I'm incredibly grateful for TRIP, as it has allowed me to gain valuable experience and learn from like-minded peers and incredible TAs: Austin, Jenan, and Keith. I especially want to thank Dr. Purdy and Dr. Leystra for guiding us newbies with such patience and welcoming smiles. I've had so much fun in the lab and TRIP has changed me as a person and as a researcher. This journey has not only strengthened my collaborating skills but has also sharpened my desire to pursue a future in the lab. I'm sure that the end of this TRIP will lead to the start of another. Welp, that's all. This will, sadly, be my last blog post. It's been absolutely wonderful. See you all later!
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 My third and final blog! How quickly time has flown… almost as quickly as my flies escaping their collection cages. In the last blog, I hadn’t even started my independent project yet and now I’m putting the finishing touches on my presentation for the symposium!
 I initially wanted my experiment to be perfect and expected everything to go smoothly, but I soon learned that not everything goes according to plan—which is normal! The female fertility data didn’t really show any clear patterns but the total number of pupae did show a negative correlation with increasing lengths of exposure to noise pollution. My results might not have been entirely what I expected, but as I’ve learned, the results are not as important as the process.
I will definitely miss TRIP, which has become such an integral part of my Saturdays the past couple of months. I might’ve complained (only a little!) about making 12 new food vials and sorting and counting over 400 flies a day, but it was an enjoyable routine. Working on my independent project was such a fun challenge; I’ve learned more than I even realized. Coming up with a research question that I was both interested in and felt was understudied was exciting and rewarding. I think research is so important in teaching a variety of skills and I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to grow, learn, and explore my interests through TRIP.
As I mentioned in my previous blog, I decided to test how curcumin, a polyphenol found in turmeric, affects the inflammation caused by a high fat diet. After doing some research, I found that Americans get more than 50 percent of their calories from low-quality carbs and saturated fat (NIH). Knowing about curcumin’s anti-inflammatory effects, I wondered whether curcumin could lower the rate of fat-induced inflammation. To test this out, I used two different assays: negative geotaxis assay, and the smurf assay. The negative geotaxis assay is used to test the mobility of the flies and find out how active they are. For this assay, I sorted 10 adult male flies into a vial and tapped them down. Flies have a natural tendency to move away from the earth, so when they are tapped down, they will naturally start climbing up. To test how mobile the flies are, I quantified the number of flies that climbed past the halfway mark of the vial in 3 seconds. The mobility of the flies is inversely proportional to inflammation, meaning, the more active the flies are, the less inflammation they have. According to my results, on average, only 10% of the flies that were fed a high fat diet were mobile, while 30% of flies fed a HFD and curcumin were mobile. This shows that the flies that were fed a HFD and curcumin were less inflamed that the ones with just the high fat. But to get a more specific measurement of inflammation and not just mobility, I used the smurf assay. For this assay, I added safe blue food dye to the fly’s food. If the blue remains in the stomach and intestines, there is low intestinal permeability, meaning low inflammation. If the intestinal barriers are broken and the blue color has spread all over the body of the flies, this shows a high intestinal permeability, meaning more gut inflammation. My results showed that about 35% of flies that were fed a high fat diet were inflamed while only 15% of those that were fed both a HFD and curcumin were inflamed. Overall, this revealed that adding the recommended amount of turmeric (or curcumin) to your diet can help reverse the effects of fat-induced inflammation!
Although I am sad that my time at TRIP is almost over, I am grateful for the experiences I have gained here and the life-long connections that I have made. I want to say a huge thanks to Dr. Purdy and Dr. Leystra, without whom this opportunity wouldn’t exist. They have opened my eyes to the world of scientific research and encouraged me even more to pursue a career in biomedical science. I also want to thank the TA’s Austin, Jenan, and Keith, who took time out of their Saturdays to help us have a wonderful time in the lab. Lastly I want to thank all of my TRIP peers for making this experience truly unforgettable. Thank you!
Over the past two months, I’ve learned more than I ever could have imagined. From hands-on lab skills such as utilizing various micropipettes, to analyzing data, and even many public speaking skills, TRIP has allowed me to grow not only as an aspiring scientist, but as a person in general. One skill that I learned that I feel has benefited me throughout the program the most is condensing data and information under a time constraint. Throughout my academic career I have often struggled with this topic and through practice with my peers and instructors I have been able to improve by focusing on the things that are important to the overarching idea.   For my independent project I decided to test the effects of increased levels of caffeine on memory, specifically in developing animals. I was inspired to do this project due to the epidemic of caffeine that is present in teens in the United States. Many teens will take in an influx of caffeine through coffee, energy drinks, or pre-workout to combat the effect of constant sleep deprivation that is unfortunately common in most teens nowadays. A majority of these caffeine-addicted teens will take way over the recommended daily dosage of caffeine consumption (400 mg or about four cups of coffee) without realizing that there may be serious side effects. I wanted to bring awareness to these side effects and I decided to study the effect of increased levels of caffeine on memory due to many teens having to memorize abundant amounts of information to be successful in their classes. To test my experimental question, I set up four independent vials with increasing concentrations of caffeine: a control with no caffeine, a concentration of the recommended daily dosage, five times the concentration of the recommended daily dosage, and ten times the concentration of the recommended daily dosage. After seven days of living in an environment rich in caffeine concentrations, I extracted ten larvae from each vial and cleaned them off in water to remove any excess food. By doing this I’m motivating the larvae to seek out food. I would then place the larvae into an agar plate with sugar and a banana scent on it. Putting a banana scent on the sugar plate allowed me to associate sugar (food) with the scent. I would also place the same larvae into a plate without sugar and with a pineapple scent to associate no food with a pineapple scent. I would repeat this action three times per plate until I would place the larvae in a plate with no sugar, but both the banana and pineapple scent on the plate. If the larvae went to the side with the banana scent this would mean that their memory was intact and if they went to the pineapple scent it would mean the larvae’s memory was not intact. I would then analyze where the larvae were after one minute and five minutes.  Through one minute I saw that the recommended daily dosage of caffeine had the highest rate of larvae with a memory intact compared to any of the other groups, but as time progressed through five minutes, the control group started to match the pace of the recommended daily dosage of caffeine, being only slightly lower. The higher levels of caffeine consumption performed lower than either of the other groups over both time periods proving that increased levels of caffeine can have negative effects on the human body, specifically the brain. Overall, TRIP Initiative has been such a positive experience and I’ve learned and practiced things that will benefit me in my distant and immediate futures as I major in Biotechnology at Penn State next year where I’m sure I will utilize the skills I learned in TRIP. I’d like to thank Dr. Purdy, Dr. Leystra, Fox Chase Cancer Center, our wonderful TA’s Austin, Jenan, and Keith and my TRIP classmates for giving me this opportunity.
The past three months at TRIP have passed by in a blur. Now, reflecting on the many weeks we conducted our independent research, I’ve seen how much I’ve learned. That is, not just about science, but also as a person! When I last wrote about my experiences in the lab, I had been doing background research on wildfire smoke impacts on health, and now I’m a couple days away from presenting what I’ve found! This topic stemmed from my interest in the environmental sciences; specifically about human impacts on the planet.   My next step was to figure out a way to test how acute exposures of wildfire smoke impact memory. I decided to use the adult memory assay to gauge adult memory after exposures. In order to complete the assay, the first thing I did was separate 15 adult males from my experimental groups. Then, I trained them to associate a banana scent with a negative reward through hot water exposure and to associate a pineapple scent with a positive reward through room temperature water exposure. To test if the flies were able to remember their training, I assessed whether or not they would be able to recollect the positive reward (pineapple scent). Through these tests, the flies that were exposed seven days ago (long exposure) and exposed the day of (acute exposure) experienced the greatest decline in memory. “Do different exposure times impact developmental cognition?”  In the past three months, I can not believe how much I have grown and learned through the TRIP Initiative. At the beginning of the program, I was overwhelmed by the countless dilution calculations and the tedious fruit fly sorting process. But now, it’s become much smoother and quicker. Aside from the skills I’ve gained as a researcher, I was also able to gain insight into the science profession through the career talks that were held throughout. Not only that, I learned from and made friends with a group of intelligent and dynamic peers! I’d like to thank Dr. Purdy, Dr. Leystra, Austin, Keith for making TRIP amazing!
