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
Tapping Unknown Frontiers of Neuromodulation
The potential of neuromodulation is immense; almost beyond our imagination. In this project, students will research the fundamental philosophies of neuromodulation and creatively consider new applications to the technology. Students will then propose a prospective clinical trial to examine the safety and efficacy of this therapy, learning the basics of protocol design, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and so much more surrounding the world of clinical trials.
Biotech, Neuroscience
Explore Potential Biomarkers for Traumatic Brain Injury
For as common as concussions are in the world today, we still don't have a strong methodology to diagnose them when they occur. Here, we can explore some potential biomarkers that may aid future healthcare providers to determine when patients suffer a mild, moderate, or severe brain injury. Students will learn about the science behind neurotrauma, creatively approach the challenges of diagnosis, and learn how to write a scientific research paper on their findings.
Biotech, Neuroscience
Removing the breaks on immune cells to fight cancer cells
Checkpoint blockade therapy is a novel cancer therapy that blocks signals that inhibit immune cells trying to fight cancer cells. This type of treatment has been very effective to treat some types of cancers, but there's still a big need to find alternative approaches. In this project, we will review novel inhibitory molecules that could be targeted to treat cancer patients
Biotech, Biology, Cancer
Boosting the immune system to fight cancer
Immunotherapies seek to enhance the immune system to identify and kill cancer cells. In this project, we will review different types of immunotherapies like cancer vaccines, adoptive cell transfer, checkpoint blockade, antibodies, or focus on a particular type.
Biotech, Biology, Cancer
3. Conduct University-level Research in Drug Delivery
Are you interested in conducting research on drug delivery systems at the university level? While it can seem intimidating to get started in academic labs led by leading professors in their fields, this project will go through the most important factors for maximizing the chances of landing a position in an academic lab at local, highly ranked research institution. Through this project, the student will be introduced to i) techniques for applying to existing stipends for university-level research as a high schooler, ii) tips for identifying cogent areas of a professor’s research that a student could shadow under and possibly contribute to, iii) techniques useful in developing an effective research proposal in a given timeline, and iv) potential connections to renowned faculty in bioengineering, chemistry, and nanotechnology. The scope of this project may consist of three phases: i) identifying a specific research area in drug delivery and finding potential labs that the student can request to work under, ii) developing an understanding of the scientific literature in the desired field of drug discovery and in these labs in particular, and iii) crafting emails including short posters/presentations which demonstrate vested interest in a given laboratory and applying to work experiences as a high schooler interested in drug delivery research.
Biotech
Understanding the role of Protein X in Disease Y
Review papers are a great way to synthesize information about a given subject. Focusing on the student's disease of choice, we would work to summarize existing literature and analyze where the field currently stands. We will also identify key areas that need continued innovations.
Biotech, Cancer, Engineering
Wearable Technology:
Interested in wearable tech? This project will involve you working on brainstorming ideas of what types of wearable technology would be interesting to have. We will look at current technologies that are being implemented, and I will show you some of the work that I am working on for my graduate research work.
Biotech, AI/ML
Bringing Science from the Laboratory Benchtop to the Patient's Bedside
The full lifecycle of bringing a new therapy to patients can last decades and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Students in this project will consider a recently developed medical technology and chart the pathway that would be required to get it to the patient’s bedside. Topics may include scientific discovery, the transfer of the technology from a university to a company, patent law, biomedical ethics, regulatory (FDA) processes, marketing, finance, research and development, and manufacturing. Student projects may take the form of a business plan that will outline the major events that would be necessary and challenges that will be overcome. The result will be that students will appreciate obstacles associated with drug and medical device development, and to see what future roles students are well suited for during the rest of their careers.
