Germantown Academy sophomore Aidan Gor ’25 was selected to participate in the annual Teen Research Internship Program (TRIP) at Fox Chase Cancer Center. This distinguished program spans across Southeast PA and has an acceptance rate of just 10%.
"I was extremely excited when I was accepted into the program, especially being one of the first few people to attend from GA," said Gor. "I was proud to represent GA in the scientific community."
The internship is intended to give highly passionate and motivated high school students a chance to develop scientific knowledge, lab skills, research experience, and presentation skills that go beyond the general high school science curriculum. All the research performed is done translationally using fruit flies. The program consists of three parts: 1) learning lab skills and project design through performing an assigned 4-week research project 2) designing an independent project and executing the project on my own 3) presenting my independent project at an all-day symposium to fellow researchers, families, teachers, and Fox Chase Cancer Center faculty.
For his independent project, Gor tested to see if there were drugs that could combat teens with attention span deficits during learning. Gor recognized that many of his peers, himself included, often do not get a solid night’s sleep. In result, he began to investigate the role of OTC herbal medications in treating the impacts of mental clarity and focus after sleep deprivation.
"During the program, I learned lab skills, how to design and propose traditional research, and effectively give a scientific presentation," he said. "It was so cool to not only handle fruit flies, but also use my results and apply them to a bigger problem."
GA Honors Biology teacher, Ms. Julia Downs, attended Aidan’s presentation for the TRIP Program on May 13 at William Tennent High School. "I was impressed by his hypotheses and experimental design," said Downs. "Aidan’s professional presentation to a large group of fellow student researchers, faculty, and families was impressive. His responses to follow-up questions demonstrated strong critical thinking skills and scientific knowledge. It was a joy to support Aidan!"
As he reflects on his own experience, Gor states, "I felt as if I grew as a communicator by presenting my own research at the symposium, where I not only had family but also one of my potential, future Biology Honors teachers, Ms. Downs, to support me. I gained new friends from other schools and I am proud to be a TRIP alum and part of the TRIP family."
For more information about the TRIP initiative and Aidan’s first-hand experience, refer to the links below
The TRIP Initiative: https://www.tripinitiative.com/
My TRIP So Far! by Aidan Gor: https://www.tripinitiative.com/blog/my-trip-so-far-by-aidan-gor3216221