APPLICATIONS OPEN: 2025 High School Health Research Challenge

The 2025 High School Health Research Challenge is an HSHRF competition open to high school students of all nationalities, focusing on the creativity and feasibility of coming up with potential solutions to relevant societal health issues.

Eligibility: The competition is only open to full-time high school students (grades 9-12) attending a public school, private school, or home school at the time of application. 

  • U.S. citizenship is not required

  • International students may submit

  • Students living outside of the U.S. are eligible to submit

Your Task: Create a 2 page summary or 2 minute video identifying a significant or pressing health challenge facing society today, and propose a creative and feasible solution that teenagers can potentially develop or implement to address or mitigate this issue.*More detailed information is outlined in the official Submission Guidelines document.*

Award Information: The top winner of the competition will win the Pioneer in Health Research Award™, which includes a $500 scholarship and a certification signed and recognized by the panel of distinguished judges. There will be 3-5 runner-ups, who will receive a mailed and signed certificate and display on the Expo showcase.

2025 Judging Panel: The professional judging panel is in charge of selecting the final-round winners and the Pioneer in Health Research. The judges include Dr. Immaculata De Vivo, Editor-in-Chief of Cancer Causes & Control and Professor of Science at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Dr. Sebastien Thuault, Editor-in-Chief of Nature Aging; and Dr. Margaret Du, Associate Attending at Memorial Sloan Kettering and Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Timeline:

Applications Open — January 19, 2025

Application Final Deadline — March 10, 2025, 11:59 PM EST

Semifinalist Decisions — March 15, 2025

Final Decisions — March 20, 2025

Frequently Asked questions

  • Make sure your ideas are conveyed in a thoughtful and professional manner. This competition encourages creative thinking, but it's important to ensure your submission effectively answers the prompt and presents your idea in an understandable way. Whether you choose to submit a written summary or a video, as long as you provide a clear and respectful explanation, your creativity is welcome. 

  • There is one seed-money prize awarded to one winner, and ~3-4 honorable mentions will be recognized.

  • Yes, you may, as long as you respond to the prompt succinctly and condense the information down to two pages or a  2-3 minute video.

  • A maximum of two people may collaborate on a single submission. The Pioneer in Health Research Prize™ will be awarded to one submission. If a two-person team wins, the members must determine how the $500 fund will be distributed between them.

  • Yes. As long as you are a current high school student in grades 9-12, you may participate from anywhere in the world.

  • No, we allow only one submission per individual or team (up to two members). Submitting more than one entry will result in the most recent submission being disqualified.

Other questions? Email hshealthresearchforum@gmail.com

Dr. Immaculata De Vivo

Editor-in-Chief of Cancer Causes & Control, Professor of Science at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Dr. Margaret Du

Associate Attending at Memorial Sloan Kettering and Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine.