Amazing student Trisha Dalapati

Franklin College double major Trisha Dalapati has immersed herself in UGA oppportunities, from volunteering to studying abroad to conducting laboratory research:

During my freshman fall, a friend introduced me to the Lunchbox Garden project. LBG is an afterschool outreach program where UGA students visit a local elementary school twice a week. The group plans lessons on gardening and sustainable living, and volunteers provide the hands-on support for teaching the activities. As a kid, I loved summers of gardening tomatoes and eggplants with my mom. LBG reminded me of those memories, and I quickly fell in love with the endless energy elementary schoolers have. It’s rewarding to watch these kids learn about where food comes from and the responsibility we all have in taking care of our planet. It is such a joy to pull radishes out from the ground at the end of each semester!

I joined Dr. Julie Moore’s lab in the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases my freshman year. The CTEGD is a hotspot for cutting edge infectious disease research and multidisciplinary collaboration. I was drawn to the lab due to its dual focus on maternal health and infectious diseases. The Moore Lab investigates placental malaria, a disease that develops during pregnancy and is responsible for killing over 200,000 infants annually. I specifically study a dangerous cycle of inflammation and blood clotting that occurs during placental malaria. It has been incredibly rewarding to train in the Moore Lab and to convey the gravity of the disease burden to people inside and outside of the scientific community. Through the ups and downs of research, my fellow lab mates, our resident cheerleader Julie Range, and Dr. Moore have made working in the lab so much fun.

During the second semester of my freshman year, the Biochemistry Undergraduate Society was launched. The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is thriving. Professors are making an impact on students inside the classroom and in their lab. Undergraduate students within BUS are on various pre-professional tracks and come from diverse niches across campus. Since BUS began, we have hosted an annual symposium, brought in speakers for coffee hours, held professional panels, and taken field trips like the “Biochemistry of Brewing” at Creature Comforts. BUS has been a blast!

Read the whole thing. Dalapati shows us that a great UGA experience can take you around the world, introduce you to many different kinds of people and places, and cement connections to campus that endure as they inspire. Congratulations and best wishes for a wonderful senior year.