Undergraduates: Open Research Positions & Projects
Current Harvard Undergraduates: contact Kate Penner Undergraduate Science Research Advisor, for advice on applying for research positions. If you find a position below that looks interesting, please contact the lab directly.
Faculty: if you are interested in posting your open research position, please contact Kate Penner.
Our website was recently updated. Transferring project listings is currently in progress. Thank you for your patience! (New listings are posted on a rolling basis.)
Open Projects for Fall 2026
Undergraduate Research Opportunity, MJ Lab, Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital
Medical AI Bootcamp, Rajpurkar Lab, Harvard Medical School
Open Projects from Spring 2026
Undergraduate research opportunity // Cantor Lab // Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Undergraduate research opportunity // Kristin Javaras // McLean Hospital
Undergraduate Research Opportunity, MJ Lab, Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital
Dr. Mohammad Jalali, https://mj-lab.mgh.harvard.edu
Project description and duties: MJ Lab develops and applies simulation models and data science methods to study complex health and policy problems and inform real-world decision making. Our projects span areas such as addiction treatment and overdose, suicide prevention, adolescent health, healthcare delivery, health disparities, and other population health challenges.
Students may contribute to literature reviews, data analysis, simulation modeling, visualization, and preparation of manuscripts and presentations. Projects vary over time, and students may work across more than one topic depending on their interests and skills. Juniors and seniors are welcome to apply.
Learning outcomes: Students will gain experience in reviewing scientific literature, analyzing and visualizing data, working with computational and simulation-based research, and communicating research findings. Students will also gain exposure to different areas of population health research and different stages of the research process.
Student stipend: Paid and unpaid opportunities may be available depending on the project and funding. Students may also receive research credit through their programs, and the PI can support applications for undergraduate research funding such as HCRP.
Requirements: Excellent writing and communication skills are required. We are particularly interested in motivated and organized students who pay attention to detail, are comfortable working with quantitative information, and can develop a good understanding of the data they are analyzing. Prior experience with programming is helpful but not required.
Time commitment: 7-15 hours/week, depending on availability
Additional notes: Mentoring: Students work closely with the PI. Project teams meet regularly with the PI to discuss the research. Mentoring also includes opportunities to discuss graduate school, research careers, and professional development.
Student stipend: Paid and unpaid opportunities may be available depending on the project and funding. Students may also receive research credit through their programs, and the PI can support applications for undergraduate research funding such as HCRP.
If interested, please contact: Candidates should send their CV to Dr. Jalali at msjalali@mgh.harvard.edu with “Undergraduate Research Opportunity” in the subject line. Please briefly describe your research interests and availability.
Medical AI Bootcamp, Rajpurkar Lab, Harvard Medical School
The Rajpurkar Lab at HMS is recruiting students for its Medical AI Bootcamp, a mentored research program at the intersection of AI and medicine. You lead your own project, working closely with a senior lab member (a postdoc or PhD student) and with Prof. Rajpurkar directly. Most students start with a short warm-up project before moving to something more ambitious. Students often co-author manuscripts and frequently earn first-author positions. Recent bootcamp projects have appeared at CVPR, MIDL, and CHIL, and in Nature Biotechnology. Undergraduates and graduate students are both welcome.
What it looks like:
- At least 3 months, and often 6 or more. Plan on about 15 to 20 hours per week.
- A weekly group meeting on Zoom, 11 AM to 12 PM ET, plus a standing weekly check-in with your mentor
- Harvard and MIT students work on site in Boston and Cambridge
- We ask that this be your main research commitment rather than one lab among several
- Students at Harvard, MIT, and Stanford can often arrange course credit or a research unit for the work
What we look for:
- Real coding experience. You should be comfortable writing and debugging your own Python, and reading an ML paper closely enough to build on it.
- Practical machine learning knowledge, from coursework, side projects, or past research
- A specific reason you're interested, like a paper of ours you want to extend or a question you want to answer.
Applications are reviewed monthly on a rolling basis. You will need a CV, a transcript, and a short motivation statement, which takes about 10 to 15 minutes. Candidates we select do a Zoom interview that assesses programming skills and usually involves walking through a project or a paper you know well. Candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.
Details and application: https://rajpurkarlab.hms.harvard.edu/bootcamp/
Questions: romain_hardy@g.harvard.edu
Undergraduate Research Assistant — Aging & Imbalance Study // Jenks Vestibular Physiology Laboratory // Mass Eye and Ear, HMS
Jenks Vestibular Physiology Laboratory · Mass Eye and Ear / Harvard Medical School
Fall semester 2026 · 10-25 hrs/week · Eligible for HCRP funding or credit
One in four older adults falls each year, and a fall can mean injury, hospitalization, lost independence, or death. Yet for any given person, it’s often difficult to identify which of the body's sensory or motor functions is at fault.
