10 Medical Research Opportunities for High School Students
Experience with medical research is one of the best tools to help a student navigate their path into the medical profession. It can give them a head-start into their journey toward college, by offering them hands-on experience and an early exposure to the pressures and rewards of their chosen field of interest. Students have the opportunity to learn in a variety of venues, including universities, hospitals and clinics, and research centers, as well as meet with industry professionals. In this article, we list 10 of the best avenues to get an early start in the field of medicine for a high school student.
Here are 10 Medical Research Opportunities for High School Students:
Students at SIMR collaborate with Stanford faculty and researchers to conduct medical research. Students select one of eight study fields and are then allocated to a lab where they will be mentored one-on-one. SIMR is an 8-week program open to current juniors and seniors that gives a $500 stipend to participants.
Cost: None
At MISA, students learn about healthcare through hands-on research, skills training (EKG, suturing, CPR, splinting, and taking vitals), shadowing, mentorship, and clinical immersion. They also participate in VIP lunches with health professionals, observe patients and medical procedures, and engage in patient-case workshops and discussions with physicians.
The five-day program is open to all high school students in grades 9-12. Students must be at least 15 at the time of applying.
Cost: $900
3. Veritas AI (AI+Medicine) Deep Dive
Veritas AI is an AI program for ambitious high school students, founded and run by Harvard graduate students. In the AI + Medicine program, students learn how AI is used in the healthcare and medical industry. Students get a chance to work on real-world projects using AI & ML models to diagnose diseases, sharpen medical scans, and explain their outcomes to aid doctors and patients. Here is the program brochure and the application form.
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program is a rigorous research program tailored for high school students. The program offers extensive 1-on-1 research opportunities for high school students, across a broad range of subject areas that you can explore as a high schooler.
The program pairs high-school students with Ph.D. mentors to work 1-on-1 on an independent research project. At the end of the 12-week program, you’ll have developed an independent research paper! You can choose research topics from subjects such as psychology, physics, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry, international relations, and more. You can find more details about the application here.
Horizon offers trimester-long research programs for high school students across subject areas such as data science, machine learning, political theory, biology, chemistry, neuroscience, psychology, and more! Horizon is one of the few research programs for high school students that offers you the choice to engage in either quantitative or qualitative research.
Once you select a particular subject track and the type of research you wish to carry out, Horizon pairs you with a professor/PhD scholar from a reputed university who acts as a mentor throughout your research journey. As a participant, you will be expected to develop a 20-page research paper that you can send to prestigious journals for publication as a high school student.
This program is a solid opportunity for you to pursue a research program in highly specialized fields, under the guidance of a top scholar. The program also provides a letter of recommendation for each student and detailed project feedback that you can use to work on future projects. Apply here!
4. Children’s Hospital Colorado—Summer Child Health Research Internship Children's Hospital Colorado offers this internship. Hosted by the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado, the program provides rising high school seniors, college students, and first-year medical students the opportunity to work with faculty on child health research. Interns will also have the option to take part in a lecture research series and will present their findings at the end of their internship. Interns receive a $3,500 stipend to help with travel and housing expenses.
Cost: None
This six-week internship is for high school juniors and seniors who are interested in brain structure, function, and development, as well as sophisticated imaging techniques and technology utilized in neuroscience. Interns in neuroscience gain hands-on experience with genetic engineering, microbiological preparations, histological staining, and microscopy by participating in laboratory research. Students will prepare a scientific abstract and give a short presentation at the end of the internship.
Cost: None
NSLC provides a forum for high school students to learn about contentious medical issues, current health-care concerns, and cutting-edge scientific research in areas like cancer and HIV/AIDS. Students will engage in clinical research, study medical examination, and surgical methods, and participate in diagnosis and treatment.
Cost: $3695
This five-week online program provides intensive coursework in medicine and health science, professional development workshops, networking opportunities with health professions, college admissions guidance, and mentoring to high school sophomores and juniors. Students will also complete a college-level research project and get experience in navigating the medical profession.
Cost: None
This 8 week research program is organized by the Rheumatology and Immunology Laboratories at Stanford University and the University of California, San Francisco. The program is open to high school juniors and seniors. Selected students work in top research and clinical laboratories at Stanford University and the University of California, San Francisco, under the guidance of renowned experts. Students work 40 hours per week in either basic laboratory research or clinical epidemiological/translational (patient-focused) research. The program offers a $1500 stipend.
Cost: None
HS-SIP provides students with the opportunity to do full-time biomedical research at NIH facilities, working alongside world-renowned professionals. Applicants must be juniors or seniors at the time of application and 17 years old at the commencement of the program to be considered. The program is 8 weeks long and offers a stipend of $2080 per month to selected students.
Cost: None
This is a four-week, 160-hour virtual internship for high school juniors and seniors that allows them to participate in basic, translational, or clinical scientific research at MWRI and Magee-Womens Hospital under the supervision of an investigator and their team. Interns also take part in sessions where investigators talk about their own adventures and perspectives in biomedical science. Interns will report their findings to other program participants as well as MWRI instructors and staff at the program's completion.
Cost: None
Participants in this six-week online program are partnered with mentors and spend 40 hours per week on assignments such as laboratory research, database research, or clinical research. They also attend weekly workshops and professional development sessions on issues such as seeking admission to graduate and professional programs of study. The program offers a stipend to participants.
Cost: None
Bonus - If you're looking for a real-world internship in medicine that can help boost your resume while applying to college, we recommend Ladder Internships!
Ladder Internships is a selective program equipping students with virtual internship experiences at startups and nonprofits around the world!
The startups range across a variety of industries, and each student can select which field they would most love to deep dive into. This is also a great opportunity for students to explore areas they think they might be interested in, and better understand professional career opportunities in those areas.
You can explore all the options here on their application form. As part of their internship, each student will work on a real-world project that is of genuine need to the startup they are working with, and present their work at the end of their internship
Additionally, here's a list of the top 15 pre-med summer programs for high school students that you should check out!
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.