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10 Research Question Examples to Guide your Research Project

Published on October 30, 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on October 19, 2023.

The research question is one of the most important parts of your research paper , thesis or dissertation . It’s important to spend some time assessing and refining your question before you get started.

The exact form of your question will depend on a few things, such as the length of your project, the type of research you’re conducting, the topic , and the research problem . However, all research questions should be focused, specific, and relevant to a timely social or scholarly issue.

Once you’ve read our guide on how to write a research question , you can use these examples to craft your own.

Note that the design of your research question can depend on what method you are pursuing. Here are a few options for qualitative, quantitative, and statistical research questions.

Other interesting articles

If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Methodology

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

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How to Write Compelling Research Questions

Are you ready to take your research to the next level? Crafting a powerful research question is the key to unlocking the full potential of your academic journey. It's like having a trusty compass that guides you through the vast wilderness of knowledge, ensuring you stay on track and reach your destination.

In this article, we'll walk you through the essential steps to develop a research question that packs a punch. From identifying your research topic to refining and evaluating your question, we've got you covered. Along the way, we'll explore what makes a good research question and share some helpful research questions examples to inspire you. So, whether you're a student, writer, or just curious about how to form a research question, join us as we embark on this exciting adventure of developing research questions that will elevate your research to new heights!

Identify Your Research Topic

Alright, let's dive into the exciting world of identifying your research topic! Picture yourself as an adventurer, ready to explore uncharted territories of knowledge. But before you embark on this thrilling journey, you need to choose a destination that sparks your curiosity and aligns with your goals.

Brainstorming Your Interests

• Start by brainstorming a list of subjects that pique your interest. Consider areas that haven't been thoroughly explored or present challenges within your field.
• Ask yourself questions like: What fascinates me? What problems do I want to solve? What knowledge gaps exist in my area of study?
• Engage in discussions with peers, professors, or experts to gain fresh perspectives and refine your ideas.

Conducting Preliminary Research

Once you have a general topic in mind, it's time to do some background reading to narrow down your focus:

As you explore these resources, consider the following:

• Look for keywords and concepts that social scientists use to discuss your topic
• Identify specific cases or examples that can make your ideas more concrete
• Determine what aspects of the topic you want to focus on and find an angle to contribute through your project

Evaluating Your Topic

Before finalizing your research topic, ensure it meets the following criteria:

• Aligns with the assignment requirements and guidelines
• Has a substantial body of accessible and manageable related research
• Is interesting, relevant, and worthy of the time invested
• Allows for finding sufficient information in books or scholarly journals
• Fits your future professional path and enhances your skills

Remember, your research topic is not set in stone. It may evolve as you delve deeper into the research process. Embrace the opportunity to discover new insights and modify your topic accordingly.

Now that you've identified a captivating research topic, you're ready to embark on the next stage of your research adventure: conducting preliminary research to further refine your focus and develop a powerful research question.

Conduct Preliminary Research

Now that you've identified your research topic, it's time to dive deeper and conduct some preliminary research. This crucial step will help you narrow down your focus, identify key concepts, and lay the groundwork for developing a powerful research question.

• Use search engines like Google Scholar or your library's online catalog to find relevant articles, books, and other resources related to your topic.
• Explore Wikipedia to gain a broad understanding of your topic and discover potential subtopics or related areas of interest.
• As you read through your initial search results, take note of frequently used terms, phrases, and concepts related to your topic.
• Create a list of these key terms to help guide your further research and refine your focus.
• Assess the quantity and quality of the resources you've found so far.
• Determine if there is sufficient information available to support your research or if you need to adjust your topic's scope.
• Diversify your research by exploring various types of sources, such as:

• As you review the literature, look for areas where there is a lack of information or where scholars disagree.
• These gaps and debates can help you identify potential research questions and contribute to the existing body of knowledge.
• Based on your preliminary research, consider narrowing down your topic to a more specific focus.
• A well-defined and focused topic will make it easier to develop a clear and concise research question.

Remember, conducting preliminary research is an iterative process. As you learn more about your topic, you may need to adjust your focus, search for additional sources, or explore new angles. Embrace this process of discovery and let your curiosity guide you towards a compelling research question.

Define Your Research Problem

Alright, now that you've conducted some preliminary research and have a better understanding of your topic, it's time to define your research problem. This is where the real fun begins!