The human body has an exquisite ability to control its movement and balance, drawing on sensory information from the vestibular, visual, and somatosensory systems. The Aging & Imbalance Study investigates how dysfunction in each of these sensory systems contributes to impaired balance and fall risk in younger and older adults.
In this study, we collect experimental data from human subjects to measure sensory function and balance performance, and we develop computational models of postural control (MATLAB/Simulink and Python) that let us test which sensory deficits explain the balance performance we observe.
You would: participate in collecting data from human subjects; write MATLAB and Python code to analyze data; prepare posters for conferences; contribute to writing papers.
We're looking for: a Harvard College undergraduate in biomedical engineering or a related quantitative field, with working proficiency in MATLAB and Python, an interest in human health and movement, and good organizational and communication skills. You should be comfortable interacting with research subjects, including older adults.
Helpful but not required: coursework or other experience in signal processing, control systems, applied statistics, and/or human physiology.
Funding: This position can be paired with the Harvard College Research Program (HCRP), which requires a separate application submitted by the student (Sept. 8 deadline).
To apply: Please email Dr. Rachel Bellisle (rbellisle@meei.harvard.edu) with a short statement of interest and your CV (including relevant coursework).
Undergraduate Research Opportunity // Cantor Lab // Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
The Cantor lab studies the development and function of T-cells and their products in the context of anti-tumor immunity, antibody-mediated rejection, and autoimmune and neurodegenerative disorders. See Dr. Cantor's website here: https://www.dana-farber.org/find-a-doctor/harvey-cantor/
Bibliography: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Harvey-Cantor
Skills required: Prior experience/coursework in immunology, cell or molecular biology preferred but not essential. Training will be provided.
Learning outcomes: Opportunity to acquire and expand laboratory and research skills including study design, data analysis methods, presentations, and scientific writing.
Time commitment: A minimum of 15h/wk and predictable schedule is important for the successful candidate, except for exams/finals, etc. with appropriate notice.
Mentoring: In addition to the PI, each student will be trained, supervised, and mentored by a research fellow or senior scientist.
Student stipend: Potential opportunities for student stipend with appropriate time commitment. Applicants are encouraged to apply for financial support. Opportunities include faculty sponsorship, https://uraf.harvard.edu/faculty-aide-program , or Harvard fellowships: https://uraf.harvard.edu/opportunities-directory
If interested: Please send cover letter describing research interests and experience along
with a resume or CV to madison_martinez@dfci.harvard.edu
Undergraduate research opportunity // Kristin Javaras // McLean Hospital
Multiple projects including Brain Activity Underlying Daily Experiences in Young Adult Women and Klarman Family Foundation Eating Disorders Sequencing Project.
Dr. Kristin Javaras, McLean Hospital, Division of Women's Mental Health https://www.mcleanhospital.org/profile/kristin-javaras
Dr. Javaras’ laboratory is looking for a student to assist with several ongoing projects focused on eating disorders and eating behavior, including an NIH-funded study on eating disorders and general eating behavior at McLean Hospital. Dr. Javaras’ research combines psychology, neuroscience, and epidemiology—and also utilizes innovative methodology and technology—to answer questions about eating disorders and eating behavior in humans.Along with attending a weekly Zoom lab meeting (20 mins on a weekday afternoon), specific responsibilities (most of which can be done remotely) may include: entering interview data for a study validating a questionnaire that assesses lifetime eating disorder history for use in genetic research, assisting with reviewing and entering de-identified data for a chart review study of anorexia nervosa, and assisting with creating a database of snack food images for use in rigorous research on eating behavior.
Who this project might be a good fit for, in terms of interests and/or goals: Dependability and attention to detail are required, as is enthusiasm and willingness to learn about all aspects of research.
Prior research experience is not a prerequisite, since training will be provided.
The position is for 12 months, and it will involve a time commitment of 10 hours/week during the summer and 6-10 hours/week during the school year.
The position is hybrid.
This position offers an excellent opportunity for individuals looking for clinical research experience before applying to graduate programs (particularly in the areas of clinical psychology, counseling psychology, health psychology, or neuropsychology) or medical school.
Additional notes: Not able to host a senior thesis.
