Online Medical Research Programs for High School Students
Updated: 23 hours ago
Updated November 2026
TL;DR
This guide covers 13 online medical research programs for high school students, from one-on-one mentored papers and Stanford team projects to recorded courses from medical schools and universities. Compare costs, aid, dates, deadlines, and eligibility to find the right fit. Jump to which program fits you, when to apply, or the cost and deadline comparison. Costs run from None to $6,950, and the Johns Hopkins virtual internship pays a $500 scholarship. If you want to research your own medical question with a PhD mentor, check out the Lumiere Research Scholar Program.
If you’re thinking about a career in medicine or health research, high school is a good time to see what the work involves. You can do that from home. You could write your own research paper with a PhD-level mentor, join a university team project on AI and health data, or take a recorded course from a medical school on how clinical trials work. This guide covers 13 online programs, what you’ll learn, what they cost, and who can apply. For more options, including in-person ones, see our list of medical internships for high school students.
What counts as an online medical research program?
An online medical research program teaches you how medical research works from home, through a mentor, a team project, or lectures from working researchers. The programs here fall into three groups.
Mentor-led papers: the Lumiere Research Scholar Program and the Horizon Academic Research Program pair you one-on-one with a PhD-level mentor, and you finish with a written paper.
Team projects and immersions: Stanford AIMI's Summer Research Internship, Stanford CNV-X, and the Johns Hopkins virtual internship put you in live sessions with researchers, and CNV-X ends with a team capstone.
Lectures and one-week academies: Stanford EXPLORE and the Wake Forest Virtual Academy show you how biomedical research and regenerative medicine work.
Recorded university courses with a capstone: the medical research courses from Harvard Medical School, Northwestern, and Georgetown are built around how medical research and clinical trials work. Wake Forest's online medicine courses, Johns Hopkins BMEI, and the USC aging course teach medicine, biomedical engineering, or gerontology, with research skills built into the work. These are courses, so you won't run a study of your own in most of them.
Which online medical research program fits you?
If you want | Look at |
A research paper you write with a mentor | |
AI and medicine | |
Psychiatry and brain science | |
Lectures on immunology, stem cells, and cancer | |
How medical research and clinical trials work | |
Biomedical engineering with hands-on experiments | |
Aging, dementia, and health evidence | |
Cancer or infectious disease | |
A one-week look at regenerative medicine | |
Recorded lessons on your own schedule | |
No listed program fee | |
A start in 9th grade |
When should you apply?
Apply to winter cohorts now, and send in summer 2027 applications by early spring.
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program has a November 8, 2026 priority deadline and a November 22, 2026 regular deadline for its winter cohort, and the Horizon Academic Research Program closes its winter cohort on November 22, 2026. Stanford AIMI opens applications on November 10, 2026 and closes them on February 1, 2027.
The Wake Forest Virtual Academy takes applications from January 15 to February 15, 2027, and the Johns Hopkins virtual internship says it accepts them from December 1 through March 1 each year. The recorded courses from Georgetown, Harvard Medical School, Northwestern, and Wake Forest run year-round, and USC reviews applications on a rolling basis. Johns Hopkins BMEI runs fall, spring, and summer sessions, while Stanford CNV-X and Stanford EXPLORE haven't posted 2027 dates yet.
Location: Online
Cost: Paid; tuition varies by track and isn't posted on the programs page. Need-based financial aid is available, and the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation offers the program at no cost to talented low-income high schoolers.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: Varies by the cohort
Application Deadline: Varies by the cohort
Eligibility: Currently enrolled high school students; no prior research experience required
You pick a medical or life science question, with medicine, neuroscience, and biology all on the list of research areas, and work with a PhD fellow or post-doc in 9 one-on-one sessions over 12 weeks. The first weeks go to exploring your topic and landing on a research question. Weeks 5 to 9 are for writing the paper with 1-on-1 support, and the last three are for final edits. Completing the program makes you eligible for 3 post-baccalaureate credits through UC San Diego Extended Studies.
Who is it right for? Any high schooler who wants to write their own medical research paper from home, with aid available if cost is a barrier.