The symposium is less than two weeks away and it is time to reflect on the work we have accomplished during the past 3 months in the lab!  As a student who spends large amounts of time in front of a technological screen, I can relate to the concerns shared by many individuals about the effects of blue light on our health. With the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating our dependence on technology, understanding how our screen time can affect our well-being is becoming more critical than ever. With this in mind, with my independent project, I decided to dive deeper and investigate the long-term impact of blue light on memory in adults. The research topic has implications for students and adults who spend countless hours in front of screens all day.  Specifically, in my experiment, I exposed fruit flies to different amounts of blue light and then quantified how much of the fruit flies' memory was intact. I had a control (0 hours of light per day), minimal exposure (1 hr), moderate exposure (8hr), and High Exposure (14 hr) vial for my experiment. After exposing the vials to their respective amounts of light throughout the week, it was time to quantify their memory. This was done by training the flies by associating Scent A with a negative reinforcement that they are uncomfortable in (hot water) and another Scent B with room temperature water, a more comfortable environment. If the flies' memory were intact, they would travel towards the scent associated with the room temperature water because they would remember associating Scent A with an uncomfortable environment. The first couple of times I ran this assay, I encountered several challenges. For example, finding the most optimal temperature for the hot water bath, transferring the flies from vial to vial, and making the flies move in the testing chamber were some of the challenges I encountered. Despite this, through perseverance and the help of my friends and instructors, I was able to collect some essential data. Although much more research is needed, my data showed that large amounts of exposure to blue light can harm memory in fruit flies. Furthermore, the effects of blue light on memory were more harmful when the exposure to blue light was in large amounts (10-14 hours). This could suggest that students and adults should limit their exposure to television, computers, and iPhones throughout the day to preserve their cognitive thinking. Even though the data shows promising results, much more remains to discover. For example, in the future, one can research how blue light impacts the F1 generation of flies or how drugs can counter the harmful effects of blue light.  In addition, I am thankful to be leaving the program with so many memories created with my friends and instructors. During my first week in the lab, I felt a little uncomfortable, but I soon began to learn more about everyone about me. My peers, instructors, and TA's around me were very affable and helped me create a more profound passion for biology and working in the lab. I want to thank all my peers, the TAs (Keith, Austin, and Jenan), especially Dr.Leystra and Dr.Purdy, for the beautiful experience!
Hello Everyone for the last time. I’m Endy Ascencio-Miranda for those who forgot and it has been quite some time since we last saw each other. I’m happy to inform everyone that I have finished my time here at TRIP! These past few weeks have been quite the ride, one that I am beyond thankful to be on. From not knowing what my experiment would be, to attempting to understand the fragility of larvae, and of course running late to work.  Aligned to spell TRIP
There's one thing that will forever stay with me, and that is “Don’t let yourself get in your own way.” Something Dr. Purdy has said to me whenever talking about my experiment. It’s something I needed to hear, especially considering I’ll be going away to college. I must realize that I have the potential to do incredible things, just as long as I don’t self-sabotage or doubt myself. I’m proud of the work I’ve done here at TRIP and that’s something no one can take away from me. Take the risks, face your fears, don’t let anything hold you back. That is what TRIP has taught me. I’m thankful for the progression I’ve made both as a scientist and most importantly as a person.
In just 6 short days, I will be done with my time in TRIP. How crazy is that? It feels like the program has lasted forever, since it was spanned out over 3 months, but then I remember that I’ve actually only spent 11 days in the lab. One thing I am excited for is getting to sleep in again on Saturdays though! Still, I am so very grateful for everything I’ve learned in TRIP. If you met me way back in February, I couldn’t work with a micropipette, experiment on fruit flies, manage my time in the lab, or even analyze and speak about my own research! TRIP has taught me all that and much, much more. Even better, TRIP has proven to me that medical research is definitely the career I want to pursue. I’ve always suspected as much, but now I have confirmation that the lab is where I belong, all thanks to what I learned and saw in TRIP.  If you’ve read my previous blogs, then you’re probably aware that I’ve spent the last 5 weeks conducting my independent project. For that, I asked the question, “How does the consumption of BPA affect female fertility and fly development?” This question was very interesting for me because I’ve spent a lot of time recently reading about the common contaminants that are often found in our food supply. Originally, I’d considered looking into the contaminated water from the Warminster water wells, which we no longer drink from. However, I realized that it was highly unlikely I’d manage to get my hands on water highly contaminated with forever chemicals. Thus, I shifted gears to focus on BPA, another chemical found in our water and also in our food. BPA is interesting because it gets into our food and water through contaminated plastics and cans, which it can leach out of. There’s not much research available on the effects of BPA, so it is a fairly novel subject, though the federal government has begun to ban it from certain products for human consumption. Interesting, right? In response to my question, I originally hypothesized that female fertility would decrease and that fly development would be slowed down. To test this hypothesis, I completed both the female fertility assay and the quantification of developmental data. To further investigate the effects of BPA, I tested female fertility after one week, when the flies had only been consuming BPA since adulthood, and again after two weeks, when the progeny flies had been consuming BPA for their entire lives. The results remained fairly similar, but the effects were much more severe in flies that had been consuming BPA for their entire lives. As for my question, it turns out that I was only partly correct: fly development was slowed down, but female fertility actually increased with the consumption of BPA.  I also found an interesting conundrum in my research: since BPA mimics the effects of estrogen, I did see an increase in female fertility and the amount of embryos being laid per female. However, when I counted the pupae in those vials on the same day, I found that the vials with BPA in them had much less pupae than the control vials. What I can assume from this is that either the embryos were not all hatching into larvae, or there was something preventing the larvae from maturing to pupae. Super fascinating, but unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to look into this further.
