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.
- AI/ML
- Animation
- Arts
- Biology
- Biotech
- Business
- Cancer
- Chemistry
- Cognitive
- Computer Science
- Creative Writing
- Dance
- Dentistry
- Economics
- Engineering
- Entomology
- Environmental Science
- Ethics
- Fashion
- Finance
- Game Design
- Healthcare
- History
- Illustration
- Languages
- Linguistics
- Literature
- Math
- Medicine
- Music
- Neuroscience
- Nutrition
- Organizational Leadership
- Philanthropy
- Philosophy
- Photography
- Physics
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Public Health
- Quantitative
- Social
- Social Science
- Sports Analytics
- Statistics
- Surgery
A new era of medicine--telemedicine: a systematic review and meta-analysis
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an explosion of the use of telemedicine. Patients, physicians, and medical institutions have learned and invested into telemedicine. It is still unknown what patient attitudes may be towards long-term telemedicine use. There are some advantages of telemedicine, such as being more convenient, but also disadvantages, like not having human-to-human contact. This paper can be a systematic review and meta-analysis, which means that students would read through and extract data from existing publications, and "combine" the data from many studies to end up with new data that explains all the included studies. Students will end up with a scientific research paper that can be published to journals and presented at various local and national conferences. They will learn skills of literature review, research study design, data collection, data analysis, manuscript review, and, if applicable, journal submission process. They will also learn skills specific to systematic review and meta-analysis, including using statistical data analysis software.
Cancer, Surgery, Public Health, Medicine
Exploring the Function of Genetic Variations in Breast and Ovarian Cancers through High-Sequencing Techniques
Despite the completion of the human genome project in 2003, many new questions about human disease and chronic illnesses remain unanswered. To uncover some of the answers to this information gap, we can re-analyze datasets branching from the human genome project. For this project, we will use high-sequencing techniques to model function for genetic variations in specific human disease models, such as breast and ovarian cancers. Insights from this project can further inform other target areas for exploration and contribute to the development of new treatments for these diseases. Project Goals: -Identify genetic variations associated with breast and ovarian cancers using data mining tools. -Understand the function of identified genetic variations in the development of these cancers -Provide insights on new target areas for exploration in the field of breast and ovarian cancer research. This project involves the use of bioinformatics tools and methods to analyze large genomic data sets, and will provide you with the opportunity to develop your skills in data analysis and bioinformatics while contributing to the advancement of cancer research.
Biology, Cancer, Public Health
Chemical Education without Barriers
Teach Chemistry students of all ages Chemical Education through varying different means (podcast, accessible website that simplifies material, videos/posters providing summary of a certain topic.)
Biology, Chemistry, Public Health
Research Paper
A scientific paper with a defendable hypothesis in the Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Discussion, and Conclusion format. This then can be submitted to a highschool journal, which can be published, making it a stellar showcase for any college application.
Environmental Science, Public Health
Analyzing & Communicating Infectious Disease Data
Picture yourself as a data analyst in a state health department. For a specific infectious disease (e.g. COVID-19, Flu, Lyme disease, etc.) – what information is important to know (About the pathogen? About the people getting infected?)? How would you find this information and once you’ve found it, how would you communicate it? This project could be anything from a research paper to a full-fledged, interactive visualization in R or Tableau.
Biology, Public Health
Science Policy Writing
Do you have a science issue that you believe has a substantial impact upon our society and could be handled better with more effective policy? This would be the perfect opportunity for you! Science policy and diplomacy are emerging fields in the political realm which leverage the expertise of scientists to condense important research down into digestible summaries and recommendations to inform policy making. This project would take in an idea from a topic you are passionate about (eg. Health Care, Vaccine Nationalism, Minority representation in STEM, COVID policy, etc.) and we would dive into the literature to see what the experts are saying. After getting an idea of what the background is we would decide which media form would be suited for addressing the concern: a blog post, Op-Ed, or policy memo. You would then formulate a summary of the background and your suggested policy recommendation based upon your research.
Public Health
Data Analytics Report
In this project, the student will formulate a question they'd like to address, based on their interests. Examples could be sports, healthcare, fashion, etc. We will walk together on what the data analysis process is like: how to produce a quality dataset, determining what the data look like, and presenting a story of what the data describe. I refer to data in its plural form because datum would be the singular form of data. The project deliverable could be a report documenting the landscape of the data being analyzed and an assessment of what the data tell us, a guide for when certain data analysis methods are appropriate, etc.
AI/ML, Public Health
Infographic
Create an aesthetically pleasing and informative infographic that will clearly and concisely display a subject matter of your choice.
Environmental Science, Public Health
How to Share your Research
For this project, you will learn how to share the ideas or research you have with the world! This could be through various modes such as powerpoint, writing a script for a podcast or video, or outlining a paper.
