2,893 Inspirational Passion Project Ideas

Turn inspirations into your passion project.

This collection of project ideas, shared by Polygence mentors, is meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Check out some projects

Speaking from the heart

The heart is arguably the most important muscle in our body and in order to live a long and healthy life we should exercise to strengthen that muscle. There are two main forms of exercise; (i) endurance training (biking, walking, running, swimming, etc.), and (ii) resistance training (strength/weight training). The demand on the body and the heart specifically will differ depending on the form of training. Project Goal: First understand the cardiovascular system in our body and then understand how it may respond the types of exercise in the short and long term. Optional Goal: Perform light, moderate, and heavy exercise while measuring heart rate to understand the hemodynamic response of the heart.

Nutrition

Alex

Original Research & Academic Journal Article Writing

Have an inkling you're interested in academic research? Let's talk about your idea, refine your research question, test it, and write about it! Get an intro to academic journal and grant writing.

Nutrition

Ashton

Biomechanics of Injury

The human body is a marvel. In the world of elite athletics, it is interesting to see how the body develops with respect to different sports and subsequent injury when the body attempts to perfect the same movement related to that activity. For example, why are there so many torn ACLs/MCLs/meniscuses in women soccer but more sprained ankles in volleyball? Many variables are included: terrain of play, height, muscle development, common movements, etc. We could explore together these variables and examine the biomechanics of injury and potential ways to reduce said injury.

Engineering, Nutrition

Santita

Food Product Development!

Got an interesting idea for a new food product, snack or beverage? Learn all the fundamentals of what you need to know, from formulation and food safety to branding and marketing.

Nutrition

Ashton

Under the Dermatoscope: A Fact Check of Common Skin Care and Sun Protection Advice

This blog (or podcast) series explores commonly held beliefs regarding proper skin care and sun protection, applying a Mythbusters-like approach to discern facts from fiction in the world of dermatology. Using the power of evidence-based medicine, Under the Dermatoscope provides an up-to-date resource exposing dermatologic myths and verifying helpful truths about skin health.

Biology, Nutrition, Medicine

Austin

Become a Student Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship is such a buzz word these days, but what does it really take to bring your product or service idea to market? Learn how to develop a business model, conduct customer discovery, develop a minimum viable product, and tap into local support systems for your business idea.

Nutrition

Ashton

Novel model of load bearing-induced muscle hypertrophy

Muscle rapidly responds to mechanical stimulus by increasing in size at the cellular and tissue level. Efforts to investigate the regulation of this process at the molecular level are hindered by a lack of translationally relevant rodent models of load bearing induced hypertrophy. The current standard model of muscle hypertrophy in lab rodents utilizes synergistic ablation, a highly invasive and non-translational model that is quite dissimilar to the common conception of load bearing. In this model, one of two muscles that cooperate to facilitate limb movement is surgically removed from an animal, forcing the other muscle to take on additional mechanical load. There are many limitations to this model. For example, this experimental design does not allow the experimenter to periodically remove the excess weight to allow muscle recovery in the absence of mechanical load. It would be extremely useful for the field of muscle biology if someone developed a non-invasive, translationally relevant method to stimulate mechanical load bearing in live lab mice.

Nutrition

Pieter

Decreasing stigma around mental health in high school students

Perform a literature review on successful ways to increase dialogue in mental health in high school students. Use this to create either a website or a student group to implement these efforts.

Psychiatry, Nutrition

Amy

Health in my City

examine the health outcomes of people in the city and develop strategies, programs, or policy ideas on how to combat the negative health outcomes and promote positive outcomes.

Nutrition

Ricardo

Social Media and Mental Health Disorders

Social media is not going anywhere. We often discuss the mental health implications of the pervasiveness of social media, particularly for adolescents, but there is no definitive research as to the effects of time spent on specific social media outlets on specific symptoms. Surveying a moderate-sized group of young individuals as to their social media usage, and overlaying this data with a relevant, evidence-based questionnaire could help us understand specific adverse (or beneficial) effects that are associated with social media engagement.