Location: Online
Cost: TBA
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA (a two-week virtual program)
Application Deadline: February 1, 2027 (applications open November 10)
Eligibility: High school students
In two weeks of mentored, hands-on research, you work with real-world health data and take on problems where AI meets medicine. You build technical skills as you go and learn from the Stanford AIMI community, which brings together experts in medicine, computer science, engineering, and industry. If you are not sure that you're ready for the research part, AIMI also runs a two-week virtual Summer Health AI Bootcamp, which introduces machine learning basics and how they apply in healthcare. Our review of Stanford's AIMI program goes deeper on how the internship works.
Who is it right for? You, if working with health data sounds fun and you want to see where AI fits in medicine.
Location: Online (Zoom)
Cost: $1,725 for the virtual sessions; Scholarships are available for qualified applicants
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA (previous cohort: June 8 to 19, 2026, and June 22 to July 3, 2026)
Application Deadline: TBA
Eligibility: Generally open after a sophomore, junior, or senior year of high school; you need strong English to follow the lectures and discussions
Over 10 days, you sit in seminars with Stanford faculty and researchers on neuroscience principles, clinical neuropsychiatry, psychiatric epidemiology, and the behavioral and social sciences. Past topics include eating disorders and body image, mindfulness, brain stimulation, neuroimaging, and a talk simply called Why Sleep? You also work in a small team to build a solution to a social issue tied to psychiatry, psychology, or neuroscience, then present it at a capstone session for classmates, families, and faculty. Comparing Stanford options? Our guide to Stanford research programs for high school students lines them up.
Who is it right for? Anyone curious about psychiatry and the brain who likes working in a team.
Location: Online (Johns Hopkins Department of Neurology)
Cost: None; you receive a $500 scholarship for completing the 5-week program
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA (the official page lists the 5-week virtual track in July and August)
Application Deadline: March 1 (the official page says applications run December 1 through March 1 each year)
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors anywhere in the U.S. who are enrolled full time toward a diploma; the page strongly encourages applicants from groups underrepresented in biomedical research
For five weeks, you get a daily look at what neurological science involves. You sit in on educational presentations, learn basic lab techniques and experiments, and train in mentorship and professional skills. The program aims at people interested in behavioral health sciences like neuroscience and psychology, and Hopkins built it to help you find out whether a career as a researcher or clinician-scientist appeals to you. For more brain science options, see our list of neuroscience research programs for high school students.
Who is it right for? Rising juniors and seniors drawn to brain science who want a program with no listed fee.
Location: Online (Zoom webinars); an on-campus format also exists, and this entry covers the virtual one
Cost: $600 per week for the virtual series,with a 2-week minimum and upto 4 weeks (2,400 total). Full scholarships are considered for the virtual option, generally for family income under $80,000
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published (2026 registration was first come, first served)
Program Dates: TBA (previous cohort: July 6 to 31, 2026, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. PT)
Application Deadline: TBA (2026 registration opened March 1, 2026 and ran until slots filled)
Eligibility: High schoolers in grades 9 to 12 at registration who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents living and attending high school in the U.S.; a year of high school biology and mostly As and Bs in science are strongly recommended
Each week covers a different corner of biomedical research. In the last cohort, the weeks were immunology and cancer immunotherapy, neuroscience and stem cells, AI in biomedicine and precision health, and careers in science and medicine. Stanford faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows teach the lectures, and many run at a high level.
Who is it right for? You, if you want to hear from working researchers across several fields and meet the citizenship and residency rules.
Location: Online (Zoom), hosted from Winston-Salem, NC; a half-day on-site visit on Friday is optional
Cost: None listed; you buy about $50 of household materials for the daily activities
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: July 12 to 16, 2027 (Zoom lessons Monday to Thursday, 9:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET)
Application Deadline: February 15, 2027, 5 p.m. ET (applications open January 15, 2027)
Eligibility: Middle and high school students ages 14 to 18, from across the U.S. and abroad
For one week, you learn about the research and technologies behind regenerative medicine from faculty researchers, industry professionals, and near-peer mentors. You also hear how people move into the field through different career and education paths.
Who is it right for? Anyone who is at least 14 and wants a one-week introduction to regenerative medicine.
Location: Online, self-paced (Georgetown University, Washington, DC)
Cost: $1,895 for the enrichment course; need-based scholarships are available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: Courses run year-round in 1-, 2-, or 4-week lengths
Application Deadline: None listed (apply any time of year)
Eligibility: Ages 13 and up; no transcripts or letters of recommendation required
The course is called Clinical Trials Resulting in Medical Discoveries, and it looks at how medical research leads to things like vaccines and breakthrough drugs. Georgetown faculty teach through recorded video lessons you can watch whenever it suits you, with 20 to 30 hours of lessons and activities in total. A mentor answers your questions along the way. The course ends with a capstone where you pick a topic from the course and present it as text, video, photos, or slides, and you earn a certificate of completion.