• Start by asking "how" and "why" questions about your general topic.
• For example, instead of asking, "Does social media affect mental health?" try, "How does social media impact the mental health of teenagers?"
• These types of questions encourage deeper exploration and analysis.
• Narrow down your research problem to a particular aspect of the broader topic.
• Consider focusing on a specific place, time, or group of people.
• Specify the aspects you will address and those you will not.
• Your research problem should be complex enough to require research and analysis, not just a simple yes/no answer.
• It should also be significant to you and potentially to others, addressing the "so what" factor.

Crafting the Research Question

Alright, now that you've defined your research problem, it's time to craft a powerful research question that will guide your study. A well-formulated research question should be clear, focused, and complex, avoiding simple yes/no answers and requiring research and analysis.

Characteristics of a Strong Research Question

A good research question exhibits the following characteristics:

• Focused on a single problem or issue
• Answerable using primary and/or secondary sources
• Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints
• Specific enough to answer thoroughly
• Complex enough to develop the answer over the space of a paper or thesis
• Relevant to the field of study and/or society

The PICO(T) Framework

When structuring your research question, consider using the PICO(T) framework:

Avoiding Common Mistakes

To ensure your research question is strong, avoid these common mistakes:

• Ambiguity: Use clear and specific language to avoid confusion
• Assumption: Avoid making assumptions or using loaded language
• Scope: Keep the scope of your question manageable and relevant

Formulating Your Question

When crafting your research question, consider the following formulations:

• Describing and exploring: "What are the characteristics of...?"
• Explaining and testing: "What is the relationship between...?"
• Evaluating and acting: "How effective is...?"

Remember, developing a research question is an iterative process that involves continuously updating your knowledge on the topic and refining your ideas. As you progress through your research, you may need to adjust your question to better align with your findings and insights.

Examples of Research Questions

• Descriptive: "What are the main challenges faced by small businesses during a pandemic?"
• Comparative: "How does the effectiveness of online learning compare to traditional classroom learning?"
• Correlational: "Is there a relationship between social media use and anxiety levels in teenagers?"
• Exploratory: "What factors contribute to the success of remote work arrangements?"
• Explanatory: "How does regular exercise impact cognitive function in older adults?"
• Evaluation: "To what extent do diversity and inclusion initiatives improve employee satisfaction and retention?"

By crafting a strong research question that is clear, focused, and complex, you'll set the foundation for a successful research project that contributes to your field of study and provides valuable insights.

Refine and Evaluate Your Question

Congratulations on crafting a powerful research question! Now, it's time to refine and evaluate your question to ensure it's the best it can be. Let's dive in and make your research question shine!

Determining Relationships and Selecting Variables

• Identify how variables are related to one another and how these relationships may contribute to your research problem.
• Summarize how you plan to consider and use these variables and how they might influence the study results.

Asking Critical Open-Ended Questions

Narrow down your research question by asking the following:

• Who is involved in your research?
• What specific aspects are you investigating?
• When and where will your research take place?
• How will you conduct your study?
• Why is this research important?

Apply these criteria to make your question more generative, relevant, original, and less obvious.

Seeking Feedback and Revising

Remember, receiving feedback and revising is a valuable step in creating impactful and precise research.

Evaluating Interestingness and Feasibility

Consider the following factors when evaluating your research question:

• Is the answer in doubt?
• Does it fill a gap in the research literature?
• Does it have important practical implications?
• Do you have enough time and money?
• Do you possess the necessary technical knowledge and skills?
• Do you have access to special equipment and research participants?

Striving for Simplicity and Precision

• Make your research question as specific and concise as possible.
• Seek input from experts, mentors, and colleagues to refine your question further.
• Consider how your research question influences factors such as methodology, sample size, data collection, and analysis.

By refining and evaluating your research question, you'll set the stage for a successful research project that contributes valuable insights to your field of study. Remember, a well-crafted research question is central to a well-written paper, sparking interest and leading to new or rethought perspectives.

Developing a powerful research question is the cornerstone of any successful research project. By identifying your research topic, conducting preliminary research, defining your research problem, and crafting a focused question, you'll set the foundation for a meaningful and impactful study. Remember to refine and evaluate your question, seeking feedback from mentors and peers to ensure its relevance and feasibility.