Psychiatry, Music, Nutrition, Public Health

Chris

Rising Ocean Levels due to Climate Change

Global warming is causing global mean sea level to rise in two ways. First, glaciers and ice sheets worldwide are melting and adding water to the ocean. Second, the volume of the ocean is expanding as the water warms. The negative effects are coastlines will retreat, destabilizing coastal ecosystems, contamination of groundwater, coastal flooding, and much more. This project will allow to learn more about the global ecosystem and create a project of the student's desire to understand how the world is battling climate change.

Biology, Nutrition, Business, Finance

Investigating the cultural inclusivity of current nutrition guidelines in medicine: a literature review

This proposed project would investigate whether current nutrition guidelines for US adults reflect cultural humility, awareness, and inclusivity and work in tandem with (rather than in opposition to) the various cultural food practices of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities, highlighting the potential need for potential updates to current dietary recommendations.

Cancer, Neuroscience, Nutrition, Medicine

Micayla

Milk consumption by the high school students

Milk consumption especially in females can be assessed and evaluated on HEI (Healthy eating index)

Nutrition

Shafya

I Think, Therefore I am

3. Advanced Research Level African American health disparities is a notable issue in the United States. African Americans are two times more likely than non-Hispanic whites to die from the number one killer in the US, heart disease. This ethnic group is also 50% more likely to experience high blood pressure than their white counterparts. Chronic stress is known to be associated with the two aforementioned conditions. What is less known are some of the molecular underpinnings by how stress may influence heart disease and high blood pressure. It has been illustrated in animal models that exposing them to chronic stress conditions can change the epigenetic landscape in neurons and other cells. These changes have been associated with behavioral, biochemical, and physiological alterations. It has also been shown in a limited number of studies that these epigenetic alterations have the potential to be passed down to the next generation. Could it be that years of racial discrimination against African Americans have played a role in altering the epigenetic landscape of neurons and that this alteration is associated with increased risk of heart disease and high blood pressure? The purpose of this project is to: 1) Explore the existing literature regarding the proposed connection between African American racial discrimination, stress, health disparities, and epigenetic alterations. 2) Building off of the existing literature, propose a project aimed at investigating if there is causality with the aforementioned factors. To put it another way, you are proposing a project based off of the following hypothesis, "Chronic Stress induced by African American discrimination has caused epigenetic alterations in neurons that induces biochemical and physiological changes that lead to increased risk of heart disease and high blood pressure."

Nutrition

Donald

How to be present in the age of smartphones

Are you part of Gen Z and interested in learning about what role smartphones play in your life? Consider exploring this question and learning about how people's mental health is affected by smartphone use. In this project, you would collect your own data (re: screen time, app use, etc.), analyze your data, and present it in whatever form speaks to you (research paper, podcast, video, etc.).

Biology, Nutrition, Medicine

Kim

The effect of plant-based diets on athletic performance

Plant-based diets ("vegetarian" or "vegan") are growing in popularity and have been adopted by an increasing number of elite athletes. Plant-based diets often contain more fiber and carbohydrates, but potentially less protein than traditional omnivorous diets. How does this impact athletic performance (i.e. strength or endurance), and how does this compare to diets containing animal meat or other dietary patterns?

Biology, Nutrition, Public Health, Medicine

Aubrey

Building Food Justice

This research will focus on the concept of food justice in a theoretical and practical sense. This could involve a gender or racial justice focus, for example. We could focus on a specific area or type of producer.and will then examine how different policy or political changes can improve the nutritional security of households.

History, Languages, Environmental Science, Social Science, Nutrition

Claire

So You Wanna Start a Podcast?

Learn how to translate your passions into podcast. Explore how to develop a novel concept, communicate to a broad audience, execute, and publish!

Nutrition

Ashton

What is on the menu?

Eating right can be fun if you are able to get creative with your meals. Using the dietary guidelines, you will create a menu that satisfies all of the daily requirements, and also sounds delicious!

Biology, Nutrition, Public Health

Emma

Nutrition and Cardiovascular Health

Although genetic factors influence many health outcomes, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and other chronic diseases are largely "preventable" and can be managed with proper diet and physical activity that we can control. Animal meat and processed foods have been linked to higher risks for chronic diseases like CVD. What are the ideal dietary patterns, if any, that can help mitigate disease?

Biology, Nutrition, Public Health, Medicine

Aubrey