It has truly been a TRIP..! by Noella Idem

​Coming into this program, I was thrilled with excitement, however, it was overshadowed by my nerves of not knowing what to do, or not being able to answer questions asked by Dr. Leystra, or my peers in the duration of this program. However, those nerves were quickly overturned when I met these individuals in person. From day 1, learning the basics of micropipetting and seeing my future experiment participants (fruit flies) in action to now possessing over 20 vials on day 10, TRIP truly has been a trip. I never presumed I would develop so much knowledge in such a short period of time, as well as be exposed to varying experimental assays all available to me. It has really been a one in a lifetime experience, and I am overly grateful to Dr. Purdy and Dr. Leystra for the opportunity to expand my knowledge. 

​In the duration of this program, we went from doing our introductory projects to beginning the search for our final independent projects. As I began to communicate and exchange ideas with other “TRIPmates”, I landed on the prospect of evaluating eczema medications, and the various side effects associated with them. With recent global warming, and climate shifts, these environmental changes have severely impacted our skins, leading to high sensitivity and cause for inflammation or flare ups. Because of this I decided to focus on eczema, although it stems from a gene mutation, it can also develop later in life from environmental changes without any prior medical history of eczema. I chose two common medications used to treat eczema, cephalexin and prednisone. Over the course of two weeks, I utilized the open field assay in order to analyze how both medications: Cephalexin and Prednisone, affect stress and anxiety in fruit flies, by measuring the absence of their centrophobism ( or how long they spend in the center). The Open field assay consists of isolating three flies per condition and evaluating their ability to move around in the center compared to staying in the corners moving along the perimeter. 

​After analyzing my data and creating graphs, I came to the conclusion that my experiment was beneficial in providing me with the data needed to prove how eczema medications increase stress and anxiety when taken. With the final symposium near, it is sad to say that this TRIP is coming to an end, and I am very glad to have met such wonderful people, including both TA’s, Nadija and Drew, as well as Dr. Purdy, Dr. Leystra, and my other like-minded peers.