As you embark on your research journey, let your curiosity be your guide. Embrace the process of discovery, and don't be afraid to refine your question as you uncover new insights. By crafting a research question that is clear, focused, and complex, you'll contribute valuable knowledge to your field and make a lasting impact on the world of research. So go forth, intrepid researcher, and let your powerful research question be the beacon that illuminates your path to success!

What are the essential steps to formulate a research question?

To formulate a research question, follow these steps:

• Choose a general subject area or consider the one that has been assigned to you.
• Narrow down the topic to a more specific aspect of the general subject.
• Brainstorm various questions that could be asked about this narrower topic.
• Select the question that you find most intriguing or compelling.

How can I create a strong research question?

To develop a strong research question, you should:

• Conduct initial research on your topic to understand the current discourse.
• Identify a problem or a knowledge gap within your field.
• Ensure your question aims to contribute to ongoing debates within your field or society.

What is the five-step process for writing a research question?

When crafting a research question, you should:

• Select a broad topic of interest.
• Engage in preliminary research to gain background information.
• Keep in mind the audience for whom the research is intended.
• Develop a list of possible questions related to the topic.
• Review and refine the list of questions.
• Formulate the final research question.

What are the five key elements of an effective research question?

An effective research question typically includes the following five components:

• Population: the group you are studying.
• Intervention: the variable or treatment you are considering.
• Comparator: the standard or control you are comparing the intervention to.
• Outcome: the expected result or effect of the intervention.
• Time frame: the period during which the study is conducted.These components can be remembered through the acronyms PICOT and FINER, which stand for Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome, Time frame, and Feasible, Interesting, Novel, Ethical, Relevant, respectively.

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Before you start searching for sources to support your work, it’s a good idea to develop your rough topic into a thesis statement. You can then turn it into a research question that you will set out to answer.

Before you start searching for sources to support your work, it’s a good idea to develop your rough topic into a thesis statement, and then turn it into a research question that you will set out to answer.

Why do this?

It will narrow your focus and make your topic more precise.

It will help guide your search for related literature, ensuring that it is neither too broad nor too narrow.

This in turn will help you avoid duplicating existing research, and help you identify any gaps in the existing research.

Last but not least, developing a research question will help you define the value and uniqueness of your research.

The most important thing to remember is that your research question influences your search results.

If your question is too broad, you could be overwhelmed by the amount of information you find.

If your question is too narrow, you may not find enough information.

How do you get from a rough topic to a thesis statement and then to a research question?

First of all, brainstorm and write out everything you know about the topic.

You can draw a concept map or use other techniques that will help you in this process.

Talk to colleagues, including your fellow students, professors, researchers, or whoever you think may be helpful.

Also, be sure to talk to a librarian about using the appropriate search tools to conduct your search.

After you have found relevant sources on your research topic, read them, identify possible gaps, and take notes to help you construct your thesis statement and research question.

Here’s an example:

This section would animate like a flow-chart with arrows.

Your rough topic could be: Elvis’s Karate dancing.

Your thesis statement might be: Elvis Presley’s dance style (after 1970) was influenced by his Karate skills.

So your research question could be: How was Elvis Presley’s post-1970, onstage dance style influenced by his Karate skills?

With your thesis statement and research question clearly defined in this manner, you will have a better chance of conducting successful research.

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How To Develop A Research Question: Formulate Your Success

Updated: June 19, 2024

Published: June 16, 2020

Developing strong writing doesn’t happen overnight. The same could be said about creating a good research question. As a student, there will likely be a point where you’ll have to write a research paper. Research papers tend to be extensive in length and require a lot of, well, you guessed it, research! Knowing how to develop a research question is the first step to writing a successful research paper.

Developing a research question takes time in itself, as well as multiple additional considerations. Before we jump into how to create your perfect research question, let’s define what a research question is and what makes one strong.

Photo by Dan Dimmock on Unsplash

What is a research question.

As the name implies, a research question is the question you ask that you will then answer through research.

Most research papers tend to be lengthy, so it helps to come up with a research question that can open the door to a lot of information. At the same time, you don’t want to be too open with your question because then it becomes harder to write a concise and focused paper.

