HSHRF Competitions
The High School Health Research Challenge (HSHRC) is an HSHRF original 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. The submissions are judged by the HSHRF judging panel, consisting of PhD/MD professionals, scientific journal editors, and university/medical institution affiliates. The Pioneer in Health Research Award™ recipient will receive a $500 scholarship, and finalists and semifinalists will be announced on the platform.
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
HSHRF is currently not accepting submissions. The 2026 competition season is forthcoming.
2025 High School Health Research Challenge
The HSHRF competition received hundreds of submissions worldwide, sharply identified significant or pressing health challenges facing society today, and passionately proposed creative and feasible solutions that teenagers could potentially develop or implement to address or mitigate the issues. After a rigorous review by the education team and our panel of judges, six semifinalists were selected, followed by five finalist projects showcasing the most innovative and feasible health solutions proposed by teenagers. The judging panel included 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.
2025 Recognitions
high school health research challenge
Cancer Awareness & Action Challenge
Cancer is one of the most pressing global health challenges, and it impacts hundreds of thousands of lives each year. In order to raise awareness and inspire both action and early interest in cancer-related fields among the younger generation, nonprofit organizations curingwithCARE and the High School Health Research Forum are proud to present the 2025 Cancer Awareness & Action Challenge (CAAC). This challenge invites high school students to submit a short written proposal that offers an original, creative, evidence-based, and practical solution related to cancer-related community issues/topics, such as cancer prevention, access to cancer center care, public education or awareness, and healthcare policy. The challenge will encourage students to think critically and empower them, regardless of prior research experience, to explore their interests in health advocacy and research. All that is needed is a thoughtful idea that checks the boxes of the 2025 Prompt, and executes the proposal's passion, feasibility, and potential impact. 2025 CAAC semifinalists will be recognized for their efforts, and the grand prize winner will receive a cash award and additional accolades.
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
Timeline
Official applications open — August 1, 2025
Final submission deadline — September 7, 2025 (11:59 PM EST); late entries will not be accepted!Judging period — September 8 - September 25, 2025
Final winner and semifinalists announcement — September 26, 20252025 Prompt
Select a specific, pressing problem of cancer prevention, access to treatment, awareness, or policy and propose an innovative, practical solution that can be created, campaigned for, and enacted by adolescents to address the issue. Access the full guidelines document to ensure a quality submission!