 Unfortunately, after 11 weeks of some of the best Saturdays of my life, my first hands-on lab experience has come to an end. At the start of this program, I had no idea how to use any equipment, handle fruit flies, or even what concentration meant. However, this program has taught me so much about not only a glimpse of lab work, but also how to intellectually tell and present a story about a problem and its solution.
The active ingredients were Huperzine A and Ginkgo Biloba. I simulated sleep deprivation among flies by exposing them to constant light throughout the entirety of their life. I collected developmental data to make sure that there were no major side effects from the two drugs on fertility and development, which I confirmed was true. After one week of exposure to the light and/or drugs, I conducted a larvae memory assay on the larvae of the original adult flies. I used larvae to specifically target adolescents when assessing behavioral effects. The assay consisted of exposing the larvae to a scent in an agar plate without sugar and a scent in an agar plate with sugar. After this training period, I placed the larvae on a testing plate that had each scent on opposite sides. The percentage of larvae that initially traveled towards the scent associated with sugar was the percentage of larvae whose memory was intact. After coming into the lab early to conduct eight larva memory trials each day (shoutout to Keith, one of the TAs, for helping me out!), I was satisfied and felt fulfilled with my results. From averaging the data, I confirmed that sleep deprivation did in fact decrease memory. I also found that both memory supplements were able to combat the memory disturbance from sleep deprivation; however, combining both drugs had no further increase on memory compared to using a single drug.Overall, I am eager to present my experiment to my fellow TRIP classmates, faculty, and families, as well as to the teachers from my school as well. TRIP has taught me not only about a possible career path, but also to be more intellectually curious, both in and out of the lab. I will take the skills I learned, as well as the relationships I have formed with my teachers, TAs, and classmates, and apply these skills to the rest of my life.   Wow, I am in complete shock that TRIP is almost over, time seemed to FLY by so fast. Looking back on this program, I can honestly say it has been a wonderful experience and opportunity that I was lucky to be a part of. Every week of the program I learned a new skill from how to use a pipette to nearly drowning fruit flies to measure their depression. The instructors and TA’s were extremely helpful and made the program enjoyable. The time in the LAB was a challenge, but a fun one indeed! I went from not knowing how to sort fruit flies or even use animals in a lab to model human processes, to running my own experiments and sleep depriving flies.  To pick up where I left you off in my last blog, over the past few weeks I have been testing the effects of Sleep Deprivation and a Western Diet on Fruit Fly Mood, specifically depression and sociability. These two stressors were of great interest to me since the average American consumes over 3 times the healthy limit of sugar per day. The average American teen gets only 65% of the sleep they need. I was intrigued to study the effects of common stressors that everyday people experience on fruit flies. Current studies suggest that both a high sugar consumption and a lack of sleep correlate with extensive issues. Such as, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and many more, but the mood issues associated with these stressors is less studied and proven which is why I was interested in these effects first hand. To collect my data I used two Assays called the Social Space Assay which measured the average distance between the fruit flies, and the Forced Swim Test which measured how long flies swim to determine how depressed they were.  What did the data show? Overall both sugar and sleep deprivation were shown to be bad for your mood in both tests. Sugar caused mostly slight negative effects while sleep deprivation was significantly worse, while the group with both stressors was by far the most affected.
Overall, TRIP is a wonderful program that undoubtedly helped me on my journey through life. I hope I can use the skills I learned in the future, and until next time, Nicholas Mento. |
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