Vedha’s Start to TRIP! by Vedha Viddam

I am involved in TRIP because I want to get a hands-on experience with lab based research. I’ve always loved the labs we had to do in Biology and Chemistry class, so I hope to have some fun!

My goal is to help others lead a happier and healthier life starting with my own family members, whom I have seen, suffer from psoriasis, since my childhood. This condition is thought to be caused by the overactivity of the immune system. Currently, there is no cure for this, but using my passion for understanding diseases and disorders, I would like to someday find a cure for psoriasis and some of the other currently incurable immunity conditions.

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Hello! My name is Vedha Viddam. I was born in New Jersey and moved to Pennsylvania when I was 3 years old. I am currently a senior at Downingtown East High School. I love music, but I don’t have a specific favorite. Also, I play the piano, sing, and dance. I recently won 1st place in a Bollywood National Dance competition called TANA. I also love sports and play Volleyball and learn Martial Arts. I am fluent in English and Telugu and semi-fluent in Spanish. I also love to watch movies, especially action and horror genre ones.

Also, I want to pursue a career in immunology and go into research. I discovered my interest in Immunology four years ago, in my ninth grade biology class when we were learning about viruses and diseases. I became fascinated with the way viruses inject their DNA into cells and how there are triggers for the virus replication to start in cells. I was also interested in learning about how these pathogens and viruses affect the body. I eventually began researching numerous diseases and disorders and learned the causes of them.