Neuroscience, Psychology, Public Health
How to create a sustainable business
Review criteria for Environmental, Social, and Governance. Look at successful businesses with high scores and see how that could apply to new company.
Environmental Science, Healthcare, Public Health
Say No to Vaping
Tobacco is a known risk factor for many diseases including various cancers and cardiovascular disease. Surges in e-cigarette use, especially among teens, are concerning. In this project, the student will analyze current research regarding the effects of vaping on health and then create a poster, pamphlet, social media infographic, or a blog to help increase awareness about these detrimental health effects and potential recommendations for quitting tobacco. The student may choose to conduct research regarding the availability of tobacco products and attitudes of teenagers regarding tobacco (before and after a presentation of risk factors). Additionally, the student may choose a body system and conduct a literature review on the effects of smoking on that particular system (example: harmful effects of smoking on the developing fetus).
Cancer, Public Health
Wellness Fun - Public Service Announcement
As a result of the pandemic, wellness is on everyone's mind. In this project, you will develop a Public Service Announcement (PSA) about a fun wellness technique for students your age. Topics can range from " Getting outside into nature" to "the benefits of yoga". This process will teach you how to research wellness trends for your age group, develop a media presentation (Instagram story, TikTok video, or Powerpoint, etc) to promote this trend and disseminate your findings with your school or community. You will gain skills in writing, editing, communication, researching scientifically backed wellness trends and engaging your peers in fun activities!
History, Literature, Languages, Public Health
Food and food systems
Exploring the process of how your food gets to your table and the different political and social factors that contribute to food insecurity.
Arts, Social Science, Nutrition, Public Health, Organizational Leadership
Mental Health Services during COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for people to get mental health support. A project idea would be to create a podcast or report on challenges to accessing mental health care and tips on the best way to get support.
Psychiatry, Psychology, Public Health
Evolution of Precision Medicine
The history of medicine shows how societies have changed in their approach to illness and disease from ancient times to the present. Modern medicine has moved from "traditional medicine", where therapies are used uniformly for all patients, to much more personalized approaches of treating diseases called precision medicine. In this project, you will learn about how some of the most innovative, cutting-edge science in modern medicine is changing how we as a society are treating diseases. From harnessing the power of the epigenome, to using a patient's own immune system to treat cancer, and to even replacing a missing gene to cure a genetic disease, precision medicine will undoubtedly have a place in the future of medicine. Once you learn more about these innovative topics, you will then dive deeper into understanding which key players are leveraging this cutting edge science and translating them into actual therapeutics that will hopefully one day help so many people. The project will culminate in a research/review paper that not only analyzes the trends in precision medicine but outlines the future potential of this innovative and exciting area of study.
Biotech, Public Health
Creating data science products for action using health data
My background is in health sciences, public health, and data science. This project applies high-level data management, cleaning, and analysis techniques to public health and organizational data. Students will apply various statistical techniques to answer specific research questions related to a healthcare topic of interest. They will also learn how to structure research questions around specific conceptual models. The student will be able to develop a data management plan, data dictionary, slide deck, research brief, and abstract to report on what they learned about data science as well as answer specific research questions related to health care, public health, or the health sciences.
Public Health, Statistics
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
How friendships form
Let's look at how meaningful connections form, and what it takes to keep them going strong. I can help you review the science on friendship, and come up with your own questions around the formation of friendships. We could also look at how social media changes the dynamics of friendship.
Neuroscience, Psychology, Public Health
Centering Neurodivergent Voices
Autistic adults have long advocated for autism related services and supports to center the voices and opinions of autistic people. A cool project idea would be to interview or survey neurodivergent people of different backgrounds on what they would like to see change about mental health services.
Psychiatry, Psychology, Public Health
Make your voice heard! Submit a comment on a proposed rule in the Federal Register
Did you know that you can have a say in how and if new executive orders and federal regulations go into effect? Every day, new rules and regulations are published on the Federal Register. This is a government website where the public (you!) can access all of the information about new rulings before they go into effect, and you even have the chance to submit a comment on the rulings that government officials will read. In these comments, you can voice your approval, disapproval, or how you would like to see the ruling changed before it goes into effect. This is a super important way for your voice to be heard, and it is especially important for government officials to hear from scientists (like you!) before finalizing rules that affect science. In this project, we could learn more about how the Federal Register works, read up on some proposed rules that involve science (ex: rulings that affect the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), drug prices/accessibility, etc.). Then, we could choose a proposed rule that interests you, do some research to investigate the science behind the rule and determine how that rule would affect us (ex: if a rule proposes to cut funding from the EPA, how would that affect climate change in the US?). Finally, we will write up all of our research and officially submit your comment to the Federal Register for government officials to read and take into account before they approve the rule!
Public Health