If interested, please contact: Dr. Jennifer Sneider (jtsneider@mclean.harvard.edu)
In-Person Undergraduate Research Opportunity, Dr. Wayne Marasco Lab, DFCI
Contact information: PI: Wayne Marasco. Contact: Matthew Chang,
marascolab@dfci.harvard.edu. The lab is located in the Longwood area in DFCI’s Department
of Cancer Immunology and Virology (https://marascolab.dana-farber.org/).
Project description and duties: We have projects focused on 1) antibody development for cancer/anti-aging studies and 2) characterizing influenza vaccine responsiveness in young and aged donors. Students will be responsible for executing experiments, analyzing the data, and discussing the results with their mentors. All students are also required to attend and present during group meetings and journal clubs.
Skills required: Prior research experience is preferred. Students who wish to work on computational analysis projects are required to have a working knowledge of R and/or Python and prior experience working with scRNAseq/NGS data sets is preferred. Students are expected to commit to the agreed upon schedule, be well organized, have good time management skills, pay careful attention to experimental details, and have excellent communication skills. Students should also have a desire to learn and be self-motivated to carry out their projects. Completion of an immunology course is a plus.
Learning outcomes: Students in the Marasco Lab will gain hands on experience in antibody engineering, immunology, and infectious disease research, and will have a unique opportunity to contribute to projects headed towards clinical development. They will also have an opportunity to improve their research skills (experimental design and execution, data analysis) and are expected to provide updates and present during group meetings.
Number of hours students are expected to work, length of the project: For summer internships we expect a minimum of 12 weeks (40 hrs/week).
Mentoring: Students will work directly with a postdoc or scientist in our lab and other lab members are available for support as needed. Additional mentorship will be provided by Dr. Marasco.
Student stipend: The Marasco Lab is not able to provide stipends to students, however we are happy to support applications to available undergraduate research fellowships.
Application information: Interested students should submit a resume and a brief paragraph describing their interest in the lab to Matthew Chang (marascolab@dfci.harvard.edu).
Multiple projects on examining the effects of brain injuries in women who have experienced intimate partner violence // PI: Eve Valera // Psychiatry, HMS. (Hybrid position, Charlestown)
The Valera Lab uses a range of methodologies (neuroimaging, neuropsychological, interviews, blood based biomarkers) to investigate the sequelae of brain injuries (including both blunt force trauma and strangulation-related) in women who have experienced intimate-partner violence.
This is a hybrid position, and arrangements can be made between researcher and student.
Time commitment: Negotiable - no restrictions
Applicant requirements: No experience required
Who do you think your lab/project/research group would be a good fit for? What might a prospective student be interested in or what goals might they have that would make your project(s) a match for them? Students going on to either medical school or graduate school or maybe just want experience working on the intersection of neuroscience and women/gender based violence. We offer an opportunity for interns/students to identify a research question and produce a publishable first-author manuscript.
This is an open project with flexibility Yes, I am interested in hosting students looking to embark on a senior thesis. This is an open opportunity with flexibility. PI is interested in hosting a senior thesis.
Funding is not immediately available, but position is HCRP eligible.
If interested, please contact: Eve Valera, evalera@mgh.harvard.edu
Therapeutic development for the treatment of ultrarare disease SELENON-Congeital Myopathy // PI: Alan Beggs // Boston Children's Hospital, HMS. (Hybrid position, Longwood campus)
https://research.childrenshospital.org/research-units/beggs-laboratory-research
SELENON-Congenital Myopathy (SELENON-CM) is an ultrarare neuromuscular disease caused by recessive mutations in the SELENON gene. It is primarily characterized by muscle weakness, axial muscle rigidity, and progressive respiratory insufficiency. The Beggs lab specializes in preclinical development of therapeutics for this and other congenital myopathies. You would help us characterize the mouse model for this muscle disease while helping us test ongoing therapeutics such as gene therapy.
Necessary time commitment: 10 hours per week is ideal for this project. Analysis of the histology that you will produce is computational.
Applicant requirements: No prior experience required.
Who do you think your lab/project/research group would be a good fit for? What might a prospective student be interested in or what goals might they have that would make your project(s) a match for them? This would be excellent for someone interested in pathology but other medical specialties also benefit from learning about how therapies are developed. But I would like to particularly encourage students with interest in PhD programs in translational research.
Additional notes: I am looking for a highly motivated student that wants to further their research skills and are planing to go to graduate school.
This is an open opportunity, rather than a Fall 2025-specific project.
PI is interested in hosting a senior thesis.
Funding is not immediately available, but position is HCRP eligible.
If interested, please contact: Pamela Barraza, pamela.barraza-flores@childrens.harvard.edu