Updates from Isabelle! by Isabelle Hills

This is my 8th week of the TRIP program and every session, I’m learning new things about lab techniques and critical thinking. Having finished my introductory experiment looking at the effects of rhodiola and constant darkness on mood, I’ve gained an initial understanding of what it's like to be in a more independent lab setting. Having this independence has been a really new and valuable experience considering that I had previously only done labs in classroom settings. I am In the beginning stages of collecting data for my independent research project and I love having the freedom to explore a topic that has particular relevance to me. I’ve decided to focus on how a flies mood is affected by CBD and isolation, more specifically looking at their anxiety. 

With the pandemic, most of us have been increasingly isolated and I’ve found that taking care of mental health is especially important under these conditions. My family frequently takes CBD and I want to see if it actually helps with feeling anxious and also see how that changes when the flies are put in isolation. I am interested to see if CBD alleviates stress in previously isolated flies, but I am also interested to see if CBD can actively improve anxiety/mood even when the flies aren't particularly stressed. ​

I have just submitted my third weekly experimental plan and this process is teaching me how to be detailed and precise with planning. Even with everything planned out, It can still be very difficult to keep up with the timing and to make sure each task gets completed. It's only been 2 weeks into working with my independent research question and I already have over 50 vials to keep track of! This number will just continue to grow and this aspect has been challenging my prioritization skills. I will need to collect data from each vial from the past weeks and continue to make more. So far, TRIP has been incredibly engaging and has challenged me to stay organized, efficient, and curious. I’m excited to continue researching and hopefully yield some interesting results!