Biotech, Computer Science, AI/ML
[Beginner] Scientific Interpretation and Communication
One of the most challenging (and exciting!) aspects about being a scientist is being able to effectively read a given article, understand whether that article is accurate and/or noteworthy, and then communicate that information to others. Here we will learn how to read primary scientific articles, extract the relevant information necessary to understand it, and then learn how we can recreate that information into various forms of communication suitable for different audiences. Skills obtained in this section will include: 1) learning how to effectively read a primary scientific article even without having any background into a given field, 2) learning how to see whether an article is trustworthy and reasonable, and 3) learning how to communicate that information to different audiences via your choice of either a written, verbal (i.e. presentation / podcast / etc.), and/or visual-style of communication (i.e. presentation / YouTube video / art / etc.).
Biotech, Biology
Protein expression and purification
This project is developed to provide students with an overview of protein structure, expression and different techniques that can be employed to purify a protein of interest. After a broad survey of various proteins involved in key cellular processes, the student is assisted in identifying one particular protein to pursue for research. Each session involves an introductory lesson on the basic concepts of online available bioinformatic tools and laboratory techniques that are commonly employed in proteomics research. Students will get familiarized with laboratory-based techniques for protein expression, purification by FPLC and identification by MS, NMR etc. There will be discussion on previous session's assigned readings of recommended journal articles and book chapters along with student's own discoveries on the research topic. Assignments will contain designing short experimental tasks, guided problem solving, training exercises for developing reading comprehension skills on scientific literature, research proposal drafts etc. The output from this project is a form of external communication on the student's research topic. This may include publication of a research article in a relevant science journal, a research presentation poster for a science fair, etc.
Biotech, Cancer
Publish Review Paper
Want to become an expert in a scientific field? Why not research and summarize primary scientific literature to help inform others? A scientific review paper is challenging but very rewarding.
Biotech, Cancer, Neuroscience
Public perceptions and communication on controversial science & technology
Science and technology can create controversy in the public sphere, dividing dinner tables and whole communities on how different technologies should be used - or not used - in day to day life. In this project, the objective is to create educational materials designed to communicate with a chosen public audience on a controversial topic in science or technology. First, you will choose a topic of choice, preferably one that has some visibility and significance as an issue in the public sphere (vaccines; climate change; pollution; artificial intelligence; etc). You will then use survey and interview methods with a chosen public audience - maybe they are people who go to your school, live in your neighborhood, etc - , and ask them about their perspectives on scientific subject that you have chosen. By analyzing this data, you should build a robust understanding of how your chosen community thinks about the topic of choice. You will then use these insights to generate some effective means of communication on the topic of choice. The goal is not to necessarily convince people one way or the other, but to learn how to tailor science communication towards a public audiences values, interests, languages, cultural knowledge, ideologies, etc. Outcomes of this project can include a diverse array of outputs, such as a combination of educational videos, podcasts, short articles, blogs, artwork, or even songs and poetry. The most important thing is that your combination of materials reflect an effective communication approach for your audience.
Biotech, Environmental Science
Enhancing AI for Edge Devices in IoT Applications
1. Introduction of Research Project In this high school research project, students will explore the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. The focus is on benchmarking modern-day microcontrollers and processors to explore their performance for machine learning tasks at the edge. The goal is to enhance the efficiency of AI implementations in everyday devices, making them smarter and more responsive to user needs. Potential Student Outcomes Research Paper: Produce a detailed research paper documenting findings, methodologies, and insights gained during the project. Or create prototypes of AI-enabled IoT devices with optimized microcontrollers based on benchmarking results.
Biotech, AI/ML
Immunoengineering
Cancer vaccines. Supercharging bone marrow transplants. CAR-T cell therapies. In this exercise, we will explore how engineering can be used to exploit the immune system in the context of disease. Students will learn basic immunology and the latest bioengineering approaches to treating diseases of or involving the immune system. At the end of the exercise, students will be able to (i) understand the underlying immunological and engineering principles of immunotherapy, (ii) create a tangible project that attempts to tackle a disease that can benefit from immunotherapy, and (iii) create a short presentation and written proposal on said project.
