How High Schoolers Are Joining the Fight Against Cancer
A unique program in Tampa is breaking down the walls between biology and mathematics, and it's recruiting an unexpected group of participants: high school students.
Explore the ProgramImagine a high school student, not much older than sixteen, working alongside world-class cancer researchers. Their tool isn't a microscope or a pipette, but a laptop filled with mathematical models that simulate how tumors grow, spread, and respond to treatment. This is the reality at Moffitt Cancer Center's High School Internship Program in Integrated Mathematical Oncology (HIP IMO), an innovative initiative that has trained dozens of students since 2015.
By immersing young, aspiring scientists in the world of interdisciplinary team science, the program aims to shatter traditional academic silos early on, fostering a new generation of researchers equipped to tackle cancer's complexity.
To understand the HIP IMO program, one must first grasp the field at its core: Integrated Mathematical Oncology (IMO). Cancer is not a static disease; it is a dynamic, complex system that operates across multiple scales, from the molecular interactions within a single cell to the entire organism.
The IMO department at Moffitt seeks to use mathematical models to understand cancer initiation, progression, and treatment, with the ultimate goal of aiding in personalized precision medicine 1 . This approach uses a range of mathematical frameworks—from ordinary differential equations to stochastic hybrid multiscale models—to capture the unpredictable, "non-linear dynamics" of cancer, where a small change in one factor can have a massive and disproportionate impact on the whole system 5 .
A single tumor can contain a diverse array of cells, each with different genetic mutations that influence their behavior and response to treatment 5 .
Tumors exist in a complex microenvironment surrounded by immune cells, stromal cells, and blood vessels, all of which interact and influence tumor progression 5 .
Tumors can stimulate the creation of new blood vessels to supply themselves with nutrients, a process critical for their growth and spread 5 .
Traditional biological experiments alone can struggle to map these intricate dynamics. Mathematical models provide a way to simulate these systems, test hypotheses in silico (via computer simulation), and make robust predictions about cancer behavior that can then be validated in the lab or clinic 5 . For instance, models have been used to pioneer new radiation therapy schedules, like temporally feathered radiation therapy, which personalizes treatment to increase tumor dose while protecting healthy organs .
The High School Internship Program in Integrated Mathematical Oncology (HIP IMO) was born from a critical need. Modern cancer research generates vast amounts of data across multiple scales, creating a demand for scientists fluent in both the life sciences (biology, medicine) and the natural sciences (mathematics, physics, computer science) 6 .
Since college curricula often occur in "disciplinary silos," students pursuing dual expertise in fields like mathematics and biology remain scarce. HIP IMO identified that the best time to bridge this gap is before students even enter university 6 .
HIP IMO is an eight-week, mentored summer program for high school students aged 16 and older 4 . The program is intensely hands-on. Under the guidance of faculty mentors in the IMO department, each intern is assigned an individual research project tailored to their interests and abilities 4 .
A typical week involves working weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, immersed in their projects 4 . The program is designed not just to teach research skills, but to foster the development of life-long scientific competencies.
The program's deliverables are concrete. The culmination of the summer is a "Research Day," where interns present their findings in a five-minute oral presentation to an audience of peers, mentors, and family, gaining invaluable public speaking experience 2 . While the HIP IMO page outlines the research presentation, the affiliated SPARK internship program for undergraduates highlights this event as a key milestone for summer interns 2 .
Typically due in early February
March - April
8 weeks, June - August
Final presentations
For these high school interns, the "tools" of their trade are not just physical reagents but, more often, conceptual frameworks and models. The field uses a variety of models to tackle different biological questions, each with its own strengths.
| Framework Type | Description | Application Example |
|---|---|---|
| Single vs. Hybrid | Single frameworks focus on one aspect, while hybrid models combine multiple factors for a more comprehensive view 5 . | Modeling just tumor cell growth vs. modeling growth, immune response, and drug penetration simultaneously. |
| Deterministic vs. Stochastic | Deterministic models predict a single outcome from fixed parameters. Stochastic models incorporate randomness and probability 5 . | Predicting average tumor size vs. predicting the probability of a drug-resistant cell emerging. |
| Spatially Averaged vs. Spatially Resolved | Spatially averaged models give a whole-tumor overview. Spatially resolved models account for location-specific variations within the tumor 5 . | Modeling total tumor volume vs. modeling how cells at the tumor's core differ from those at the invasive edge. |
| Multi-scale | Integrates processes across different biological scales (e.g., molecular, cellular, tissue) simultaneously 5 . | Linking a genetic mutation to a cell's behavior and finally to the overall tumor growth pattern. |
"The relevance of the model mainly depends on the biological question at stake and on the amount of data available to calibrate model parameters" .
The choice of mathematical framework depends on multiple factors:
Students work with various software and programming languages:
Between 2015 and 2019, the HIP IMO program trained 59 high school students 6 . This five-year experience demonstrated that it is not only possible but highly effective to introduce advanced interdisciplinary concepts to students at the high school level.
The program's success is measured not in immediate cures for cancer, but in its success in planting the seeds for future scientific discovery. The program's stated goal is to "better prepare students for future careers at the interdisciplinary interface" of science and medicine 6 .
| Research Area | Biological Question | Potential Modeling Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Tumor Growth Dynamics | How do pre-treatment growth rates affect response to radiation therapy? | Logistic growth models |
| Treatment Resistance | How do cancer cells evolve to resist drugs? | Evolutionary game theory, stochastic models |
| Immunotherapy Integration | How can radiation be combined with immunotherapy for better systemic control? 7 | Systems of differential equations modeling immune and tumor cell interactions |
| Angiogenesis | How does a tumor's blood supply develop and how can it be disrupted? 5 | Spatially resolved models of blood vessel growth |
Students trained between 2015-2019
The true impact of HIP IMO is its long-term investment in the scientific workforce. By fostering interdisciplinary thinking during formative years, the program helps create a pipeline of scientists who are native integrators, comfortable speaking the languages of both biology and mathematics. This is crucial for building trust and effective collaboration, which have been historical hurdles in the field .
The HIP IMO program at Moffitt Cancer Center is more than a summer internship; it is a bold experiment in science education. It challenges the notion that complex fields like mathematical oncology must be mastered only at the graduate level. By giving high school students the opportunity to engage with real-world cancer research problems, the program is helping to cultivate a new kind of scientist—one who can seamlessly bridge the gap between equations and biology.
"To fully decipher this complexity we may need to look beyond molecular reductionism towards the integration of physics, data science, mechanistic modeling and other emerging disciplines" .
This early cross-pollination of ideas is essential for the future of cancer research. The students of the HIP IMO program are on the front lines of this integration, proving that the next great insight in the fight against cancer could come from a fresh mind, a powerful computer, and a well-formulated equation.
For more information on the HIP IMO program, including application details (typically due in early February), visit the official website.
Visit HIP IMO Website