Introduction You've seen numerous projects involving machine learning (ML); from STEM fields to the humanities, it's been highly effective in achieving problems of practicality and methods and models from statistics.

ML can identify and predict types of cancer, and researchers have been discussing the expansion of machine learning and AI usage to improve current workflows and efficiency.

Getting a headstart on learning machine learning can greatly improve the cancer research community.

Additionally, a start to a passion project can be a great way to learn on your own.

Remember, when looking into research as a high schooler, the main point is to learn and understand the indications the study can bring.

While it's not impossible for students to discover new findings in the scientific community, these project ideas are merely a dip into the vast ocean of knowledge.

At the end of this blog, if nothing seems to grab your interest, try picking your own science fair project with Rishab's guide on making your own project idea!

PlayHow to Pick a Science Research Project Idea: FULL GUIDE Ultimate List of Cancer Machine Learning (ML) Research Project Ideas for High School 2024 Medical-imaging Diagnostics Although fairly common, this project involves developing a machine learning model to classify types of tumors from screening images of patients who have or don't have a type of cancer.

You would use convolutional neural networks for image classifaction.

You need access to a dataset, to which Kaggle could be a start for finding some.

If you're stuck on getting a start, all it takes is a Google search.

See what publications have been made already, and see what they did to make a successful product.

Responses to Therapuetic Drugs Every individual diagnosed with a tumor has a unique response to solutions that makes it difficult for doctors to provide solutions for the patient.

With this project, you will build a model to predict the effectiveness of certain cancer drugs on specific types of tumors of given factors.

This could involve analyzing genomic data or drug response data to find patterns.

Build a model to predict the effectiveness of certain cancer drugs on specific types of tumors.

This could involve analyzing genomic data along with drug response data to identify patterns.

When creating this model, there are numerous algorithms to follow, e. g. decision trees, random forests, support vector machines (SVM), and gradient boosting models.

Be sure to follow one that you're familiar with or one that is beginner-friendly to you.

Classification of cancer biomarkers Biomarkers are a sign of an abnormal process, or of a disease.

They can also be used to signal the outcome of a treatment.

By looking into early cancer biomarkers, scientists can detect cancer at an earlier rate and prevent the tumor from spreading sooner than later.

Previous studies have classified possible biomarkers for different forms of cancer.

For this project, you will use machine learning as a tool to differentiating RNA as potential biomarkers for different cancer forms.

If you want to take it one step further, you could look at the biomarkers and analyze any patterns that could aid in providing diagnosis and treatment.

Just like many other projects, this will require sequencing data.

Cervical screening It is often the case that the one-size-fits-all motto doesn't work when tackling cancer.

The goal of this project is to create a more flexible diagnosis model for patients and provide recommendations based on a personal risk assessment.

To get a start on this project, you need large amounts of data from a variety of sources.

You would need data on screening history, e. g. answers from tests and results from examinations, and vaccination status.

It would also be a bonus to collect data from surveys, where you collect information regarding smoking, alcohol, reproductive history, and sexual health.

There are several different machine learning methods available to take on this project.

It is up to you to decide which one is the best for your level and results.

Connections to cancer screenings There are multiple studies across the community that examines the connection and interactions between a lifestyle and a form of cancer.

For one individual's project, they looked into the connections between bowel bacteria and colorectal cancer.

However, feel free to take on your own research and connect the dots.

Machine learning is a great tool to use for this project in order to classify samples from healthy people, individuals from pre-stages or with cancer.

Need more ideas?

Have you already considered that these ideas are just not for you?

No worries, this guide lets you make up your research questions!

The next step you should take as you progress your passion project is to share your findings with the community.

Besides showcasing it to your friends and family, you could show it off at the International Science and Engineering Fair, which connects you to a community full of people passionate about the sciences.

For the best experience, check out Rishab's Science Fair masterclass, full of proven strategies and techniques to provide you and the judges at the science fair with a memorable experience!.