15 Medical Research Programs for High School Students in New York State
As a high school student, programs focused on medical research can be a good way to explore your interests in healthcare before college. These research programs help you develop skills in data collection, analysis, scientific writing, and experiment design, and learn from mentors from the medical, healthcare, and biomedical fields. Many of these programs are run by prestigious organizations, making them reliable opportunities to learn and build strong academic and professional connections.
Why should you attend a program in New York State?
New York State hosts a wide range of research programs run by leading universities, hospitals, and scientific institutes, such as the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. As a participant, you will have access to advanced facilities and diverse scientific communities while gaining direct exposure to medical or biomedical research. These programs are ideal for New York residents seeking local opportunities as well as out-of-state students eager to explore the state’s research environment.
To make the search easier, we have shortlisted 15 medical research programs for high school students in New York State.
If you're looking for STEM programs in New York State, check our blog here.
1. Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center Summer Student Program (SSP)
Location: Memorial Sloan Kettering research lab, New York, NY
Cost/Stipend: No cost; stipend of $1,200 available
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: 2% acceptance rate; 20 interns/summer
Application deadline: February 6
Dates: June 29 – August 21
Eligibility: High school juniors, ages 14 and up, living in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut within 25 miles of the Main Campus of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center on the Upper East Side in Manhattan; a GPA of 3.5 or higher required in science subjects
SSP provides high school students with an introduction to biomedical and computational research through an eight-week lab placement at Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center. You will work in an MSK lab with researchers and learn how studies are conducted in areas such as cancer biology, immunology, pharmacology, and computational biology. You will contribute to an independent project, participate in lab meetings, and practice foundational research techniques. In addition to lab work, you will take part in sessions focused on translational medicine, scientific communication, and professional development offered by MSK’s clinical and educational teams. The program concludes with a poster session where you will share your project and results.
2. Veritas AI’s Deep Dive: AI + Medicine
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies; full financial aid available
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Selective
Application deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort. You can apply to the program here.
Dates: Multiple 12–15-week cohorts run each year, including in the fall, spring, summer, and winter
Eligibility: High school students who are previous AI Scholar participants or have some coding experience
The AI + Medicine Deep Dive at Veritas AI is a 10-week opportunity to explore how artificial intelligence is changing modern healthcare. Guided by researchers and mentors, you will examine how machine learning can be applied to disciplines like genomics, diagnostics, neuroscience, or drug discovery. The program combines lectures with group projects, so you not only learn the theory behind AI but also practice building models and applying them to real medical challenges. Past projects have included analyzing medical images, predicting hospital admissions, and using transfer learning methods to improve clinical tools.
3. Weill Cornell Department of Pediatrics Summer Internship
Location: Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY
Stipend: Paid
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Not specified
Application deadline: January 5
Dates: June 1 – August 7 (program runs for 6 or 10 weeks within this window)
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors, and college students
The Summer Internship at Weill Cornell’s Department of Pediatrics offers you the chance to work within a pediatric specialty that matches your interests, such as epilepsy research, health policy, neurology, or patient education. You will join a division where you will carry out various tasks with the support of faculty and staff mentors. Your tasks may involve reviewing existing research, collecting or organizing data, observing clinical rounds, or contributing to ongoing educational or advocacy efforts. In the process, you will build research skills, learn about hospital operations, and gain a clearer understanding of how pediatric research and clinical care inform one another.
4. Lumiere Research Scholar Program: Medical Track
Location: Virtual!
Cost: Varies; financial assistance offered
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Selective
Application deadline: Varies by cohort: January for Spring, May for Summer, September for Fall, and November for Winter. You can apply here.
Dates: Multiple sessions, including summer, spring, fall, and winter cohorts, are scheduled each year
Eligibility: High school students; accepted students typically have an unweighted GPA of 3.3 out of 4.0
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 high school students 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 medicine, biology, neuroscience, and more.
