TRIP@WTHS'25 Session A

Marguerite (Margot) Burstyn

Marguerite “Margot” Burstyn joined TRIP@WTHS’26 as a senior at Abington Senior High School. In her spare time, she loves to practice Muay Thai, go to the gym, and listen to rock music. She wants to become an astrobiologist when she grows up. For her TRIP project, she investigated the impact of chamomile tea and decaffeinated green tea on chronic and acute anxiety.

​Blog 1: Introductions
Blog 2: Project Planning
​Blog 3: Reflections

Sharizoda Farmonova

Sharizoda Farmonova joined TRIP 2026 as a Junior from William Tennent High School. Sharizoda is very passionate about science, with her favorite classes in school being Anatomy and Physics. Outside of school, she loves reading novels, watching dramas, and cooking different foods. For her TRIP project, she tested whether exposure to different wavelengths of light could potentially mitigate some detrimental effects that can result, specifically from exposure to blue light.
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Blog 1: Introductions
Blog 2: Project Planning​
Blog 3: Reflections

Dylan Goodman

Dylan Goodman joined TRIP as a junior at William Tennent High School. Dylan loves music and plays both the piano and violin in her free time. She always watches her pet pig and cat as well. In school, Dylan enjoys helping the Science National Honor Society and other organizations through her leadership roles. For her TRIP project, she tested the impact of chromium picolinate on those consuming a high-sugar diet by observing lifespan and metabolic health. 
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Blog 1: Introductions
Blog 2: Project Planning​
Blog 3: Reflections

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Cassandra (Casey) Kim

Cassandra “Casey” Kim joined TRIP@WTHS’26 as a junior at North Penn High School.  In her free time, she loves to crochet, listen to music, and spend time with friends.  Casey is heavily involved in activities like Model United Nations and HOSA, but outside of school, she runs a nonprofit that raises awareness for various skin conditions.  She aspires to one day pursue a career in medical research to help others with these diseases.  For her TRIP project, Casey studied the effectiveness of natural vs. pharmaceutical treatments in reducing inflammation.
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Blog 1: Introductions
​Blog 2: Project Planning
Blog 3: Reflections

Michael Liu​

Michael Liu joined TRIP as a junior at Tower Hill School. Michael enjoys baking and playing the flute, practicing songs he loves with his friends. He is fascinated with subjects like biology and chemistry, and is curious about why humans work the way they do. For his TRIP project, he studied the effects that goji berries have on energy in adults and adolescents.
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Blog 1: Introductions
Blog 2: Project Planning​
​Blog 3: Reflections

Alan Meng​

Alan Meng joined TRIP@WTHS’26 as a junior at Wissahickon High School. Alan likes to play volleyball, hang out with friends, and cook with his family. At school, their favorite class is math, but they also enjoy history and physics. For their TRIP project, they tested the effects of sodium nitrate, a common preservative, on the gut microbiome and overall health. 
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Blog 1: Introductions
Blog 2: Project Planning​
Blog 3: Reflections

Punam Mojumdar

Punam Mojumdar joined TRIP as a junior at Bensalem High School. She has always enjoyed the beauty of art, using it as a form of self expression and values meeting new people to expand her perspective and friendships. She had long been greatly interested in science, motivating her to join TRIP and further her passion for STEM. Her research project aimed to investigate how exposure to environmental stressors influence neurological and physiological stress resilience at different stages of one's life. ​
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Blog 1: Introductions
Blog 2: Project Planning
Blog 3: Reflections

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Brandon Ngo

Brandon Ngo joined TRIP@WTHS’26 as a junior at School Lane Charter School. Brandon loves to cook, practice Tang Soo Do, and fold origami paper cranes. He enjoys chaotic DP Chemistry labs, eating out with friends on fun excursions, and watching YouTube channels to learn science or recipes. For his TRIP project, Brandon tested whether photoactivated titania could be safely used to kill bacteria without altering fruit fly activity and development.
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​Blog 1: Introductions
​Blog 2: Project Planning
Blog 3: Reflections

Saurish Singh

Saurish Singh joined TRIP@WTHS’26 as a Junior at Downingtown West Highschool. Saurish is a huge fan of puzzles and loves to read books. His favorite book is The Things they Carried by Tim O’Brien. In school, he loves to engage himself with anything related to science and always loves to challenge himself. For their TRIP project, they tested the impact of Sulforaphane and whether it can fend off the neurotoxic effects of Acrylamide.

