For junior Kyle Yang, biomedical research is an opportunity for him to go beyond textbooks and explore real-world investigation and research. Yang has participated in a variety of research competitions, including the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). Yang said his research experiences have strongly influenced his confidence in pursuing STEM-related majors.

“Having real research experience gives concrete evidence of my ability to succeed in a STEM environment, which builds the confidence needed to pursue those types of paths,” Yang said.

Yang is one of more than 1,000 high school students who compete at ISEF. According to the Society for Science, ISEF is one of the largest pre-college global science competitions that represent over 75 countries. At this school, Yang said students at this school have access to a variety of clubs and classes that support students interested in biomedical research.

“There are numerous biomedical research opportunities for students through courses such as the Biomedical PLTW pathway. There are also clubs like the Student Research Mentorship in Biomedical Engineering, which collaborates with Purdue University to help students start their research journey,” Yang said.

Senior Jessica Flowers, a student at this school who takes the biomedical innovations (BI) class, also participates in research opportunities at this school. 

“There’s an innovation competition where a student creates an innovation, a pitch, and they get entered within a school competition and a regional and state competition for an innovation that they create,” Flowers said.

Melinda Stephan, college and career programming coordinator, said students can explore their biomedical interests through a variety of opportunities. 

“Regardless of career interest, we encourage students to seek opportunities to confirm and expand their interest through coursework, independent exploration and experiential learning,” Stephen said. “Summer programs offered by colleges, universities or other organizations are a great initial way to explore biomedical and STEM pathways.”

Skills and growth

For students like Yang, biomedical research opportunities have helped him strengthen a variety of unique skills.

“Skills I developed were things like learning to explore my curiosity, creating my own experiments and retrieving new findings, rather than following instructions with known results,” Yang said. “Through biomedical research, I also gain skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking as I often face errors and a lack of results during the research process.”

Flowers said research provides her opportunities to build skills essential for the future.

“I really think that biomedical research is actually very important, because in lecture-based classes, you are just absorbing information, taking notes and reading off slides. You memorize everything for a test just to forget it,” Flowers said. “For research, you’re actually applying skills that you would use when you are in your undergraduate. Essentially, you’re gaining skills that are going to be used in the future, skills that are essential for any kind of science field that you’re going to go into.”

Stephen said research experiences help students deepen both knowledge and professional connections.

”Benefits of participating in research include furthering their knowledge about a topic of interest and connecting with professionals in their field of interest, often gaining mentors that can support their future learning and research efforts,” Stephan said.

Yang also said collaboration is an important part of research and has pushed him to grow as a student.

“Collaboration is a critical part of biomedical research because it brings perspectives and insights from different individuals that can elevate a project to a new level,” Yang said. “Collaboration helps people to come together and create a research project using different strengths, exceeding results someone may have made individually.

Yang said labs and hands-on experiments also provided him with a deeper understanding of scientific concepts.

“Classroom activities are critical to real research practices because they not only build foundational knowledge that I need for research, but also introduces me to fields like biology, where I can explore and create my own questions that may deviate from past interpretations and propose new perspectives,” Yang said. “These activities help me think like researchers rather than just students following directions.”

Flowers said she agreed with Yang’s sentiment.

“I do think hands-on experimentation is very essential to understanding scientific concepts, especially because doing labs is the real life application of your scientific concepts,” Flowers said. “For example, memorizing all the parts of the cell, but then actually doing experiments and applying that knowledge is a completely different skill set that I think really shapes and hones how you understand those concepts.”

Stephen added that students also build transferable research abilities through these experiences. 

“Students learn and develop key research skills that they can take forward into their studies and possibly their future career,” Stephan said.

Shaping future paths

Yang said biomedical research played a vital role in helping him connect with future plans and pathways.

“Research opportunities at this school help connect me to real-world biomedical issues and careers as I explore the gaps of knowledge or potential for innovation in science,” Yang said. “These gaps allow me to start my own research projects and eventually share results, which often leads to opportunities to connect with professionals in biomedical research.”

Stephan said research can even open doors beyond the classroom. 

She said, “It’s not unheard of for high school students who conduct research to be able to present professional papers or posters for conferences as well as possibly be included as a contributor to published research.”

Yang said research projects also benefited him by allowing him to explore future plans and career pathways.

“Research is a great opportunity for me to narrow down academic or career interests. I can reflect on whether this field of study truly interests me and also helps me narrow down my interests,” Yang said.

Flowers said the BI class gives students a chance to discover their true interests and passions through different presentations and experiments.

“Everybody who was doing an experiment did a presentation on what their findings were. There’s lots of opportunities to present and shape interests, because you are learning about other fields,” Flowers said. “For example, someone did sutures so they’re really interested in surgeries, so they wanted to learn how strong each different suture was. Presenting your findings is just a way to delve into your interests.”

Stephen further added that research experience can also distinguish students as they plan for college and their careers. 

“Research experience can also be something that sets students apart in the college application process,” Stephan said.

“Engaging in biomedical research at this school allows students like me to gain experiences beyond what any textbook could provide. Doing hands-on experiments and advancing mistakes and contributing to the scientific community allows me to actually enter the scientific community, rather than remain in a third-person perspective,” Yang said. “Research transforms science from something students read about into something they are actively a part of.”