Austin Prep Begins Year Three of MEDscience Collaboration at Harvard Medical School

A Select Opportunity at the World’s Top-Ranked Medical School

Twenty Austin Prep seniors have begun their Medical Science experience at Harvard Medical School as Austin Prep enters Year Three of its collaboration with the MEDscience Program.

Interest in the program has surged. Last year, 18 Austin Prep students participated. This year, 70 students applied, representing a 289% increase in student interest. From that highly competitive applicant pool, 20 members of the Class of 2027 were selected for the 2026-2027 Medical Science course.

The selection process considered academic achievement along with students’ demonstrated interest in medicine, science, engineering, healthcare and related career paths.

“We were able to select and handpick, quite literally, the students that we thought were the best fit for the class,” said Francesco Donati, a member of the Austin Prep Science Faculty and co-teacher of Medical Science. “Not only did we want high-performing students, but we also wanted students who were highly interested in this sort of activity and career.”

“I think that this year, having a high tier of students, but also a high, high level of interest, it’s going to be a winning combination,” Donati added.

The opportunity places Austin Prep students in an extraordinary academic environment. Harvard is ranked No. 1 in the world for Medicine in the 2026 QS World University Rankings by Subject, and approximately 3% of Harvard Medical School applicants receive an offer of admission. For Austin Prep students, Harvard Medical School becomes part of their classroom throughout the year.

Morning Session: Learning to Think Like Clinicians

Austin Prep seniors Ava Sherry ’27 and Abby Ventullo ’27 assess a simulated patient during the opening MEDscience session at Harvard Medical School.

The opening morning immediately placed students into the role of medical professionals.

The MEDscience experience is led by Livia Rizzo, Director of MEDscience, with support from MEDscience clinicians and educators who bring medical, scientific and research perspectives directly into the students’ work.

Students learned how clinicians collect patient histories, establish trust, interpret vital signs, develop differential diagnoses and determine which tests and examinations can help confirm a diagnosis. They then worked collaboratively to assess a simulated patient, asking questions about symptoms, family and medical history, medications, diet, hydration, sleep, occupation and lifestyle.

The exercise challenged students to think aloud, communicate with one another, test hypotheses and adjust their thinking as new information became available. They ultimately diagnosed their simulated patient with cancer while practicing bedside manner, communication and teamwork throughout the process.

For Campbell Wallin ’27, the opportunity to apply classroom learning in a medical setting is one of the program’s biggest draws.

“I feel like it’s a really good opportunity to be in the environment and learn hands-on instead of just being in the classroom,” Wallin said. “I hope to learn more about patient interaction because I think it’s really important to understand how to communicate clearly and have better patient care etiquette.”

“I could not have been more proud of our students,” said Amy Foley, Austin Prep’s Dean of STEM and co-teacher of Medical Science. “This cohort excelled during its first patient diagnosis and histology lab. They asked thoughtful questions, comprehended complex biomedical concepts, and demonstrated bedside manner, professionalism and etiquette at the level of college students. This cohort represents the best of Austin Prep.”

Afternoon Session and the Year Ahead: From Cancer Cells to Bioengineering

Austin Prep seniors Bella Ryan ’27 and Campbell Wallin ’27 use micropipettes during the afternoon Morphology of Cancer Cells Lab at Harvard Medical School.

The afternoon session built directly on the morning diagnosis. After identifying cancer in their simulated patient, students shifted from the bedside to the laboratory to investigate how cancer can be recognized at the cellular level.

Students first learned to use adjustable micropipettes, measuring quantities as small as microliters while practicing the precision and contamination-control procedures required in laboratory work.

They then conducted a Morphology of Cancer Cells Lab. Working in pairs, students rehydrated cell samples and applied methylene blue and eosin stains before examining the samples under light microscopes.

Students compared normal and cancerous cells, looking for differences in cell shape and organization as well as changes in the size and appearance of nuclei. They recorded observations at multiple magnifications, drew what they observed and used the evidence they collected to classify the samples.

The progression gave students the opportunity to experience medicine from two different perspectives in a single day: evaluating a patient at the bedside and then investigating disease at the cellular level in the laboratory.

That depth will continue throughout the year. Year Three marks an important evolution of the collaboration because Medical Science is now a dedicated Austin Prep course, allowing Foley and Donati to build the curriculum more fully around students’ work with MEDscience.

“I’m very excited to see what thinking outside the box and just focusing on this collaboration can bring us and can bring the kids,” Donati said.

New areas of study will include bioengineering and biomechanics. Students will use robotics to investigate and simulate the mechanics of the human body, exploring how it moves and responds to medical procedures and interventions. They will also examine cellular function and replication through additional laboratory work, research and projects.

Donati said the dedicated course allows the work to become “much deeper, more focused,” giving students greater opportunities to explore areas connected to their individual interests.

Those interests already span nursing, medicine, biomedical engineering, materials engineering, medical research and technology, along with business, finance and entrepreneurship. Throughout the year, students will work through a series of units at Harvard Medical School and Austin Prep before building toward a capstone experience integrating medicine, science, engineering, technology and entrepreneurship.

For these 20 seniors, the first experience offered an ambitious preview of the year ahead: interviewing patients, developing diagnoses, conducting laboratory investigations, analyzing human cells, testing ideas and collaborating to solve increasingly complex medical problems.

2026-2027 Medical Science Roster

The Austin Prep seniors participating in this year’s Medical Science course are Cat Bajoras ’27, Sophia Brown ’27, Emma D'Agostino ’27, Samantha Dyment ’27, Logan Elliott ’27, Mattea Herman ’27, Bryanna King ’27, Kayla Maguire ’27, Ty Mathieu ’27, Gabriella McLaughlin ’27, Ella Meehan ’27, Kayla Onorato ’27, Bella Ryan ’27, Ava Sherry ’27, Jessica Shield ’27, Kenna Sullivan ’27, Abby Ventullo ’27, Averie Walgreen ’27, Campbell Wallin ’27 and Jay Wang ’27.