5. Columbia University’s YES in the HEIGHTS
Location: Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC), New York, NY
Stipend: Paid
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Less than 10% high school applicants selected/year
Application deadline: January 9
Dates: June 29 – August 21
Eligibility: Students (high school to undergraduate level) who are at least 14 years old and U.S. citizens
YES in the HEIGHTS is an eight-week paid summer research internship hosted by Columbia University’s Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. You will be paired with a faculty mentor and spend the summer assisting with an ongoing project or shaping a focused project of your own based on your and your mentor’s research interests. Each week, you will take part in the HICCC Cancer Biology Journal Club, where you will read and discuss scientific papers with other interns. You will also engage in professional development activities, including creating an Individual Development Plan, drafting an abstract, and learning how to structure a research presentation. If you participate in the program for the second time the following summer, you will prepare and deliver a formal oral presentation to share your research with the program community.
6. Zuckerman Institute’s Brain Research Apprenticeships in New York at Columbia (BRAINYAC)
Location: Columbia University, New York, NY
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Not specified
Application deadline: October 31
Dates: Winter/Spring training + 7–10 weeks of summer research
Eligibility: High school sophomores and juniors residing in New York City and enrolled in a partner program; preference is given to students in Upper Manhattan and the South Bronx
As a BRAINYAC participant, you will spend several weeks in the summer working with a mentor in a Columbia neuroscience lab. You will carry out experiments, review data, and learn how questions in brain science are tackled through research. The program also includes workshops and group activities that help you build practical lab skills and connect with peers who are interested in neuroscience. By the end of the summer, you will have completed a research project.
7. New York Bioforce
Location: Columbia University and various academic, industry, and healthcare labs across NYC
Cost/Stipend: Free; stipend available, but the exact amount is not specified
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Not specified
Application deadline: January 22
Dates: April 4 – August 14
Eligibility: High school juniors or seniors who can demonstrate educational and/or economic disadvantage, who attend an NYCDOE public or charter high school that has an Economic Need Index (ENI) of 0.8/80% or higher (check your school’s ENI here), and/or who have a family income that qualifies for Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, or other similar government aid
New York Bioforce offers free research training and paid summer internships to NYC high school students. You will start with spring sessions that include about 100 hours of Saturday instruction at Columbia University, where you will learn laboratory methods such as PCR, gel electrophoresis, and microscopy, as well as communication and workplace skills. After completing this training, you will join a six-week mentored internship at a research lab or healthcare site, which may include Columbia Engineering, Weill Cornell Medicine, or the New York Proton Center. During the internship, you will take part in ongoing research and learn directly from scientists and professionals. The program ends with a poster session at the American Museum of Natural History, where you will present your project and reflect on what you learned.
8. Biorocket Research Internship Program
Location: Genspace Community Biology Lab, Brooklyn, NY
Cost/Stipend: No cost; stipend of $2,000 available
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: ~18 students in the past; the number can vary
Application deadline: TBA; applications open on November 1
Dates: Spring Session: February 25 – May 21 | Summer Session: July 6 – August 14 (can change by year)
Eligibility: New York City Public or Charter high school students who are at least 16 years old and live within 45 minutes of Genspace
The Biorocket Research Internship Program is a six-month research experience for high school students. The program includes after-school lab sessions in the spring, followed by a summer internship focused on biology and genetic engineering. You will work with scientist mentors to develop and complete a team research project, gaining hands-on experience and insight into how scientific research is conducted. In addition to lab work, you will participate in lab tours, field trips, and workshops on science communication that use improv techniques to help you present your results. At the end of the program, you will share your work with peers and family members.
9. BEYOND ALBERT High School Research Program
Location: Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center, Bronx, NY
Cost/Stipend: No cost; stipend of $2,500 available
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Competitive
Application deadline: January 12; applications open on November 1
Dates: Eight weeks in the summer (late June through August) + academic year after-school program from September to May
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors who live and attend school in the Bronx and are at least 16 years old by the start of the program
The BEYOND ALBERT High School Research Program gives high school students an opportunity to explore cancer biology and biomedical science through lab work, mentorship, and academic activities. You will spend the summer working full-time in research labs at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where you will gain practical experience with key biomedical techniques and guidance from experienced researchers. The program also allows you to continue building research skills during the school year through after-school sessions and workshops. Additionally, the program provides mentorship and professional development opportunities beyond the summer experience.
