt to drink since they believed it is a good method to reduce pain. But if the stomach ache did not go away for a long time, I would go to the hospital and be prescribed medicine to relieve what turns out to be intestinal inflammation. Later on, I found that the medicine is a type of antibiotic, while yogurt contains many types of probiotics, and that lead me thinking, will the effects of antibiotics and probiotics cancel each other (as it sounds like it will), or will they be more beneficial when taken together like many people believed?

How do antibiotics and yogurt affect levels of anxiety in flies with intestinal inflammation?"

Although coming up with the research question seems like a long process, but believe me, calculating the drug concentrations and stocks is such a burden! Converting from human doses to fly doses, going from the final concentration to different stocks, and then repeating that for antibiotics, yogurt, sucrose, DSS (what gives the flies inflammation), … All that math is making me lost in the numbers. However, Dr. Leystra and the TAs are very helpful in guiding me towards the right steps, and eventually, the math came to solid steps of how to make the drug stocks, so the process of making the stocks went relatively fast. Because DSS cannot be put directly in fly food, I have to put my drugs and sucrose onto a piece of paper and change it for both 2 days that one trial lasts, so I get to bring my flies home and perform a small transfer in my “home lab”! This will be a little more work for me than my peers, but it is such a great experience in carrying out a complete lab project.

I learned how to recover from setbacks in an efficient, positive, and productive manner. "