With this in mind, a good research question should have these attributes:

• Clear: The question shouldn’t require additional explanation because it is easily understandable. Your audience may range from people who are very familiar with the topic to those who may know nothing at all. You’ll want the question to be understood by all those who read your paper.
• Focused: The question should be narrow enough such that the research paper gives you enough space to fully answer the question. If you ask something too general, you’ll have trouble fitting the data and response into a constrained paper.
• Researchable: You should be able to conduct interviews, surveys or leverage past data and information to answer the question.
• Feasible: You are able to answer it in a given timeframe and with the resources you have available.
• Concise: You can pose the question as one that is short and to the point.
• Complex: There is enough information and data to be able to write an entire paper on the subject to answer the question.
• Arguable: As the writer, you should be able to take a stance on the topic and argue why it’s right.
• Relevant: It should relate to the subject you’re studying or the major you’re pursuing.

Why Does Your Research Question Matter In The Research Process?

Think about it like this — a research question is the foundation and basis of all the work you put in to write a research paper. It helps to narrow and focus your findings to answer something specific, rather than going off topic and writing all about irrelevant information.

Types Of Research Questions

Depending on your subject matter or area of interest, one type of research question may better suit your needs. If your prompt is open-ended and you get to choose your own research question, you can select from these common types of research questions:

• Descriptive: These research questions answer when, where, why or how something happened. They will require data and statistics around an event or phenomenon.
• Comparative: A comparative question studies the differences between one thing and another.
• Correlational: This type of question asks how one thing is related to another.
• Exploratory: An exploratory question is used to better understand a topic.
• Evaluation: Also known as program evaluation, this is a question that aims to answer what something is and why it’s done that way.
• Action: This type of question evaluates what happened and how an action may be improved.

6 Steps To Develop A Research Question

Based on your subject matter and the research paper prompt, you may have a clear idea on what type of research question to ask.

No matter what type of research you will conduct, formulating your research question can consist of these steps:

1. Choose Your Topic

Start by choosing your topic. Maybe you’ve been guided as to what you will research. But, if not, you’ll want to pick something that you are actually interested in learning about. To be able to narrow in on a specific question, you’ll want to start broad and then conduct preliminary research.

2. Do Some Early Research

Early research will help you to check if the research question is feasible. You can start by looking online at the topic and see what others are researching with regard to that subject matter.

3. Consider Your Audience

When creating your question, you’ll want to think about your audience. Since it’s likely to be academic, you need to frame your question formally.

4. Ask Questions

As you learn more about your topic through early research, you can ask yourself questions like how and why things are the way they are.

5. Evaluate Your Question

Only after you’ve started posing questions can you evaluate their merit. You can check to see that your question upholds the characteristics of a good research question (i.e. concise, clear, feasible, etc.)

6. Start Researching

Once you have your question ready to go, think about the best ways to answer it. Begin researching the type of information that exists or create your own experiment or survey to collect data, if possible.

Sample Research Questions

Here are some examples of broad research questions, compared to their better, more focused alternatives.

• Broad: “How has climate change affected animals?”
• Focused: “What effect does rising sea levels have on the food chain of marine animals?”
• Broad: “Does social media negatively affect people?”
• Focused: “How has Instagram affected teenage girl’s emotional states?”
• Broad: “Do men and women have different results from working out?”
• Focused: “Do men lose weight faster than women when working out daily?”

General Research Paper Writing Tips

Once you feel comfortable with your research question, you can begin writing your academic research paper.

Keep in mind these useful writing tips :

• Conduct strong research by leveraging research skills
• Organize your thoughts with an outline
• Note all your sources
• Write a first draft
• Reread and edit your first draft
• Ask a friend or colleague to proofread your paper before submitting

Your Research Question Is the Foundation

When you create a concise, focused, and arguable research question, you are setting yourself up to be able to write a strong research paper.

In most academic settings, you will be required to write a research paper. This is especially true when it comes to earning your secondary degrees in college. Developing a research question is one of the most important steps in the entire writing process.

Remember to take your time, and don’t be afraid to ask for feedback!

At UoPeople, our blog writers are thinkers, researchers, and experts dedicated to curating articles relevant to our mission: making higher education accessible to everyone.

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Research Writing

Developing a research question.

In order to develop a research question, one useful method is to develop “working questions” of all shapes and sizes pertinent to your topic. As you can see below, you can start with a handful of simple working questions that will eventually lead to a viable research question. (Note that these examples also are precursors to the three-tiered, strongest type of thesis, as shown in the revised research questions.)

As you hone your path of inquiry, you may need to zoom in or out in terms of scope. Often, a narrower scope is easier to work with than a broader scope. You will be able to write more and write better if your question calls for more complex thinking.