10. BrainSTORM @ Columbia
Location: Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Monthly seminars: Open to all | Research mentorship: 25 students/year
Application deadline: January 1
Dates: July of the current year – June of the following year
Eligibility: High school students
The Brain Seminar for Teens and Opportunities for Research Mentorship (BrainSTORM) is a year-long program for high school students interested in neuroscience. You will participate in monthly online seminars led by experts in areas such as neurology and neuroimaging, covering topics like Alzheimer’s disease or epilepsy. You can also apply for a research mentorship, where you will be one of 25 students who will be paired with researchers to work on guided projects. These projects can be completed in person or remotely. The program ends with a symposium where you will get to present your research findings.
11. Summer Research Experience in Cancer (SURE-CAN) Program @ Roswell Park
Location: Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY
Cost/Stipend: No fee; limited financial support is available.
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Competitive
Application deadline: January 2
Dates: June 26 – August 7
Eligibility: High school juniors who are 15 or older, U.S. citizens/permanent residents, and residents of Western NY counties of Erie, Niagara, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua, living within commuting distance to Roswell Park
The SURE-CAN program at Roswell Park is a six-week research internship focused on cancer and related health science fields. You will work in a professional lab with research mentors on projects in areas such as cancer biology, imaging, genomics, or applications of artificial intelligence in medicine, spending about 40 hours per week on campus. The program can help you gain insights into how disciplines like math, physics, and engineering intersect with biology in cancer research. You will also participate in seminars and discussions and develop skills in scientific communication. The program concludes with a research symposium where you will present your findings.
12. Rockefeller University Summer Science Research Program (SSRP)
Location: Rockefeller University campus, New York, NY
Cost/Stipend: No fee; need-based stipend available
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Selective; 32 students/year
Application deadline: January 2
Dates: June 22 – August 6
Eligibility: Juniors and seniors in high school who are at least 16 years old at the start of the program
This free seven-week biomedical research program is designed for high school juniors and seniors who want hands-on exposure to professional research. You will work within a small group of peers at Rockefeller University under the guidance of mentors from Rockefeller, Memorial Sloan Kettering, and Weill Cornell. After completing basic lab training, you will select a research question, conduct experiments, and share your findings in a final poster session. Project areas differ by team and may include cancer biology, neuroscience, or other health-related topics. The program also includes electives, lectures, and workshops that can help you develop practical research and communication skills.
13. Sophie Davis Health Professions Mentorship Program (HPMP)
Location: CUNY’s School of Medicine, New York, NY
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Competitive
Application deadline: April 1
Dates: Two four-week sessions over two summers + monthly school-year sessions
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors with an overall minimum GPA of 80
The Sophie Davis HPMP is a free, two-year program for New York City high school students interested in learning about health-related careers. The program will start with a four-week summer session following your 10th grade and continue with monthly Saturday workshops during the school year. Throughout the program, you will explore clinical cases and learn about fields such as medicine, nursing, and public health with guidance from CUNY School of Medicine faculty and medical students. You will also work on a group research project in which you examine a healthcare issue affecting New York City and outline a possible response or improvement.
14. The Health Scholars Program at Maimonides Medical Center
Location: Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Competitive
Application deadline: Rolling basis
Dates: Multiple rotations available through the year; typical commitment of three months
Eligibility: High school students in grades 11 and 12
The Maimonides Health Scholars Program allows you to volunteer in the Emergency Department at a busy Brooklyn hospital. Over three months, you will complete at least one five-hour shift/week, assisting patients, observing doctors and nurses, and gaining insight into the day-to-day operations of a hospital. Each week, you will participate in virtual or in-person sessions covering medical topics like pathology, physiology, and patient care, and attend presentations led by healthcare professionals on healthcare careers. You may also participate in ongoing Emergency Department research projects.
15. International Young Researchers’ Conference (IYRC) Medicine and Research Summer Program
Location: Virtual + in-person at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S), New York, NY
Cost: Starts at $500 and goes up based on registration date (more info here); financial aid available
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Not specified
Application deadline: Rolling
Dates: June 20 – August 29
Eligibility: High school students
The IYRC Medicine and Research Summer Program at Columbia University is a 10-week hybrid program for high school students interested in clinical medicine and research in the field. You will learn from doctors and medical students, exploring topics such as cancer, mental health, and women’s health. You will conduct patient interviews, participate in research workshops, and write a research paper. Additionally, you will complete clinical assignments and reflections and have the option to enter an essay contest. You can also apply for the Community Health Literacy Worker module, which offers additional training and certification in areas like stroke, dementia, and health insurance literacy.
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