Dermatology · AI
Can a phone photo measure a rare skin disease?
Building a global image database and testing whether a smartphone picture can score disease severity as well as a dermatologist, across every skin tone.
Your child does real medical research that gets published.
Not a class about science. Not a resume filler. A doctor and research scientist mentors your child through one real study, every week, from reading their first paper to publishing one of their own. Start with a one-month trial, and get your deposit back if it isn't the right fit.
The real problem
Most "research" for high schoolers looks good on paper and teaches nothing.
Admissions officers have read thousands of applications. They can tell the difference between a student who did real work and one who paid to have their name added to something. The sad part is that most ambitious students never get the real thing, and it usually comes down to three traps.
01
The mentorship gap
Real researchers are too busy to teach a teenager. So kids get handed busywork with no one actually guiding them.
02
The resume-padding trap
Pay-to-publish journals and a week of shadowing look impressive to a parent and transparent to a reviewer.
03
No real skills
They never learn to read a paper, design a study, or write one. So nothing carries into college or the rest of their career.
Why it works
Real research, taught the way scientists actually learn it.
One real project, owned by your child
They join an actual medical study and carry it for months. Real stakes, real roadblocks, real learning.
Weekly live mentorship
A doctor and research scientist guides them on a call every week and critiques the work the way a real lab does.
The whole arc, in order
From reading a paper to judging evidence, designing a study, handling data, and writing it up.
Present and defend every week
They stand up, explain their work, and answer hard questions. Confidence is a side effect.
AI used the right way
They learn to draft and critique with AI, then check it against the evidence. Never blind trust.
A publication to show
The goal is a peer-reviewed paper and real conference abstracts, with your child's name on them.
Sessions are recorded
If a week gets busy with school, nothing is lost. Every session is saved to rewatch.
The curriculum
Eight skills, in the order that builds.
01 · Weeks 1–6
Read a paper without fear
02 · Weeks 1–6
Judge good evidence from weak
03 · Weeks 6–14
Design a study
04 · Weeks 14–22
Handle data and statistics
05 · Ongoing
Do research ethically
06 · Ongoing
Use AI like a scientist
07 · Weeks 22–28
Write for publication
08 · Weeks 28+
Present, submit, and apply
Kaushik Sreerama Reddy, MBBS
Chief Scientific Officer, USMLE Wise & CRIST · Director of Operations & Lead Investigator, MCTC · Published author
My story
Dear parent,
I'm Kaushik. I came from India and built a career in US medicine, and I teach research this way because I had to learn it the hard way first.
When I started, research felt like a closed door. The mentors were busy. The papers were impossible to read. Nobody explained how any of it actually worked.
A young scientist doesn't need more tasks. They need someone to show them the real process.
So I built the program I wish I'd had. Today I'm the chief scientific officer at USMLE Wise, and the director of operations and lead investigator with the Myositis Clinical Trials Consortium, an international research group centered at the University of Pittsburgh. I also lead the science on the CRIST team, with peer-reviewed papers of my own.
Every week, your child meets me and a small group on a live call. They own one real study. They present what they did, I push on it the way scientists push on each other, and they leave with a clear next step.
Then I watch it click. A student who couldn't get past the title of a paper in week one is writing one of their own by the end.
The research they learn to do is the same kind I do myself. That's the part that carries, long after the application is filed.
I run this personally. Not a team, not an assistant. If your child wants this, I'll get them there.
Proof
Real studies, not science-fair posters.
These are live projects that practicing doctors care about. Your child contributes to one of them or models their own on it.
Which children shouldn't get the oral polio vaccine?
A three-question screening tool for India's mass vaccination drives, tested on whether a parent or health worker actually understands it.
Can a video measure muscle strength?
A phone-camera app that reads a simple sit-to-stand movement to track strength in patients with inflammatory muscle disease.
Does a health drink really beat weight-loss meds?
Designing a fair trial to find the honest answer, including how to run an experiment without fooling yourself.
Real patient cases, written to journal standard.