Who is it right for? Anyone who wants to learn how clinical trials work without fixed class times.
Location: Online, self-paced (Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA)
Cost: $1,895 to $2,195 per course; need-based scholarships are available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: Multi-length courses run year-round
Application Deadline: None listed (apply any time of year)
Eligibility: Ages 13 and up; no transcripts or letters of recommendation required
Medical Research is one of the program's capstone courses, where you apply what you learn to real-world medical challenges through project-based learning. Harvard Medical School faculty teach through video lessons you can watch whenever you like, with about 30 hours of lessons, simulations, and quizzes per course. You earn a Certificate of Completion for the course.
Who is it right for? Anyone who wants a college-level look at how medical research works, taught by Harvard Medical School faculty.
Location: Online, self-paced (Northwestern University)
Cost: $1,895 per course; need-based scholarships are available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: 2-week and 4-week sessions, available year-round
Application Deadline: None listed (apply any time of year)
Eligibility: Ages 13 and up; no transcripts or letters of recommendation required
The course is called Evaluating Claims and Facts, a title that points straight at the skill it builds. You watch video lessons led by Northwestern professors and medical experts and work with real-world research, across 20 to 30 hours of lessons, simulations, and assignments. The course ends with a capstone where you pick a topic from the course and present it as text, video, photos, or slides. You also earn a certificate of completion.
Who is it right for? Anyone who wants to learn how to judge medical research claims, with no fixed class times.
Location: Online, self-paced (Wake Forest University and Wake Forest School of Medicine)
Cost: $1,595 per course; need-based scholarships are available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: Multiple 2-week and 4-week sessions, available year-round
Application Deadline: None listed (apply any time of year)
Eligibility: Grades 9 to 12, ages 13 and up; no transcripts or letters of recommendation required
Two of Wake Forest's courses fit this list: Cancer Medicine, a look at caring for, curing, and treating cancer, and Bioscience, a look at infectious disease. You learn from Wake Forest doctors and professors through online coursework, with 20 to 30 hours of lessons, simulations, and assignments, and mentors who answer your questions. Each course ends with a capstone presentation on a topic from the course, and you earn a certificate of completion.
Who is it right for? Anyone who wants a medical deep dive into cancer or infectious disease without fixed class times.
Location: Online, mostly asynchronous (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD)
Cost: Posted on the program's Cost & Aid page, which also covers financial aid and the required lab kit
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA for spring and summer (previous summer cohort: June 22 to July 31, 2026, 6 weeks)
Application Deadline: TBA (the program posts deadlines on its Application Dates and Deadlines page)
Eligibility: Current high schoolers or recent graduates with As and Bs in math and science, Algebra II, trigonometry, and a full year of high school physics with a lab. Most participants are rising juniors and seniors, and talented ninth graders may be considered
You learn to model biological systems, design experiments to test them, and apply engineering principles to medical and physiological problems. Projects include building a biomedical sensor prototype with an Arduino, modeling shoulder forces in a dynamic arm lab, and designing an electrical model of the cardiovascular system. You can earn three Johns Hopkins credits.
Who is it right for? Rising juniors and seniors who are strong in math and physics and like running experiments.
12. USC Pre-College Online Program: Lifespan Development, Critical Questions for Aging and the Lifespan
Location: Online, self-paced with live discussions (taught by a USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology faculty member)
Cost: $1,990 plus a $35 application fee
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA (the course page lists start dates only through March 31, 2025). The course takes 2 to 4 weeks, about 20 to 25 hours in total
Application Deadline: Rolling; decisions come within 3 to 5 business days
Eligibility: At least 14 years old and enrolled in a high school or secondary program; international applicants need to show English proficiency
The course is built around 5 critical questions on current research areas in gerontology, mixing biology, psychology, sociology, nutrition, and topics like dementia, caregiving, and loneliness. You practice telling research apart from opinion, learn the fundamentals of conducting research, and see why evidence matters for health policy. Recorded lectures, industry interviews, and expert panels come with live discussions, and you build a portfolio as you go.
Who is it right for? Anyone drawn to aging and health science who wants practice judging research evidence.
