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

Call to action - Improving access to Interpreters in the Surgery Department

Is there something in our society you feel needs to be improved, or something you can do better? This is how a lot of research ideas are born. Some of my family members do not speak English and as a medical student I noticed that they were not getting great medical care. This is how I started my quality improvement project on improving access to Interpreter Services in the surgery department. Based on your research interest, we can tackle a project together to work towards a creative final product, like a blog post, infographic, creative writing essay, or even an interpretive dance. Based on your research interests, you can build skills like data collection with surveys or interviews, reading the literature on the topic, etc. We'll work together to find a creative way to present and show off your work!

Neuroscience, Surgery, Healthcare

Evelyn

How is antibiotic usage in hospitals affecting in-patient and out-patient outcomes?

Current antibiotic treatments leave room for antibiotic resistance among patients admitted to the hospital as well as after they return home. Due to this, the negative effects of antibiotic usage could be a factor that further exacerbates negative patient outcomes. This project would rely on the student to perform diligent literature searches on in-patient and out-patient results following antibiotic usage.

Healthcare, Medicine

Alejandro

Community Perceptions of Health Care Access

This project focuses on using qualitative and/or quantitative analysis to assess difficulties accessing health care in different geographic locations. Various factors influence a patient's ability to access health care services, including but not limited to, the ability to pay for care, perceived urgency for care, previous interactions with health care workers, and/or availability of health facilities. Qualitative and quantitative data can be used to identify the motivations behind patients' care-seeking behavior and highlight which populations may be most vulnerable to gaps in health care.

Creative Writing, Social Science, Healthcare, Public Health

Kalifa

How COVID has influenced prenatal care

COVID has led to the rise of telemedicine or virtual appointments between patient and provider, replacing in-person visits. The impact this shift has had on prenatal care includes, but is not limited to, the decline of invasive procedures that require in-person visits, and the rise of adaptations to virtual care. Students can quantitatively and qualitatively assess the impact the shift of telemedicine has had on providers and/or patients.

Biology, Healthcare

Grace

Creating Content

In this project, you can teach anything of your choice on a platform online such as YouTube or Udemy. This process will teach you to read scientific literature, draft a script and create an online presence.

Healthcare

Chanchal

Public Health Communication

Pick your favorite public health topic! After doing an in-depth look now comes the communication part. An important part of public health is putting your findings into easy-to-understand materials. Create pamphlets, a video, or a short paper that clearly communicates important information in an easy-to-understand manner to the public.

Cancer, Healthcare

jacqueline

Investigating the Impact of Exercise on Mental Health in Teenagers

This research project focuses on exploring the relationship between physical activity and mental well-being in teenagers. The objective is to understand how regular exercise influences mental health parameters such as stress levels, mood, and overall emotional well-being in adolescents. By conducting this study, the student aims to contribute valuable insights to the fields of both exercise science and mental health.

Healthcare

Geoffrey

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

Jayson

Take a Closer Look at Brain Disorders & Aging

Take a closer look at diseases that are commonly associated with aging such as Parkinsons & Alzheimers. Understand how these diseases: - Biological mechanisms - Symptoms - Onset and progression - Causes - Treatments - Outlook - Prevention Through this research you can create a research paper, YouTube video, podcast, informative guide, etc.

Healthcare, Public Health, Business

Bijal

Business and Personal Finance

I would like to explore the relationship personal finance (financial literacy) and a person's desire to work in the business field, whether as an entrepreneur or business related career field. This could be a presentation/lecture on the importance of financial literacy or could be written as an essay.

Biology, Psychology, Healthcare, Business

Paul

Healthy Living Workshop for Teens

Create and conduct a workshop or seminar aimed at educating fellow high school students about the principles of lifestyle medicine and how small changes in daily habits can significantly impact overall health and well-being. The project can be broken down into several components: Research Phase: Study the principles of lifestyle medicine, focusing on topics like nutrition, exercise, stress management, sleep, and social connections. Research scientific studies and articles supporting the positive impact of lifestyle choices on health outcomes. Workshop Development: Develop engaging presentations, interactive activities, and informative handouts tailored to the interests and concerns of teenagers. Incorporate real-life examples, success stories, and practical tips to make the information relatable and actionable. Consider incorporating guest speakers, such as local nutritionists, fitness trainers, or mental health professionals, to enhance the workshop content. Workshop Delivery: Organize the workshop in collaboration with school clubs, health classes, or after-school programs. Conduct interactive sessions where participants can actively participate, ask questions, and share their experiences. Provide resources and references for further reading and exploration.

Healthcare

Geoffrey

The impact of social determinants of health during the postpartum period

This project assesses how social determinants of health (ie. food insecurity, housing insecurity, transportation, language barriers) impact the postpartum or post-delivery period. Students can screen women who have recently given birth for social determinants of health and interview them on how their various social needs have influenced their postpartum care and experiences.

Biology, Healthcare

Grace

Impact of COVID on mental health

How has COVID impacted mental health in adolescents? Conduct research on the literature provided on the impact of the pandemic in different communities and see populations that have been most impacted

Biology, Healthcare, Public Health

Jean

Uncovering current and future novel methods used for early Type 2 diabetes screening

Type 2 diabetes affects tremendous amounts of people all across the world. A large portion of people with type 2 diabetes live their lives undiagnosed. This project would entail rigorous uncovering of our current methods used to screen patients for diabetes as well as investigating potential novel methods that would enhance accuracy and decrease the time to diagnosis. This would have massive potential to transform how we view and treat type 2 diabetes.

Healthcare, Medicine

Alejandro

How will personalized medicine affect the costs of medical care?

Medical care is very expensive at its current state. The outlook in personalized medicine may seem promising, however our current healthcare model may not be able to accommodate such increased expense for lower-income patients. The student may compile the various modes of personalized medicine and engineer strategies on how to implement them in our current healthcare system.

Healthcare, Medicine

Alejandro

Start Your Business!

Have an idea? Looking to grow this into an actual business? As an entrepreneur and Harvard teaching fellow in management, I'll help you (1) create a business plan using relevant frameworks, (2) find a market willing to pay for your product or service, (3) respond to customer feedback to grow a strong, successful company.

Literature, Healthcare, Business

Luke

How has Modern U.S. Religion Evolved?

Understanding recent trends in U.S. religion is critical to providing culturally-tailored services in both healthcare and other nonprofit fields. This project will analyze both publicly available data and key texts to describe recent trends in religious affiliation and identity.

Biology, Arts, Healthcare, Business

Avery

Community Focused Health Analysis

Population data on disease within a particular geographic region is critical to both clinicians and health systems. It helps inform strategic decisions on how to tailor services to particular patient population. This project would describe and analyze rates of disease incidence within a specific community of interest and provide ideas for targeted solutions.

Biology, Arts, Healthcare, Business

Avery

Advanced-Level: Writing a review on the use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in pediatric imaging

In this project, you will write a scientific review-style paper on the use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound for diagnosing disease in children. The use of contrast in ultrasound is relatively new and innovative, and is gaining use rapidly. The main benefit is that ultrasound does not use radiation and is very safe in children. This process will teach you how to find, access, and critically analyze existing scientific literature and how to assemble primary literature into a scientific review. You will gain skills in writing and editing, as well as an in-depth knowledge on ultrasound.

Healthcare, Medicine

Jan

Build a Piece of Healthcare Tech

As co-founder and CIO of Mazzy Health, a leading adolescent teletherapy company, I offer guidance and hands-on support as you (1) search for an idea, (2) focus your research, (3) apply for funding (optional), and (4) design and/or create a prototype using a relevant lab or makerspace.

Literature, Healthcare, Business

Luke