Consider the diagram above.  As you build a working knowledge of your topic (e.g., as you get a feel for the conversation that began before you arrived at the party), you might complicate or narrow your working questions. Remember to be flexible as you research; you might need to pivot, adjust, re-focus, or replace your research question as you learn more. Consider this imaginary case study as an example of this process:

Jacob began his project by identifying the following areas of interest: racism in the U.S., technology in medicine and health care, and independent film-making. After doing some prewriting and preliminary research on each, he decided he wanted to learn more about racially motivated police violence. He developed working questions:

• Are police officers likely to make judgments about citizens based on their race?
• Have police forces instituted policies to avoid racism?
• Who is most vulnerable to police violence?
• Who is responsible for overseeing the police?

He realized that he needed to narrow his focus to develop a more viable path of inquiry, eventually ending up with the research question:

• Over the last 30 years, what populations are most likely to experience police violence in the U.S.?

However, after completing more research, Jacob discovered that his answers came quite readily and consistently: young black men are significantly more vulnerable to become victims of police violence. He realized that he’s not really saying anything new, so he had to tweak his path of inquiry.

Jacob did more freewriting and research to find sources that disagreed with this conclusion or added new layers to his answers. He discovered eventually that there are a handful of police organizations that have made genuine efforts to confront racism in their practices. These groups were working actively against racial violence. He reoriented his research question as follows:

• Have anti-racist police trainings and strategies been effective in reducing individual or institutional racism over the last 30 years?

Learn more about focusing a research question from the following videos.

Now, try the practice exercise on research questions and working thesis statements.

Practice: Research Questions and Working Thesis Statements

1. Which of the following is the better research question?

• How does trash pollute the environment?
• What is the environmental impact of plastic water bottles?
• What is the impact of bottled water on the environment?

2. Decide whether or not the following working thesis statements are good or bad:

• Man has had a major impact on the environment.
• Marijuana use in Mishawaka, Indiana, has been a problem for law enforcement since the 1970s.
• Miley Cyrus is a horrible singer.
• Profilers have played a necessary role in catching serial killers.

a. Bad. This statement is way too vague and broad. What constitutes “major impact”? What aspects of the environment are we talking about? What century are we talking about?

b. Bad. Even if it is true, it is too local and narrow to be supported with national or scholarly research. Sources would probably be limited to local newspaper articles and personal interviews. Can you make those sources “stretch” across a 10 page research paper? Not likely.

c. Bad, because the statement is largely an unfocused opinion. What exactly is “horrible”? How does Miley Cyrus fall into that category? Do you think there are many books or research articles that could support this topic? Probably not.

d. Good. Using this statement for a paper allows you to skip over the sources that do not deal with profiling, that do not deal with the apprehension of serial killers, and that deal only with the injustices of “racial profiling.”  A good working thesis statement saves you time and keeps you focused.

• Developing a Research Question. Revision and adaptation of pages 249-251 (301-303) of Section 3: Research and Argumentation at https://content.library.pdx.edu/files/PDXScholar/empoword/301/#zoom=z . Authored by : Susan Oaks. Provided by : Empire State College, SUNY OER Services. Project : College Writing. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• pages 249-251 (301-303) Section 3: Research and Argumentation. Authored by : Shane Abrams. Provided by : Portland State University. Located at : https://content.library.pdx.edu/files/PDXScholar/empoword/301/#zoom=z . Project : EmpoWord: A Student-Centered Anthology and Handbook for College Writers. License : CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial
• Practice: Research Questions and Working Thesis Statements from the page The Research Process. Provided by : Lumen Learning. Located at : https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-englishcomposition1/chapter/text-the-research-process/ . Project : English Composition I. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• image of colorful question marks. Authored by : geralt. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : https://pixabay.com/en/question-mark-note-duplicate-2110767/ . License : CC0: No Rights Reserved
• video Developing a Research Question. Provided by : Laurier Library, YouTube. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oJNO6PYZe4&amp=&feature=youtu.be . License : Other . License Terms : Standard YouTube License
• video How to Find a Research Topic & Question. Provided by : Bethel University Library, YouTube. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26vpgBTnlA4 . License : Other . License Terms : Standard YouTube License

We’re reviewing our resources this spring (May-August 2024). We will do our best to minimize disruption, but you might notice changes over the next few months as we correct errors & delete redundant resources. 

