About Onco Research Scholars
A student-led organization giving high school students real exposure to cancer research, clinical medicine, and service, mentored by MD Anderson faculty, and open to everyone.
I founded Onco Research Scholars to close the distance between curious high school students and real cancer research. Too many students who want to contribute to medicine never get the chance, not because they lack the drive, but because no one ever showed them how the door actually opens. Onco Research Scholars exists to show them.
We give students genuine exposure to cancer research, clinical medicine, and service. We help them build the skills real research demands: reading the literature, finding a question nobody has answered yet, and analyzing public datasets. Just as importantly, we build the practical skills that get them in the room: how to cold email a professor, how to follow up, and how to carry themselves once they are there. Then we help them turn those skills into real roles: internships, wet-lab placements, computational projects, and research positions alongside working scientists.
Our members are mentored one on one by individual faculty at MD Anderson. We build in order: an academic foundation in the real skills research demands, then a pipeline into an actual lab position. Everything we build is free, and open to every high school student, regardless of where they go to school or what they have done before.
Our goal is simple: that any student with real curiosity about cancer can find a real place to act on it. The earlier a student gets to do genuine work, the further they go, and the more good science gets done.
What students do with the organization
As of June 2026.
Mentored by MD Anderson faculty
Our members are mentored one on one by individual faculty at MD Anderson, who guide their research directly. One of our initiatives supports students in attending the AACR Annual Meeting, bringing more young researchers into the field.
Where we have collaborated before
Onco Research Scholars X Hope For Pink Texas
We previously collaborated with Hope For Pink Texas, engaging volunteers in creating hand-written letters and cards of encouragement to support cancer patients. This collaboration allowed students to combine community service with oncology outreach.
Real research is closer than you think
Join free, start your first project, or learn the cold email that opens the door.