​Blog 1: Introductions
​Blog 2: Project Planning
Blog 3: Reflections

TRIP@WTHS'26 Session B​

Akram Aboras​

Akram Aboras joined TRIP@WTHS’26 as a sophomore at William Tennent High School. He enjoys baking, drawing, volunteering within his community, and spending time with friends and family. He hopes to pursue a career in medicine, bridging patient care with treatment-based research. He is interested in the effectiveness of natural remedies, such as herbs and their teas. For his TRIP project, Akram explored blue light’s impact on adult and adolescent anxiety, and whether Ashwagandha tea and Chamomile tea could mitigate its effects.
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​Blog 1: Introductions
Blog 2: Project Planning​
​Blog 3: Reflections

Isabella (Izzy) Catalano

Isabella “Izzy” Catalano joined TRIP as a sophomore at William Tennent High School. Izzy has always had an interest in math and science, but outside of education she participates in many clubs including her school’s marching band and flag football team. For her TRIP project, she tested the generational impact of manganese poisoning and milk thistle on the general health of developing and full grown individuals.
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​Blog 1: Introductions
Blog 2: Project Planning​
​Blog 3: Reflections

Aanya Deshpande​

Aanya Deshpande joined TRIP as a junior at Downingtown S.T.E.M. Academy. Aanya is interested in pursuing biomedical science and engineering after high school. She likes to dance, do martial arts, listen to music, and spend time with friends and family. Her TRIP project tested whether or not green tea could ameliorate the negative effects of alcohol on locomotion and mood.

​​Blog 1: Introductions
Blog 2: Project Planning​
​Blog 3: Reflections​

Claire Jang

Claire Jang joined TRIP as a sophomore at Parkland High School. Claire spends her free time practicing the cello, public speaking through her school’s debate and mock trial teams, and volunteering at her local hospital. She enjoys reading new novels (particularly science fiction!) and writing stories inspired by them. She is a passionate student who loves learning about biology and wishes to pursue a career in the medical field. For her TRIP project, she sought to determine whether inulin could counteract the negative impact of PFO on fertility and physical health across generations.​
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Blog 1: Introductions
Blog 2: Project Planning​
​Blog 3: Reflections

Luke Jang

Luke Jang joined TRIP@WTHS’26 as a junior at Garnet Valley High School. Luke moved to the States from South Korea when he was 4 years old and enjoys listening to music, playing sports, and hanging out with friends. He wants to pursue a career in neuroscience and the medical field. For his TRIP project, he tested if omega-3 fatty acids could alleviate the negative effects of head trauma on memory. 
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Blog 1: Introductions
Blog 2: Project Planning​
​Blog 3: Reflections

Simran Kamal-Bahl

Simran Kamal-Bahl joined TRIP@WTHS’26 as a sophomore at Germantown Academy. She is an academically driven student who also loves dance, music, and playing tennis. Simran enjoys cooking and baking, which, combined with her passion for science, sparked her interest in nutrition and how diet impacts health. For her TRIP project, she investigated how an emulsifier, combined with a high-sugar diet, affects adult fly microbiome and fertility to simulate the effects of ultra-processed foods.
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​Blog 1: Introductions
Blog 2: Project Planning​
Blog 3: Reflections​​

Laasyakrishna (Laasya) Malneedi

Laasyakrishna “Laasya” Malneedi joined TRIP as a junior at Spring-Ford. She is passionate about medicine and using science to support underserved communities. Outside the lab, she enjoys traveling, creating art, and volunteering at her local hospital. She also helps lead and is a part of her school’s Student Council, DECA, HOSA, and Science Research Club. For her TRIP project, she sought to determine how NSAID exposure affects gut microbiome health and its potential connection to behavior. 

​Blog 1: Introductions
Blog 2: Project Planning​
​​Blog 3: Reflections​

Kaiden Ramessur

Kaiden Ramessur joined TRIP as a sophomore at George School. Kaiden has lived in London, England, Hong Kong, China, and the USA. He enjoys reading fantasy books and playing Dungeons and Dragons. With an interest in astronomy, chemistry, and especially biology, he loves all things science. For his independent project, he investigated the impact of blue & white light overexposure on risk taking and decision making on adult flies, and how melatonin can influence those results.
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Blog 1: Introductions
Blog 2: Project Planning​
​Blog 3: Reflections​

Dakshvir Salaria

Dakshvir Salaria joined TRIP@WTHS ‘26 as a sophomore at Penncrest High School. He loves to go outside to explore nature and go on runs, and he is on his school’s Envirothon team. For his TRIP project, he decided to test Vitamin E and its effect after UV Exposure on adult fruit flies. 

​Blog 1: Introductions
Blog 2: Project Planning​
​Blog 3: Reflections​