The End to my TRIP by Anika Gupta

Hi everyone! Thanks for joining me on my final blog post to end this incredible “TRIP”. 
These last three months have flown by, and I’ve gained invaluable knowledge and experience through my time at TRIP. It feels like just yesterday I walked into the lab—wide-eyed and full of wonder about all there was to learn. Now, I can confidently perform a variety of assays and understand the ins and outs of conducting research, all thanks to this incredible program! For my independent project, I chose to study the effects of sudafed on anxiety and sociability depending on varied concentrations. ​

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My interest in this niche stemmed from a broader curiosity about congestive medicine and its potential side effects. Sudafed is a widely used decongestant, but its effectiveness has recently been brought into question as it has adverse side effects such as rapidly increasing heart rate and causing tremors. I originally hypothesized that as concentrations of Sudafed increased, sociability would decrease and anxiety would increase. To explore its impact on behavior, I conducted two different assays: the Open Field Test and the Sociability Assay.

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For the Open Field Test, I set up 12 agar plates—each with one fly—and recorded a two-minute video per plate. I then analyzed how many times each fly crossed the center of the plate and how much time it spent there. This test measures anxiety because fruit flies, being natural prey, tend to avoid open areas. If a fly frequently crosses or lingers in the center, it suggests a reduction in anxiety levels. For the Sociability Assay, I created four social chambers–each with five flies–and allowed them to roam freely for 15 minutes before taking a snapshot of their positions. Using image analysis software, I measured the distances between flies to quantify their social tendencies. The closer the flies were to one another, the higher their sociability. This assay helped determine whether exposure to Sudafed influenced social interaction.

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Through four separate trials of each assay, I was able to conclude that Sudafed doesn’t have a major effect on anxiety, but it does noticeably decrease sociability in the flies. As the concentration of Sudafed increased, the average distance between flies consistently decreased, which suggests they were less inclined to socialize. When it came to anxiety, I was surprised to find that the flies exposed to Sudafed actually showed lower anxiety levels compared to my control group. This wasn’t what I expected and definitely left me curious about what might be going on behind the scenes
This TRIP has been an unforgettable experience that’s allowed me to explore my curiosity with no bounds. Thank you to Dr. Austria, Dr. Purdy, Dr. Valdes, and Mr. Cozzone for your constant guidance and support. A huge thank you as well to our incredible TAs, Amritha, Phoebe, and Martie for always making me laugh and creating such a warm, welcoming lab environment. And finally, thank you to all my amazing labmates for making this a fun, collaborative, and supportive experience.
Thank you for following my TRIP journey over the past 11 weeks—I’m excited to see where everything I’ve learned takes me!


​Signing off, one last time,

Anika Gupta

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