Location: Online (Zoom)
Cost: Varies by the program. Financial aid is avalaible
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Horizon says it usually admits about 26% of applicants to a cohort and takes up to 200 high schoolers a year
Program Dates: Winter Cohort starts December 14, 2026; Labs courses usually run 12 to 16 weeks
Application Deadline: Winter Cohort final deadline November 22, 2026
Eligibility: Grades 9 to 12 with a 3.67 unweighted GPA (or equivalent) and a demonstrated interest in the subject; most accepted applicants are in grades 10 or 11
Gene Editing and CRISPR is one of Horizon's 1-1 Labs, listed alongside neuroscience, medical sociology, and protein biophysics. You apply with 3 to 5 subtopics from a list of 300+, and a PhD or post-doc scholar helps you turn one into a research proposal. Your project runs on publicly available data sets, so you don't need lab access. You get 15 sessions with your mentor, 4 with a writing coach, and 4 with a publication specialist, then finish a 20-page research paper.
Who is it right for? A high schooler with a strong GPA who wants a rigorous one-on-one paper in gene editing and can give 8 to 10 hours a week.
How do the programs compare by cost and deadline?
Program | Who can apply | Format and length | Cost | Deadline |
Currently enrolled high schoolers | Online, 12-week Individual Research Program | Paid, need-based aid available | Nov 8 (priority) and Nov 22, 2026 for winter | |
High schoolers | Online, 2 weeks | TBA | Feb 1, 2027 | |
After sophomore, junior, or senior year | Online, 10 days | $1,725 in 2026 | TBA | |
Rising juniors and seniors in the U.S. | Online, 5 weeks | No fee listed; $500 scholarship | Mar 1 | |
Grades 9 to 12, U.S. citizens or permanent residents | Online, 2 to 4 weeks | $600 per week | TBA | |
Ages 14 to 18 | Online, 1 week | No fee listed | Feb 15, 2027 | |
Ages 13 and up | Online, self-paced, 1 to 4 weeks | $1,895 | None listed | |
Ages 13 and up | Online, self-paced, about 30 hours | $1,895 to $2,195 | None listed | |
Ages 13 and up | Online, 2 or 4 weeks | $1,895 | None listed | |
Grades 9 to 12, ages 13 and up | Online, 2 or 4 weeks | $1,595 per course | None listed | |
High schoolers with math and physics prerequisites | Online, 6 or 14 weeks | See Cost & Aid page | TBA | |
Ages 14 and up, enrolled in high school | Online, 2 to 4 weeks | $1,990 plus $35 fee | Rolling | |
Grades 9 to 12 | Online, 12 to 16 weeks | $6,950 | Nov 22, 2026 for winter |
If you're a rising junior, you could apply to the Lumiere winter cohort this month and send in your Stanford AIMI and Johns Hopkins applications by February 1 and March 1.
Want to research your own medical question?
Most programs on this list teach you how medical research works. If you'd like to go deeper on a question you choose, the Lumiere Research Scholar Program pairs you one-on-one with a PhD fellow or post-doc. In the 12-week Individual Research Program, you build an independent project and finish with a college-level research paper. The program is fully online, financial aid is available. Want to see how it works first? Read our Lumiere Research Scholar Program review.
What you might still be wondering about these online medical research programs
Do I need specific classes before applying to these programs?
Only a few ask for them. One lecture series recommends a year of high school biology, and the biomedical engineering course asks for Algebra II, trigonometry, and a year of physics with a lab. The rest don't list required classes on their official pages, though some look at your grades.
Will I do my own research project, or mostly learn from lectures?
It depends on the program. The one-on-one mentored options have you write your own research paper, a couple of the others have you work on a team project, and many are lectures or recorded lessons that end in a capstone presentation or no project at all. Check each entry above to see which style fits you.
Do I get a certificate or college credit at the end?
Several of the programs give a certificate of completion, and one course offers three college credits from its university. If credit matters to you, the Lumiere Research Scholar Program makes you eligible for 3 post-baccalaureate credits through UC San Diego Extended Studies when you complete a program.
Do I have to be online at set times, or can I work whenever I want?
Some run live on Zoom at set times, such as a five-day academy that meets from 9:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Eastern. Several courses let you watch recorded lessons whenever you want, and the one-on-one mentored programs schedule sessions with your mentor. For more flexible options, see our list of virtual and free research opportunities for high school students.