Develop a Research Question

A research question guides your research. It provides boundaries, so that when you gather resources you focus only on information that helps to answer your question. Without this guide, you would simply gather a collection of facts, not knowing when and where to end your search for information. 

Where Do I Begin?

Good research questions come from solid research topics. For more information, see our resource  Developing and Narrowing a Topic .

From a Topic to a Problem

Once you narrow your topic, you need to think about related problems. The goal of research is to answer questions that help to solve one of these larger problems. Using bicycle lanes in urban areas as our topic, we can start to generate some potential problems:

• Bike lanes are not being used
• Bike lanes interfere with traffic flow
• Bike lanes are not consistently integrated into cities
• Bike lanes are not being respected

Where do I find problems?

Look at current research on your topic in academic articles or reliable web sources. The motivation (or problem) behind others’ research is often discussed in the abstract or introduction. 

From a Problem to a Question

Once you find a current problem that can help to motivate your research, you need to develop a question that helps to answer the problem. Let’s use one of the problems above as an example.

e.g. Bike lanes are not consistently integrated into cities.

• How does public perception of safety affect policy toward bike lane infrastructure?
• How do economic incentives affect policy-making for bicycle lane infrastructure?
• How do municipal level policies affect the design and building of bike lane infrastructure?

Characteristics of a good question

Once you've found your problem and questions associated with it, you want to make sure your research question addresses 5 areas. Consider, is your question...

• relevant and interesting?
• focused and precise?

Check out the table below to learn more about these characteristics.

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Developing the research question

A systematic review is an in-depth attempt to answer a specific, focused question in a methodical way.  

A clearly defined research question should accurately and succinctly sum up the review’s line of inquiry.  

In   developing the  research question  ensure that   i t is n ot just a topic, but a properly   formulated question  that is  answerable .  

Consider whether your question will focus on diagnosis, intervention, prognosis, or etiology?  Is ther e a study design (e.g. Randomised Controlled Trials) that would provide the best answer?

A good question will combine several concepts. Identifying the relevant concepts is crucial to the successful development and execution of your systematic review.  Your research question should provide you with a checklist of the main concepts to be included in your search strategy.

I f appropriate, use a framework to help you develop your research question . A framework will assist in identifying the important concepts in your question.  

One technique often used to help formulate a clinical research question is the PICO   model.

There are other frameworks such as SPICE, SPIDER, and ECLIPSE. More information on these frameworks is available from the library guide: Systematic Reviews .

If you were undertaking a systematic review and researching the effectiveness of acupuncture for treating allergic rhinitis what would your research question be?

Think about one of your research questions. How might you adjust the question by applying the use of the PICO framework?  

Best Practice Tip

Prior to commencing the systematic review, first, determine if a similar review has been  recently done.

You could do this by searching relevant databases or the  PROSPERO  register of systematic reviews.

Research and Writing Skills for Academic and Graduate Researchers Copyright © 2022 by RMIT University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Scientific breakthroughs: 2024 emerging trends to watch

December 28, 2023

Across disciplines and industries, scientific discoveries happen every day, so how can you stay ahead of emerging trends in a thriving landscape? At CAS, we have a unique view of recent scientific breakthroughs, the historical discoveries they were built upon, and the expertise to navigate the opportunities ahead. In 2023, we identified the top scientific breakthroughs , and 2024 has even more to offer. New trends to watch include the accelerated expansion of green chemistry, the clinical validation of CRISPR, the rise of biomaterials, and the renewed progress in treating the undruggable, from cancer to neurodegenerative diseases. To hear what the experts from Lawrence Liverpool National Lab and Oak Ridge National Lab are saying on this topic, join us for a free webinar on January 25 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. EDT for a panel discussion on the trends to watch in 2024.

The ascension of AI in R&D

While the future of AI has always been forward-looking, the AI revolution in chemistry and drug discovery has yet to be fully realized. While there have been some high-profile set-backs , several breakthroughs should be watched closely as the field continues to evolve. Generative AI is making an impact in drug discovery , machine learning is being used more in environmental research , and large language models like ChatGPT are being tested in healthcare applications and clinical settings.

Many scientists are keeping an eye on AlphaFold, DeepMind’s protein structure prediction software that revolutionized how proteins are understood. DeepMind and Isomorphic Labs have recently announced how their latest model shows improved accuracy, can generate predictions for almost all molecules in the Protein Data Bank, and expand coverage to ligands, nucleic acids, and posttranslational modifications . Therapeutic antibody discovery driven by AI is also gaining popularity , and platforms such as the RubrYc Therapeutics antibody discovery engine will help advance research in this area.

Though many look at AI development with excitement, concerns over accurate and accessible training data , fairness and bias , lack of regulatory oversight , impact on academia, scholarly research and publishing , hallucinations in large language models , and even concerns over infodemic threats to public health are being discussed. However, continuous improvement is inevitable with AI, so expect to see many new developments and innovations throughout 2024.

‘Greener’ green chemistry

Green chemistry is a rapidly evolving field that is constantly seeking innovative ways to minimize the environmental impact of chemical processes. Here are several emerging trends that are seeing significant breakthroughs:

• Improving green chemistry predictions/outcomes : One of the biggest challenges in green chemistry is predicting the environmental impact of new chemicals and processes. Researchers are developing new computational tools and models that can help predict these impacts with greater accuracy. This will allow chemists to design safer and more environmentally friendly chemicals.
• Reducing plastics: More than 350 million tons of plastic waste is generated every year. Across the landscape of manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers, reducing the use of single-use plastics and microplastics is critical. New value-driven approaches by innovators like MiTerro that reuse industrial by-products and biomass waste for eco-friendly and cheaper plastic replacements will soon be industry expectations. Lowering costs and plastic footprints will be important throughout the entire supply chain.    
• Alternative battery chemistry: In the battery and energy storage space, finding alternatives to scarce " endangered elements" like lithium and cobalt will be critical. While essential components of many batteries, they are becoming scarce and expensive. New investments in lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries that do not use nickel and cobalt have expanded , with 45% of the EV market share being projected for LFP in 2029. Continued research is projected for more development in alternative materials like sodium, iron, and magnesium, which are more abundant, less expensive, and more sustainable.
• More sustainable catalysts : Catalysts speed up a chemical reaction or decrease the energy required without getting consumed. Noble metals are excellent catalysts; however, they are expensive and their mining causes environmental damage. Even non-noble metal catalysts can also be toxic due to contamination and challenges with their disposal. Sustainable catalysts are made of earth-abundant elements that are also non-toxic in nature. In recent years, there has been a growing focus on developing sustainable catalysts that are more environmentally friendly and less reliant on precious metals. New developments with catalysts, their roles, and environmental impact will drive meaningful progress in reducing carbon footprints.  
• Recycling lithium-ion batteries: Lithium-ion recycling has seen increased investments with more than 800 patents already published in 2023. The use of solid electrolytes or liquid nonflammable electrolytes may improve the safety and durability of LIBs and reduce their material use. Finally, a method to manufacture electrodes without solvent s could reduce the use of deprecated solvents such as N-methylpyrrolidinone, which require recycling and careful handling to prevent emissions.

Rise of biomaterials

New materials for biomedical applications could revolutionize many healthcare segments in 2024. One example is bioelectronic materials, which form interfaces between electronic devices and the human body, such as the brain-computer interface system being developed by Neuralink. This system, which uses a network of biocompatible electrodes implanted directly in the brain, was given FDA approval to begin human trials in 2023.

• Bioelectronic materials: are often hybrids or composites, incorporating nanoscale materials, highly engineered conductive polymers, and bioresorbable substances. Recently developed devices can be implanted, used temporarily, and then safely reabsorbed by the body without the need for removal. This has been demonstrated by a fully bioresorbable, combined sensor-wireless power receiver made from zinc and the biodegradable polymer, poly(lactic acid).
• Natural biomaterials: that are biocompatible and naturally derived (such as chitosan, cellulose nanomaterials, and silk) are used to make advanced multifunctional biomaterials in 2023. For example, they designed an injectable hydrogel brain implant for treating Parkinson’s disease, which is based on reversible crosslinks formed between chitosan, tannic acid, and gold nanoparticles.
• Bioinks : are used for 3D printing of organs and transplant development which could revolutionize patient care. Currently, these models are used for studying organ architecture like 3D-printed heart models for cardiac disorders and 3D-printed lung models to test the efficacy of drugs. Specialized bioinks enhance the quality, efficacy, and versatility of 3D-printed organs, structures, and outcomes. Finally, new approaches like volumetric additive manufacturing (VAM) of pristine silk- based bioinks are unlocking new frontiers of innovation for 3D printing.

