Emerging Scientist

To my parents:

My expertise primarily lies in asking questions. Since I am a scientist I am interested in why and how things works. With each new discovery comes a new question. Why do bananas ripen in presence of an apple? Does sunscreen actually protect your skin? These are the types of questions that most people think about on occasion, and the researchers are the ones that probe into it and discover the reason why. They set up experiments, make observations of the experiments, collect data, and draw conclusions.

I played the role of a researcher when I was trying to search for an alternative and more eco-friendly way of using botanicals as a repellent to prevent mosquitoes from harming humans. Initially an extensive literature search was conducted to select various plants, based on previously known medicinal uses. From that information bioassays were set up from the extracts. Bioassays are used to measure the effects and strength of a substance on a living organism. In this experiment mosquitoes were harvested in my backyard by keeping a tray with water in a shady area which was damp with trees and other shrubbery covering it. The bioassays were administered on a filter paper placed on top of the breeder. The breeder was a cylindrical chamber with two compartments. On the bottom larvae were able to grow into pupae and fly to the upper chamber. The adult flies would then be in direct contact with the fumes from the filter paper. After the study conducted several plants were shown to be powerful in killing off the mosquitoes. A separate experiment with commercial products was also conducted. Being that we(my family) frequent India every other year and are always in close proximity to swampy mosquito rich areas, the efficacies of commercial repellents was tested. The data suggested that some of the commercially bought products were just as effective as some of the plant botanicals.

As a scientist I can ask questions and solve problems that plague many people around the world.

Job Interview:

The art of inquiry and probing is one that is innate in a scientist. I have always asked the questions why, how, where, when etc. to my parents as a child and this is what most likely led me to a field in the sciences. The interest in how things work and building an experimental model to ask questions and to solve them keeps me motivated to continue research and discovery.

An example of my research initiative is when I was a senior in high school. I created an experiment to help understand the efficacies of various plant species. The title of the work: “Bioprospecting for Effective Mosquito Larvicides and Adulticides” is looking at a way to essentially keep mosquitoes at bay and prevent them from harming humans with malaria. The experimentation did not take place in one day, but over a six month time frame. Initially an extensive literature search was done to find plants that have known medicinal qualities as well as those that are commonly used in the past to keep mosquitoes at bay. The first step was to create bioassays of the plants and oils that were used. The data from this looked at mortality levels of these assays. The method to test this was using a cylindrical breeder. The bottom of the breeder held the murky water containing the mosquito larvae, and once these larvae grew into adult mosquitoes they were able to fly up to the top compartment. The top of the compartment had a vented opening on which a filter paper with the prepared bioassay was inoculated. The findings from these experiments determined that three of the plant species: Tulsi, Sweet Fennel, and Sweet Annie were highly effective in killing the mosquitoes. The results from this experiment were also used to test against Drosophila melanogaster, the common fruit fly to see if there would be any mortality in other parts of the ecosystem. The results showed that these flies were also killed, suggesting that the dosage of the treatment may need to be altered to only kill the mosquitoes and keep other parts of the ecosystem intact. In another separate experiment there was some compelling evidence for the interruption of growth from larvae to adult mosquitoes when using steam distillates of various plants. This data was interesting since if the growth of adult mosquitoes is able to be hindered, then the transmission of malaria will be able to be curtailed.

The research done here helped me to fully understand the pieces of the scientific method and the importance of asking questions and seeking answers.