The Weeks are Flying By! by Tanzeela Rafe

Hi everyone! It has been a bit since I have written to you all, but these past few weeks have gone by super fast, and I can’t believe we are halfway through the program. I am having such a fun time in the lab getting to know my fellow peers, learning from instructors, TA’s and fruit flies! 

We just completed and presented our Kickoff Experiments where I studied how Fenugreek and a high sugar diet affect female fertility. I had hypothesized that Fenugreek will combat the negative effects of sugar and increase female fertility, which was supported by my data! I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to perform this experiment prior to heading into my independent project. It gave me experience with sorting fruit flies, working with micropipettes and performing the Female Fertility Assay. Presenting my findings was rewarding, and allowed me to better my communication skills while gaining beneficial feedback from my peers! 

​

I now feel prepared and very excited to head into my independent project! After sorting through my ideas, I finally decided on researching the effects of intermittent fasting and Benadryl on cognitive health and memory. For 30 days in the month of Ramadan, I follow an intermittent fasting schedule and have always been curious about the physical benefits that it holds. I found articles stating the numerous advantages of intermittent fasting, but what stood out to me most was its effect on memory, and preventing Dementia and Alzheimer’s. Additionally, I chose to test Benadryl as it contains anticholinergic properties, which slows down acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter involved in memory retention. It is a very common over-the-counter medication and I am interested to see whether intermittent fasting will reverse the negative effects of Benadryl on adult fruit fly memory.