Students take unusual cases and write them up to the same guidelines a journal like BMJ requires. It is one of the fastest routes to a first publication.
How we compare
Side by side, here's what sets this apart.
Feature
The Junior Scientist Program
Typical research "programs"
Who teaches
A doctor and lead researcher, working with your child directly
A coordinator, a grad student, or no one
The work
One real study your child owns for months
Busywork, or a name added to someone else's project
Skills learned
Read, design, analyze, write, present
Few that transfer past the program
The result
A peer-reviewed paper and real abstracts
A certificate, or a pay-to-publish listing
Built for high schoolers
Yes. Designed for grades 9–12
Rarely. Mostly aimed at med students
Risk to start
One-month trial, deposit back if it isn't a fit
Paid up front, no guarantee
A year from now
Your child spends the year either way.
Without the program
- Another activity that fills a line and teaches nothing.
- An application that blends in with thousands of others.
- Still no idea how real research actually works.
- Nothing they can point to and call their own.
With the program
- A real study, carried from first question to finished paper.
- A published paper and abstracts with their name on them.
- Skills they keep for college and a career in medicine.
- An application built on proof, and a doctor's letter behind it.
F.A.Q
Your questions, answered.
About two hours. One live call of roughly ninety minutes, plus a small piece of work between sessions. It works because of consistency, not long hours.
Usually yes, because the weekly load is light. My most common advice to families is to cut activities that cause burnout, not add more. A child who is over-scheduled can't do deep work. Help them stay consistent and protect this time.
It's built for high schoolers, grades 9 through 12, including students aiming at BS/MD and premed. Motivated undergraduates fit too.
That's the goal, and it usually takes six to eight months of consistent work. I won't fast-track it, because rushing doesn't teach anything. Results depend on your child's own effort, but the path is real and students have walked it.
I do, personally. I'm Kaushik. I'm the chief scientific officer at USMLE Wise, the director of operations and lead investigator with the Myositis Clinical Trials Consortium, and I lead the science on the CRIST team. Your child works with me directly, not a team or an assistant.
Yes. Weekly live calls your child joins from home, and every session is recorded so nothing is lost on a busy week.
We talk through it on a short call so I can recommend the right fit. You start with a one-month trial and a deposit, and the deposit comes back if it isn't right.
Book a free call. I'll talk with you and your child about their goals and whether real research is the right use of their time right now. There's no pressure to enroll.
The fellowship
One fee for a full year of mentored research.
The fee covers your child's place, training, and mentorship for the program year. It does not, and cannot, buy a publication or a byline, because those are earned and reviewed independently. You start with a one-month trial and a deposit that comes back if it is not the right fit.
CRIST Research Fellowship · high school
$4,000
USD · full program
A year-long, mentored place on a live study.
- A real role on a physician-led global-health study
- Weekly one-on-one and small-group mentorship
- Training in interviewing, reading, writing, and presenting
- A transparent, ICMJE-based path to authorship if earned
- A signed Certificate of Contribution on completion
Places are limited and offered after a fit conversation. Payment plans available on request.
What the fee buys
A year of structured mentorship, training, and a genuine role on the study. It is tuition for the program, the way a serious research mentorship carries a fee.
What it does not buy
It does not buy a publication, a conference acceptance, or authorship. Those depend on your child's work meeting the ICMJE standard and on peer review. Anyone guaranteeing a byline for a fee is selling something that would harm your child, not help them.
Possible separate costs
If your child presents at a meeting like IDWeek, registration and travel are separate and set by the organiser. Journal supplements such as OFID are open access. All are disclosed in advance and never a condition of authorship.
Start with a one-month trial. If it is not the right fit for your child, your deposit comes back. We would rather your family choose the right thing than regret the wrong one.
Applications open late summer
Time is the
Time is the
real advantage.
A real publication takes months. The students who start now walk in with that work already behind them. Talk to Kaushik directly: he'll be honest about your child's goals, their schedule, and whether real research is the right use of their time right now.
No pressure to enroll. Prefer email? support@usmlewise.com