Let's Start Here by Sachin Chhaya

Hello! A little more than a month into TRIP and I have been enjoying every single second of it: awesome TA’s, awesome instructors, and awesome lab mates. A LOT has happened these past few weeks, I have learned so much about fruit flies and the entire experimental process. I am excited to start the next phase, my independent project! 

In my kick-off experiment, I tested the effects of Vitamin D3 and head trauma on fruit fly motility. To do this, I conducted the negative geotaxis assay, where male fruit flies’ movement is tested against gravity to assess brain activity. I learned to be patient from sorting the male flies on ice, it was pretty stressful! After the assay, I found that Vitamin D3 made the flies D3 athletes and even healed the head trauma that was inflicted on them! I was extremely surprised by the degree that the simple vitamin could act as an anti-inflammatory. I had fun presenting my findings to my labmates and instructors, and everyone’s kick-off experiment presentations were so cool! The constructive feedback on the presentations taught me a lot about speaking and creating presentations.

Let's start our independent projects! Even before TRIP, I knew I wanted to research the impact of epinephrine from Epi-Pens and Auvi-Qs. Its ability to stimulate adrenal activity and contractions in the muscles and heart saves the lives of so many people, including my sister. She has needed to keep one her whole life, so I want to determine if extended use of epinephrine would have negative impacts on hormonal levels and overall bodily health. I will have to rip apart some Auvi-Q’s to test epinephrine on female fruit fly fertility! With the help of Mr. Cozzone and Dr. Purdy, I came up with an organized plan for my research, and I cannot wait to get started.