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
Science Blog
There has long been friction between media outlets that report on work from the scientific community and the scientific community itself, largely due to media’s tendency to sacrifice complete accuracy and transparency for a more captivating narrative. There must be a way to do both. In this project, students will pick a paper of interest and write a blog post that not only is captivating, but also accurately reports the findings of the manuscript. Here, students will not only learn to effectively communicate science to a lay audience but will also gain experience in thoroughly reading and understanding scientific literature.
Psychiatry, Neuroscience
Mindfulness training in high school students improves interoceptive awareness, reduces anxiety and rumination
For this project, students would perform a combined experiment and literature review investigating the effects of mindfulness meditation on behavioral wellness. Students would be able to function as their own research subjects and track changes in their physical and mental health using an application. Students would be mentored on how to use statistical programs to analyze their data and create figures for potential publication.
Psychiatry, Biology, Neuroscience, Psychology, Chemistry
Research Paper
While we have made significant progress with leveraging tools of neuroscience to study human behavior, cognition, and emotion, we are far from a true pathophysiological understanding of many mental health issues. This kind of advancement is key to developing improved treatment techniques and relies on well-designed biology-focused psychology studies. Here, students will complete a research project and write a full manuscript that reports their findings and discusses clinical impact. Students will gain experience conducting a literature review, forming a research question and falsifiable hypothesis, and generating a methodological and analytic plan. Then, students will submit an Institutional Review Board (IRB) proposal, conduct their experiment, analyze their data, and write a manuscript intended for publication.
Psychiatry, Neuroscience
Why do people believe conspiracy theories?
Why do people endorse conspiracy theories like the belief that humans have never been to the moon? First we can dive into scientific papers that have studied why conspiracy theories and other extreme beliefs emerge and what environmental conditions might increase them. We can even think about how the covid-19 pandemic has affected people’s conspiracy-related beliefs. You can then use surveys to study whether different forms of stress or emotional states lead to higher endorsement of conspiracy theories. For instance, do people who experience more uncertainty or anger in their lives also believe more conspiracy theories? Have another idea for studying conspiracy theories, let’s try it!
Psychiatry, Neuroscience, Statistics
Research Paper- Is a hospital the only change that ill-children face?
Cognitive and behavioral effects of children hospitalized for terminal and severe illnesses- How does this affect development? How do parental figures influence these effects?
Psychiatry, Social, Public Health
Lifestyle Factors and Mental Health during Covid-19
Are you interested in contributing to the ever-growing research on Covid-19 and its impact? Covid-19 has disrupted all our lives in one way, and research has shown that mental health has changed for many during the past two years as people navigated their way through this difficult time. For this project, you will conduct research by surveying a population of your choice on some of their lifestyle habits during the pandemic and the impact of Covid-19 on their mental health. This project can culminate into either a research paper, a website where you display your findings for the general public or any other creative format of your choice.
Psychiatry, Neuroscience, Public Health
Exploitation in the History of Medical Research
American medicine has a long-standing and devastating history of medical experimentation on underserved, primarily African-American, communities. Through this project, we can conduct a review and analysis of either historic or present-day examples of medical experimentation and exploitation, and how these wrong-doings impact the healthcare system today.
Psychiatry, Neuroscience, Psychology
The Psychological Effects of Opioid Use
Through this project, a student can research the psychological effects of opioid use through major psychology and medical journals. The student will write a research paper that could potentially be published.
Psychiatry, Social, Psychology, Philanthropy, Business, Organizational Leadership
Neuropsychiatric Illness Overview
The general theme of research would be a particular neuropsychiatric illness. Students could learn about different research models used in neuroscience research. In addition to this, they would learn about the translational aspect and the clinical relevance of basic research. Thus, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of basic research. We could identify an illness and go through the process of finding the best model organism to study this disorder in and the implications.
Psychiatry, Neuroscience
Factors influencing youth perceptions of mental health care
A survey study asking individuals to rate their perceptions and attitudes towards mental illness and mental health care, examining what factors (ex., gender, race/ethnicity, SES, location, sexual orientation) are associated with more positive and negative perceptions around mental wellbeing.
Psychiatry, Psychology, Organizational Leadership
Creating a Podcast
Have something you are excited to share with the world? As a lover of long drives and podcasts, I've created a podcast myself and am always looking for ways to help others elevate their voice. In this project you would learn how to create an audience and platform, find resources and guests, and edit episodes.
Psychiatry, Biology, Neuroscience, Psychology
Culinary health for the community
Create a curriculum on health and nutrition which focuses on quick, healthy and affordable meals for busy family. This would be either distributed on your local elementary school's website for family members or given as a hands on cooking class.
Psychiatry, Nutrition
Medication compliance tool
Create a system/product to help parents remember to give their children medication consistently and timely. promote communication between multiple caregivers regarding dispensing of medication for a dependent.
Psychiatry, Biology, Medicine
Alternative Approaches to the Management of Mental Health Disorders
There are a number of natural and/or non-pharmacologic approaches to the management of disorders like anxiety and depression, but there is a general lack of high-quality research on these topics. A well-constructed review paper could help shed light on non-drug approaches to the treatment of mental health disorders.
Psychiatry, Music, Nutrition, Public Health
Start your own journal club
Journal club is a routine part of academic medical practice which allows physicians to gather to review, analyze, and discuss relevant research. This project may aim to give the student necessary skills to organize a similar discussion group with out like-minded individuals. Attention will be given to analysis of research data, understanding of research methodologies, and how to choose worthy topics of discussion. This will culminate in the student being able to lead discussions on relevant research with peers and/or mentors. Creating a like-minded group would allow a student to exercise leadership skills, Organizing and choosing to select and organize a formal journal club which would allow for review, analysis, and discussion of relevant research papers in
Psychiatry
Are females just acting "hormonal"?
Hormones and the reproductive cycle of the female body play a significant impact on our mental health and well being. How can we protect ourselves in the menstrual cycle? What factors are really at play? This project could take on the form of a research paper or even educational content.
Psychiatry, Biology, Neuroscience, Psychology
The Far Reaches of Diabetes
This project can explore the long-lasting and far-reaching effects that Type II Diabetes has on the human body. Diabetic patients face a risk of chronic pain and debilitation when considering the increased possibility of developing neuropathy. This project can help raise awareness of diabetes and the secondary diseases that may result from it. The end result can take the form of a podcast or public advisory warning about proper health and nutrition for prevention of diabetes and diabetic neuropathy.
Psychiatry, Biology, Neuroscience, Psychology, Social Science, Cognitive
Build Your Own Business Using the Lean Start-up Method
Do you wish you could be on Shark Tank? Through this project, a student would learn how to develop their own business using the Lean Start-up Method. This includes learning how to do market research, developing a business plan, and creating a pitch deck. The ultimate goal is to get investment!
Psychiatry, Social, Psychology, Philanthropy, Business, Organizational Leadership
Writing a Research Project Grant Proposal
If you want to go into research, writing an NIH-format research grant proposal is a paramount skill that takes lots of practice to perfect. Writing a grant will involve describing the comprehensive aims of a research project and convincing the reader that the project is worth funding
Psychiatry, Biology, Neuroscience, Literature
Science Communication Podcast
Podcasts have become an increasingly popular avenue of science communication. They can teach people about interesting topics anywhere from the history of disease treatments to fun facts about dreaming. The challenge is staying true to the accuracy of the science while engaging the audience. This project would result in a podcast episode describing and analyzing a peer-reviewed publication or a topic based on multiple publications.
Psychiatry, Biology, Neuroscience, Literature