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Build a medical research proposal with Polygence during 2 weeks on the University of Michigan campus for high school students, then continue through 10 mentor sessions.
Course Description
A healthcare claim becomes more useful when you can trace it back to the evidence. Start with a question in medicine or public health and work out how a study could answer it.
In this course you will examine scientific literature, research ethics, qualitative and quantitative methods, data collection, analysis, and community-engaged research. A research timeline follows how evidence develops. Write focused questions using PICO, a framework for specifying a population, intervention, comparison, and outcome.
A literature scavenger hunt helps you judge sources; a data challenge puts interpretation into practice. Consider budget and ethical choices behind clinical research, then use abstract and visual-data workshops to make the study’s reasoning clear.
On campus, develop a medical research proposal, abstract, and professional scientific poster and present it in a symposium-style setting. Continue through Polygence’s Core Research Program afterward: join a virtual cohort and work one-to-one with a mentor matched to your field. Across 10 virtual sessions, pursue the project at an individual pace toward a paper, symposium presentation, podcast, or another appropriate format.
This two-week Summer Discovery full-day academy for high school students takes place on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Students focus on one academy for the full campus program. The hybrid academy combines this experience with the subsequent Polygence research program.
What You Will Do
• Trace medical evidence and evaluate relevant scientific literature
• Write a focused question using the PICO framework
• Plan methods, data, budget, and ethical safeguards
• Develop an abstract and professional scientific poster
• Defend your proposal in a mock research symposium
• Continue through 10 one-to-one virtual Polygence mentor sessions
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Formulate a researchable health question using scientific literature
• Choose and justify ethical methods suited to a proposed study
• Communicate a research plan with clear evidence and reasoning
You’ll leave with your medical research proposal, abstract, scientific poster, continuation plan for Polygence mentorship, and a certificate of completion.
Why Medical Research Skills Matter
Medical research skills help students distinguish a compelling health question from one that can actually be investigated. They learn to trace a claim to evidence, judge the quality of a source, choose methods that fit the question, and consider how study design affects the conclusions that can be drawn.
Ethics and community-engagement exercises add another layer. A technically sound project must also consider consent, risk, representation, and the people affected by the research. Writing an abstract and building a poster develop precision because students must explain purpose, methods, and significance without hiding behind jargon. These habits support future work in medicine, public health, biology, health policy, and other evidence-driven fields.
Who Should Attend?
For students who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade.
If you want to know how a medical claim was tested or what a better study might reveal, this academy gives you a way to pursue that question. You don’t need a completed research question before arriving. Scientific reading, ethical discussion, and feedback help shape a substantial independent proposal.
The work continues after campus through 10 one-to-one virtual sessions with a Polygence mentor matched to your field of interest.
Recommended by More Than 9 out of 10 Students
Based on students surveyed in Summer Discovery’s 2026 program at the University of Michigan.
Your Summer at University of Michigan
Programs on the University of Michigan campus give high-school students the experience of exploring an academic interest in Ann Arbor, a college town where campus and community life blend together. Tree-lined streets, downtown bookstores and cafés, the Nichols Arboretum, and trails near the Huron River create different ways to experience the setting beyond class.
Students learn alongside peers, navigate a large and active campus, and gain independence through everyday choices in a new environment. The experience helps students understand what university life can feel like while giving them space to deepen an interest without having every next step decided. For families, the program offers a meaningful combination of academic depth, community, personal growth, and clearer direction about what a student may want to study or pursue next.
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive