Advancing Medicine with
Machine Learning

Tensor Lab

We pair machine learning engineers with medical students to tackle real clinical problems, guided by faculty physician mentors. Join us to lead high-impact independent research this summer with the opportunity to publish your work.

Independent medical machine learning research

Many of medicine's biggest challenges are problems of data, prediction, and decision-making. Solving them requires both clinical intuition and technical fluency. But those two worlds often do not meet.

We created The Tensor Lab to fix this. Our 10-week summer fellowship pairs talented machine learning engineers with medical students and practicing physicians to lead focused research. Fellows can work either independently or in small teams. The result is high-impact translational research.

This is a remote, project-based unpaid fellowship to train future innovators to design and lead high-impact research, from idea to execution. And they'll be in a cohort of equally driven, curious, and talented students to learn from. Successful projects may lead to academic publication and even influence how care is delivered to real patients.

You are here

Machine Learning Fellow

You own the build. Training code, experiments, data wrangling, results write-up. Ten to fifteen hours per week from June through August, remote. You are the technical lead on the project.

  • Strong Python and PyTorch or equivalent
  • Comfortable reading medical literature with support
  • Aiming for publishable work, not just a prototype
  • Present your research at our national symposium
  • Named authorship on any publications arising from your work
  • A reference letter from your faculty physician advisor on request
Apply to the 2026 Fellowship
Your medical lead

Medical Student Mentor

A medical student who framed the research question and helps you interpret results. Meets with you weekly and translates between the clinic and the model.

Your faculty physician advisor

Physician Principal Investigator

A practicing physician and published researcher who sponsors the project, secures data access, and sets the scientific standard. Biweekly check-ins with the team.

From application to symposium

Key dates for Summer 2026. Application to final symposium in under five months.

April 27 – May 26

ML Students Apply

Browse projects and apply to the ones you're interested in. Medical students will interview applicants and ultimately select the fellow to work on their team on a rolling basis.

May 26 – June 16

Institutional Onboarding

Members of your team will get neccessary credentials and access to the tools they need to get started.

June 16 – August 25

10-Week Research Sprint

Build the model, run experiments, analyze results, and write the paper. This is the core of the fellowship.

Frequently asked questions.

Do I need a medical background to apply?

No. Your medical lead and faculty physician advisor provide clinical context. We are looking for strong Python, solid ML fundamentals, and curiosity about medicine. You will pick up the clinical side as you go.

How many hours per week during the sprint?

Plan for ten to fifteen hours a week from June through August. Think of it like a serious research internship. If your circumstances shift, we can adjust.

Is this remote or in person?

Remote by default. You meet your team over Zoom or Slack. Some chapters organize optional in person working sessions if there is geographic overlap.

Is this paid?

No. The fellowship is unpaid.

Who owns the code and the research?

We default to open science. Code is open sourced and all team members share authorship. Patient data stays under the physician advisor's institutional controls.

What if I am not a student?

We accept applications from current students, recent graduates, and career switchers with strong ML skills. The fellowship runs in the summer, but participation is not limited to people on academic calendars.

What happens if my top choice project gets filled?

You rank three projects when you apply. If your first choice is filled before your application is processed, you stay in the running for your second and third choices. You will receive an email with a link to swap in a new choice if one of yours is filled.

Summer 2026 Fellowship · Applications Open

Ten weeks of clinical ML research.

We’re looking for curious, driven applicants with strong technical foundations and the initiative to take ownership of complex, meaningful problems. If you want to shape the future of medicine, we want to hear from you.