The TRIP (Unfortunately) Ends Here by Ismaeel Qureshi

It’s hard to believe that the last few months at TRIP went by so quickly! My experience at TRIP has taught me so much, and I’m so grateful that I’ve been able to work with and meet so many amazing people through the program. I remember being extremely nervous when I first entered the lab; I didn’t know what to expect. However, as the program went on, I became more confident in my abilities, both laboratory and presentation wise.

I tested if Vitamin E could repair memory damage done by kratom, an opioid-like drug that is becoming increasingly common in the United States

For my independent project, I tested if Vitamin E could repair memory damage done by kratom, an opioid-like drug that is becoming increasingly common in the United States. I specifically wanted to look at how drugs can impact cognitive function in developing brains, so I decided to use larvae because they are developing flies. Also, I decided to use Vitamin E to improve memory because it is in high concentrations in almonds, which my parents have always told me are good for memory. My experiment had 4 vials; one was a control, one had just kratom in it, one had just Vitamin E in it, and one was both kratom and Vitamin E in it. Each vial had 40 females and 20 males, adding up to a total of 60 flies in each vial. After 7 days, I removed the larvae from the vials and tested them using the Larval Memory Assay, which tested the memory of the larvae by seeing how well they could associate a scent with the presence of food. To do this, I had one sugarless agar plate with a pineapple scent and a sugared agar plate with a banana scent. After training the larvae to associate the banana scent with the presence of food, I placed them on a test plate, which had one of each scent on either side. After 5 minutes, if the larvae chose the side with the banana scent, they had functioning memories.

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While I initially found my assay tough to perform at first, I got the hang of it after a while. I often had to come in early to make sure I had enough time, but it was worth it because I got to perform such an interesting experiment. I also was able to develop my multitasking skills, as I often had to track multiple timers and agar plates while performing my experiment.

Overall, my experience with TRIP was one that I am extremely thankful for. I will always cherish the memories that I made with my peers. I want to thank Dr. Leystra, Dr. Purdy, Dr. Valdes, Mr. Cozzone, Anoosha, Niki, and all of my peers for making this program such an incredible experience. Goodbye!