My Reflection of the TRIP Explore 2026 Program by Sebastian Lucente

My experience at the TRIP Explore 2026 program is one that I will never forget. I am so grateful for this opportunity to learn more about career pathways in cancer research, make new friends and connections at Fox Chase Cancer Center, and engage in interactive learning in the laboratory through experiments and data collection. I thought that the structure of this program was very successful. Through a good balance between lecturing, tours, assignments, and in-lab learning, I was able to learn the most that I could. My favorite component was the lectures and tours from career speakers. It was so insightful to talk with people in the field about their research and what their role is at the cancer center, as well as seeing the different kinds of machinery and software extensively used in research. My favorite was the tour of the Cell Culture Facility where I saw the xCELLigence Real-Time Cell Analysis machine that directly measures cell growth and death rates over time. I thought the assays that I learned how to do are very crucial to understanding certain lab techniques, such as micropipetting, creating solutions, and incubating bacterial colonies on a medium. The concept of each assay was not hard to carry out, but I will admit it was tedious to prepare each assay for each experimental group, especially when sorting or counting flies based on sex. My participation in this program has greatly impacted my passions in scientific research, it was so eye-opening to learn about all the different kinds of machinery that are used, how different facilities collaborate with each other to produce data in a research project, and how institutions like Fox Chase are virtually a melting pot for all aspects of cancer research, whether it is molecular, cellular, tissue-based, or across organ systems, there is no limit to the ways one can participate in cancer research. I will definitely be looking forward to using this machinery more as I grow as an individual into my college education to carry out my own research. One last thing I will say about TRIP Explore: even if you are introverted or have trouble making connections, I really encourage you to grow this skill as though I am slightly introverted I was able to make great friendships here that will certainly help me explore the field and pursue new opportunities.

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