8 Medical Research Opportunities for High School Students in NJ
If you're a New Jersey high school student interested in medicine or biomedical research, finding affordable programs can be challenging. Fortunately, many colleges, hospitals, and research centers in New Jersey offer excellent programs for participating in research in toxicology, cancer biology, neuroscience, and biomedical engineering. Participating in medical research in high school can show college admissions officers that you are committed to pursuing medicine.
Some of these are unpaid internships, while others are summer programs with lab training or one-on-one research mentorship. Most are free or low-cost, and many of them place you in research labs with scientists or medical faculty as your mentors. A few can even be done virtually!
To help you decide where to apply, we’ve put together a list of 8 medical research programs for high school students in New Jersey!
1. Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory High School Summer Internship
The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory offers a full-time summer internship for high school seniors interested in STEM fields. Interns engage in actual projects alongside PPPL’s research or engineering teams, acquiring practical experience in plasma physics and fusion energy research. The prestigious program provides an opportunity to engage in in-depth scientific research.
Location: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ
Dates: June 30 – August 1
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: Graduating high school seniors, at least 16 years old, who have taken some or all of physics, chemistry, advanced math, engineering, etc., and have some experience with coding
Cost/Stipend: Interns will be paid a stipend
2. Lumiere Research Scholar Program
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program is a rigorous research program tailored for high school students. The program offers extensive 1-on-1 research opportunities for high school students across a broad range of subject areas that you can explore as a high schooler. The program pairs you with Ph.D. mentors to work 1-on-1 on an independent research project. At the end of the 12-week program, you’ll have developed an independent research paper! You can choose research topics from subjects such as psychology, physics, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry, international relations, and more. You can find more details about the application here.
Location: Remote — you can participate in this program from anywhere in the world!
Cost: Full financial aid is available!
Application Deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort.
Program Dates: Varies by cohort: summer, fall, winter, or spring. Options range from 12 weeks to 1 year.
Eligibility: You must be currently enrolled in high school and demonstrate a high level of academic achievement.
3. Toxicology, Health & Environmental Disease (THED) High School Summer Program
The THED program is a rigorous week-long summer program that immerses you in laboratory work related to genetics, drug disposition, pharmacogenetics, and toxicology. You will learn to do real, practical laboratory operations such as DNA isolation, PCR, and cell culture, while also exploring careers in medicine, pharmacy, and toxicology. It involves 8 hours of programming at the Rutgers Busch Campus in New Jersey.
Location: Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ
Dates: Session 1: July 21 – 25 | Session 2: July 28 – August 1
Application Deadline: March 14
Eligibility: High school students entering grades 10–12 who have completed at least one biology course
Cost: $925
4. Veritas AI: AI + Medicine Deep Dive
Veritas AI is an AI program for ambitious high school students, founded and run by Harvard graduate students. In the AI + Medicine Deep Dive, discover the applications of AI in healthcare and the medical sector. You’ll get a chance to work on real-world projects using AI & ML models to diagnose diseases, sharpen medical scans, and explain their outcomes to aid doctors and patients. Here is the program brochure and the application form.
Location: Virtual
Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year
Application Deadline: On a rolling basis. Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September), and Winter (November).
Eligibility: High schoolers who either have prior Python experience or have completed the Veritas AI Scholars Program
Cost/Stipend: $2,290
5. Rutgers New Jersey Medical School: High School Internships
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School offers high school students the chance to intern directly with faculty members on medical research projects. You can engage in real-world scientific investigations, gaining exposure to the research process and methodologies. To participate, you must independently obtain a commitment from a Rutgers RBHS-NJMS faculty member to be your mentor. This opportunity enables you to explore a specific research topic of interest under the guidance of professionals, laying a solid foundation in medical research practices.
Location: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Varies; students must secure individual faculty mentorship
Dates: Varies; determined by the specific research schedule of the faculty mentor
Application Deadline: Rolling; students should initiate contact well in advance
Eligibility: High school students aged 16 and above
Cost/Stipend: None
6. High School Biomedical Scholars Program at Rowan University
Rowan University's High School Biomedical Scholars Program offers a two-week hands-on experience where you will collaborate with faculty and graduate mentors on biomedical research projects. You will have the chance to work in their Human Gross Anatomy Lab or on an alternate project, where you will observe and carry out laboratory techniques and experiments. Additionally, there are informational sessions focused on medical careers and college admissions, which further enrich the learning experience.
Location: Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ
Dates: August 4 – 15
Application Deadline: April 1
Eligibility: Current high school students with a GPA of 3.0 or better
Cost: $1,500
7. Cancer Institute of New Jersey's Clinical Research Experience for High School Students (CREHST)
The CREHST program at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey is an extremely selective, year-long research program for high school juniors and seniors, providing the opportunity to train alongside physician-scientists. The program focuses on increasing diversity in the biomedical research workforce and encourages students to pursue degrees in STEM fields. Each year, only five students are chosen who will dedicate 40 hours a week primarily to research and laboratory tasks under their mentor's supervision. There are also lectures on clinical research topics like cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, trials, and drug development.
Location: Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Extremely selective, only 5 students chosen per year!
Dates: Year-long program starting in July
Application Deadline: Applications usually due in spring
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors from backgrounds underrepresented in medical science
Cost/Stipend: None
8. M.I.N.D.S. Program at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
The M.I.N.D.S. (Medical Internship Navigating Diversity and Science) program is a six-week research internship focusing on healthcare and medical fields. You will learn about career paths in medicine and social determinants of health while working on a comprehensive research project addressing health disparities in New Jersey. The schedule includes activities such as brain dissection, medical research, understanding the social determinants of health, internal medicine, radiology, and more.
Location: Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Nutley, NJ
Dates: Typically offered in summer; exact dates announced annually
Application Deadline: Varies; applications usually due in spring
Eligibility: High school students interested in healthcare and medical research
Cost/Stipend: Students will receive a stipend
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