Biotech
Investigating marine genomes
Learn how to access and analyze publicly available genomes. of marine creatures like bacteria, corals, sponges, and sea weeds. Search for genes and learn what they encode. Learn how to connect DNA to antibiotic production. Learn bioinformatics and basic command line functions. End product can be a written report, a video, a presentation, or other options if you have an idea in mind.
Biotech, Biology
Teach a chemistry/biology concept two ways: to your fellow students and to the general public
One of the best ways to learn is to teach. Choose a chemical/biological concept that interests you and prepare a lesson on it. The format should be a video recording of yourself teaching (a la Khan Academy or a Zoom class), but the other details are up to you. Consider incorporating a demonstration (e.g. how can you use items from your kitchen to illustrate properties of mixtures?) or animation (e.g. to illustrate molecular motion). Also consider how you will check that your students understand the concept(s) and/or skill(s) you have taught them. Prepare and record two versions of your lesson: one intended for your peers and one for the general public. How will the versions differ to reflect these different audiences? You will learn: -what it's like to teach -a much greater understanding of your chosen concept(s)/skill(s) -how to communicate science to different audiences
Biotech, Chemistry
Features of protein X associated with longevity
You select a protein (Protein X) which previous research has shown to affect an age-related disease or cancer (or another disease/trait that interests you). You are interested to see if long-living species may have evolved changes in this protein that affect lifespan. For your project, you will collect amino acid sequences for the protein from different species from publicly available databases, and conduct an analysis to see if there are particular amino acid changes associated with species lifespan.
Biotech, Biology, Cancer
Multimedia explanation of CAR-T
Although CAR-T therapy has shown promising results and has been approved by the FDA, many patients are yet unaware of what CAR-T therapy is and how it could help them. This project could be a multimedia (blog, website, slideshow, video, etc) way to explain CAR-T therapy to the non-scientist.
Biotech, Cancer, Engineering
Investigating sleep and disease
Sleep disruption (i.e. not being able to fall asleep, stay asleep, etc.) is common comorbidity in many neurodevelopmental disorders (such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Schizophrenia), aging diseases (such as alzheimer's disease), and depression. I am envisioning these types of projects to investigate what the potential role of sleep loss is in one of these diseases or disorders. The project could be in the forum or a blog post or review about this topic. If you are interested, I could see a very interesting survey/ 'study' asking patients with any of these conditions about how they sleep. The main questions for this type of project would be: Is there a connection between chronic sleep disruptions and this disease/disorders? What could be the potential role of sleep loss in one of these diseases/disorders? How does sleep impact development or aging?
Biotech, Biology, Neuroscience, Chemistry
Advanced Project: Codon Optimality
Some DNA triplets encode for the same amino acid--for example, 'GCU' and 'GCC' both make Alanine. Early-on in the history of molecular biology, both of these triplets (called codons) were considered interchangeable--after all, they both make the same thing, so biologists called them 'synonymous'. However, over the last decade it's become clear that not all synonymous codons are treated equally--in fact, when we use genetic engineering to produce medically-important proteins, like insulin, we 'optimize' the DNA sequence to include synonymous codons that tend to produce more protein. This observation is the basis of the study of 'codon optimality', or the idea that different synonymous codons (usually the ones that are most common) lead to different levels of protein production. How much does codon optimality matter at different locations in different proteins? We can study this by analyzing all of the codons of dozens of genomes and asking how often each of those codons appears in the genome overall. Then, we can align homologous proteins in each of those genomes and ask whether the pattern of 'optimal' and 'non-optimal' codons in those proteins varies. In other words: if Protein A has an 'optimal' codon at position 1 and a 'non-optimal' codon at position 2 in one bacteria, does that pattern also hold in another bacteria? Codon optimization is a standard process in the expression of hundreds of different proteins that are important for medicine, so better understanding how patterns of codon optimality vary across bacteria may help us produce important medicines more efficiently.
Biotech
