Farewell, TRIP by David Benjamin

I’m sad to say that my time at TRIP has finally come to an end. I won’t lie; on the first day of the program, I wasn’t sure whether I would enjoy my Tuesday and Thursday mornings at Temple University. I was bombarded with new information and felt challenged while learning about drug stock dilutions. However, as the program shifted focus towards our independent projects and I started to make friends with my amazing TRIP-mates, I began to have so much fun.

For my independent project, I wanted to research the effects of certain ingredients in pre-workout, an exercise supplement that I often take when I’m tired before a workout. With the plethora of “energy-providing” ingredients in pre-workout (often upwards of 5 or 10), I was curious how much (if at all) each component contributed to an energized workout. I decided to focus on L-Citrulline, an amino acid naturally found in watermelon that, if taken, supposedly helps deliver more oxygen to your muscles through the dilation of blood vessels. However, little research supports its effectiveness, which made it a great candidate for my project. To measure the energy level of non-supplemented flies, caffeine-supplemented flies (which acted as a positive control), and flies that took L-Citrulline, I performed the Negative Geotaxis Assay. This assay measures fly locomotion by determining how high each fly climbs in the span of 3 seconds. After 5 repetitions, I found that flies that took L-Citrulline had significantly higher energy levels than those that took caffeine and those that did not consume any supplements. I also performed this assay on sleep-deprived flies, but L-Citrulline did not seem to provide them any extra energy.

With some extra time in the lab, I also sought to compare the anxiety level of L-Citrulline supplemented flies with caffeine supplemented flies since I often find myself feeling anxious after consuming caffeinated drinks. After 3 repetitions, I found that L-Citrulline may cause non-sleep deprived fruit flies to be less anxious than their caffeine-consuming counterparts. I was very happy with my results and now look for pre-workout products with higher L-Citrulline content.

I am so glad that I decided to apply to TRIP because it was so much more than just a lab. I will say that anyone looking to apply to TRIP in the future should expect a grind: completing homework packets, staying late to sort flies, repeating an experiment because you missed an important step, etc. But in the end, I left with invaluable hands-on experience, confidence to pursue a STEM-related career in the future, and countless memories (most notably getting food from the food trucks at Temple every day with one of my friends I made at TRIP). I even sharpened skills such as communication, creativity, and problem-solving that will undoubtedly translate to areas other than STEM. Overall, I feel super rewarded with my experience and could not think of a better way to spend my summer. Thank you to Dr. Leystra, Ms. P, Diya, my TRIP-mates, and everyone else who made TRIP such a great experience for me.