Meet PolyGPT, our AI-powered Project Idea Generator
Tell PolyGPT your favorite subject and a few hobbies you're passionate about to generate personalized project ideas.
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We know the jump from your interests to a research project idea can be tricky.
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Browse project ideas by Polygence mentors
Genetic Variation in Resistant Cancers
This project would choose a specific type of cancer and a specific type of treatment (something like Lung Adenocarcinoma and the BRAFv600e inhibitor debrafenib) and look at how the genetic landscape of the tumor changes over the course of treatment. The student would likely use large patient datasets that show rates of various mutations that arise in patients over the course of treatment. The project would look to find if there are consistent and specific mutations that arise in response to treatment. The project could then evolve into a literature deep dive that would seek to understand how those mutations may impact the response of the cancer cells to the initial treatment.
Biology
DIY Mental Health Toolkit
Want a weekly peer check-in to support your coping strategies to handle the stress of school, extracurriculars, and everything else? I have been involved in peer support groups for mental health and can guide you in navigating available and appropriate mental health resources as well as finding out what sorts of daily practices and exercises will continue to support you the most. I am not a licensed therapist or mental health professional. I am merely someone who has learned to thrive in the face of mental health challenges myself, with the support of professionals and peers. This would be in the realm of peer-to-peer guided engagement where in each session, we figure out what's working and what isn't, so that you can get the support you need and have a plan for how to actively maintain and improve your mental well-being.
Economics, Statistics, Music
Violin Lessons
Are you a violinist looking for lessons from an experienced violin player? In these sessions, we will hone your craft, your practice routine, and technical skills on the violin so that you can feel comfortable playing in front of a variety of audiences, and at a level of skill that you can feel extra proud of.
Economics, Statistics, Music
Hone Your Public Speaking Skills
Are you taking a class that requires end-of-the-year presentations or poster sessions? I took several amazing classes at Stanford specifically about how to be a great public speaker. During our sessions, you'll learn about qualities that make a great presentation/speaker, and practice honing your own public speaking skills through various exercises.
Economics, Statistics, Music
Hands-On Data Science Project
Want to show colleges and research labs that you can carry out an independent, end-to-end research pipeline from data sourcing to statistical analysis to policy-relevant conclusions? With three years of teaching experience as a course assistant for Fundamentals of Data Science at Stanford, I can guide you like I guided Stanford MS/PhD students in selecting a dataset for independent research, developing a policy-relevant question, and running various hypothesis-driven analyses from exploratory data analysis to statistical tests for policy-relevant findings.
Economics, Statistics, Music
Build Your Own Podcast
Want an excuse to reach out to experts/people on a topic you're curious about? Want to become an effective writer and public speaker? With experience from developing a podcast called "Walk the Talk" on Spotify during the pandemic, I can help you through the process of (1) ideating a podcast theme, (2) preparing compelling questions, (3) connecting with experts, (4) going with the flow in live recorded conversations, and (5) editing and publishing your first (or tenth!) episode on your platform of choice.
Economics, Statistics, Music
Develop Your College Application Essay(s)
Want personalized mentorship from someone who wrote successful college application essays to Stanford, Harvard, and MIT for undergrad? I can help you through the process of brainstorming, outlining, drafting, and editing your college application essay(s). Over 10 weeks, you'll hone your narrative and develop your own authentic, compelling responses to bespoke college application questions ranging from short-answer to personal statement.
Economics, Statistics, Music
Draft a Policy Solution to a Problem or Potential Problem
While research is great, a solution to a problem is even better! Is there something you notice going wrong in school or misapplied in the world of business or law? Most legal issues have multiple sides. Maybe the new use of AI raises the need for new laws. Or maybe historical Supreme Court decisions require a revision in current law based on the effects. For example, what should the Supreme Court's ethical code be? How should it be enforced? We can work to find pragmatic or theoretical fixes to a potential or current issue.
Economics, Finance, Business
Write a Research or Personal Paper
Writing and Research can take many forms at different intensities. Don't feel pressured to have 100 sources and 100 pages. Instead, work within your schedule to dive into something you *might* like. Some hot topics I find interesting are AI in law and / or business, the law and economics movement with a focus on transaction costs, the changing landscape of law firms, or how people develop a legal education. How do students at your school and in various grade levels learn about the law or business? Is it experience based, teacher / school provided in instruction, or typically through parents? Pick one and and analyze its effect, consistency, and deficiencies.
Economics, Finance, Business
Weighing a Photon's Push: Simulating How Light Slows an Atom
An atom moving toward a laser sees the light Doppler-shifted upward. Tune the laser slightly below the atomic transition and only atoms moving toward it absorb efficiently, each absorption delivering a small momentum kick opposing the motion. Repeat ten thousand times a second and a gas cools to microkelvin. This is the foundation of atomic clocks, quantum computing platforms, and the precision measurements underneath modern metrology. The student simulates it: model atoms in a velocity distribution, compute absorption probability from the Doppler-shifted detuning and natural linewidth, apply momentum kicks, and watch the distribution narrow. Then find the limits. What detuning cools fastest? Why does the temperature stop falling at a floor set by the randomness of spontaneous emission, and does the simulated floor match the Doppler limit formula? What happens with atoms that are too fast to be captured? Deliverable is a research paper reporting a measured cooling curve and a simulated Doppler limit compared against theory. Pure Python, free, no hardware. Requires comfort with probability. I built magneto-optical traps and a laser-cooled francium fountain at Lawrence Berkeley, and this is the physics those machines run on.
AI/ML, Engineering, Physics
