How to Turn Summer Lab Research Into a Regeneron STS Research Report

By Dr. Harman Brah, MD · Judge, California Science & Engineering Fair

To turn summer lab research into a Regeneron STS research report, the student writes a new, original scientific paper of up to 20 pages about their own question, the methods they used and the results they produced. The lab’s report or manuscript can inform it, but the STS paper is the student’s own, written in their own words for a reader outside the field, with honest limitations and all help disclosed.

That is more work than reformatting what the lab already has. It is also what makes the entry hold up.

Summer lab work can count

Research done during any year of high school is eligible, and research done alongside adult researchers at a research institution is permitted.

Judges assess whether the work is substantially the student’s own. The mentor’s permission is needed to submit.

Only independent, individual research is eligible. A team project is not, and it cannot be split into individual entries.

Why the lab’s paper will not work

The research report is a maximum 20-page original scientific paper. A lab report or the lab’s manuscript is not an STS paper.

A lab manuscript is written for specialists and describes the lab’s whole project. The STS paper describes the student’s part of it, for a judge who may not work in the field.

Start with the student’s own question

In our view, the hard part is separating the student’s question and contribution from the lab’s larger project, and saying it plainly.

Before drafting, the student should be able to say in one sentence what they asked and why it mattered inside the bigger project. If the answer is only “the lab studies X,” the question is not carved out yet.

Then list each part of the work and who did it: the design, the experiments, the analysis, the interpretation. The paper is built around the parts that are the student’s.

Write the methods so a judge can follow every choice

Judges reward a student who can explain why each choice was made, not the most advanced technique.

So the methods section should say what the student did and why, in plain sentences. Why this model, this sample, this control, this test.

Where someone else in the lab did a step, say so and name it as theirs. Clear credit makes the student’s own part easier to see.

Write the limitations honestly

In our view, controls and honest statistics are where most projects lose points.

A good limitations section names what the data can and cannot show, what was not controlled, and what the student would test next. It reads as judgment, not weakness.

One clear question with real data beats an ambitious project with no result. A modest summer result, described honestly, is a real paper.

The student writes it, without generative AI

The student does the writing. A mentor can guide; the student owns the question, the data and the words.

Science fairs set the same line. ISEF rules, which ISEF-affiliated fairs follow, do not allow generative AI to write the research plan, abstract or poster, or to create citations, and any AI used as a resource must be cited. JSHS rules forbid using ChatGPT or any other generative AI tool to write the report.

STS requires disclosure of all support received with the research project and the application. Our advice is to hold the STS paper to the same line. A paper in the student’s own words is the one they can defend when a judge asks about it.

Work with the lab, not around it

The PI and postdocs are running their own science, and they rarely have time for the application. That is normal.

Outside help should work with the lab: no new experiments without the PI, no changes to the lab’s data, and the help disclosed. Entrants and mentors must also disclose participation in paid programs.

Timing

The 2027 application closes November 5, 2026 at 8 PM ET. Recommendations, including the Project Recommendation, are due by the same deadline, no exceptions.

Learn how we guide students through this at https://admissioninsight.org/science-fair-research-mentorship/, and see what to finish before the deadline in https://admissioninsight.org/regeneron-sts-2027-final-weeks/.

FAQ

Can my child use their summer lab research for Regeneron STS?

Yes, if the work is substantially their own. Research done alongside adult researchers at a research institution is permitted, research from any year of high school is eligible, and the mentor’s permission is needed to submit.

Can my child submit the lab’s paper or their end-of-summer lab report?

No. The STS research report is the student’s own original scientific paper, up to 20 pages, written for a reader outside the field.

How long should the STS research report be?

The maximum is 20 pages. Use the space to make the question, methods, results and limitations clear, not to fill pages.

Can my child use ChatGPT to help write the STS paper?

We advise against it. ISEF rules do not allow generative AI to write the research plan, abstract or poster, and JSHS forbids it for the report. STS requires disclosure of all support, and a paper in the student’s own words is the one they can defend.

Does my child have to say what the postdoc or PI did?

Yes. The application requires disclosure of all support received with the research project and the application, and naming what others did makes your child’s own part clearer.