To the moon and beyond

The global Artemis program is a NASA-led international space exploration program that aims to land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon by 2025 as part of the long-term goal of establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon. Additionally, the NASA mission called Europa Clipper, scheduled for a 2024 launch, will orbit around Jupiter and fly by Europa , one of Jupiter’s moons, to study the presence of water and its habitability. China’s mission, Chang’e 6 , plans to bring samples from the moon back to Earth for further studies. The Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) mission by Japan’s JAXA plans to bring back samples from Phobos, one of the Mars moons. Boeing is also expected to do a test flight of its reusable space capsule Starliner , which can take people to low-earth orbit.

The R&D impact of Artemis extends to more fields than just aerospace engineering, though:

• Robotics: Robots will play a critical role in the Artemis program, performing many tasks, such as collecting samples, building infrastructure, and conducting scientific research. This will drive the development of new robotic technologies, including autonomous systems and dexterous manipulators.
• Space medicine: The Artemis program will require the development of new technologies to protect astronauts from the hazards of space travel, such as radiation exposure and microgravity. This will include scientific discoveries in medical diagnostics, therapeutics, and countermeasures.
• Earth science: The Artemis program will provide a unique opportunity to study the Moon and its environment. This will lead to new insights into the Earth's history, geology, and climate.
• Materials science: The extreme space environment will require new materials that are lightweight, durable, and radiation resistant. This will have applications in many industries, including aerospace, construction, and energy.
• Information technology: The Artemis program will generate a massive amount of data, which will need to be processed, analyzed, and shared in real time. This will drive the development of new IT technologies, such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.

The CRISPR pay-off

After years of research, setbacks, and minimal progress, the first formal evidence of CRISPR as a therapeutic platform technology in the clinic was realized. Intellia Therapeutics received FDA clearance to initiate a pivotal phase 3 trial of a new drug for the treatment of hATTR, and using the same Cas9 mRNA, got a new medicine treating a different disease, angioedema. This was achieved by only changing 20 nucleotides of the guide RNA, suggesting that CRISPR can be used as a therapeutic platform technology in the clinic.

The second great moment for CRISPR drug development technology came when Vertex and CRISPR Therapeutics announced the authorization of the first CRISPR/Cas9 gene-edited therapy, CASGEVY™, by the United Kingdom MHRA, for the treatment of sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia. This was the first approval of a CRISPR-based therapy for human use and is a landmark moment in realizing the potential of CRISPR to improve human health.

In addition to its remarkable genome editing capability, the CRISPR-Cas system has proven to be effective in many applications, including early cancer diagnosis . CRISPR-based genome and transcriptome engineering and CRISPR-Cas12a and CRISPR-Cas13a appear to have the necessary characteristics to be robust detection tools for cancer therapy and diagnostics. CRISPR-Cas-based biosensing system gives rise to a new era for precise diagnoses of early-stage cancers.

MIT engineers have also designed a new nanoparticle DNA-encoded nanosensor for urinary biomarkers that could enable early cancer diagnoses with a simple urine test. The sensors, which can detect cancerous proteins, could also distinguish the type of tumor or how it responds to treatment.

Ending cancer

The immuno-oncology field has seen tremendous growth in the last few years. Approved products such as cytokines, vaccines, tumor-directed monoclonal antibodies, and immune checkpoint blockers continue to grow in market size. Novel therapies like TAC01-HER2 are currently undergoing clinical trials. This unique therapy uses autologous T cells, which have been genetically engineered to incorporate T cell Antigen Coupler (TAC) receptors that recognize human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) presence on tumor cells to remove them. This could be a promising therapy for metastatic, HER2-positive solid tumors.

Another promising strategy aims to use the CAR-T cells against solid tumors in conjunction with a vaccine that boosts immune response. Immune boosting helps the body create more host T cells that can target other tumor antigens that CAR-T cells cannot kill.

Another notable trend is the development of improved and effective personalized therapies. For instance, a recently developed personalized RNA neoantigen vaccine, based on uridine mRNA–lipoplex nanoparticles, was found effective against pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Major challenges in immuno-oncology are therapy resistance, lack of predictable biomarkers, and tumor heterogenicity. As a result, devising novel treatment strategies could be a future research focus.

Decarbonizing energy

Multiple well-funded efforts are underway to decarbonize energy production by replacing fossil fuel-based energy sources with sources that generate no (or much less) CO2 in 2024.

One of these efforts is to incorporate large-scale energy storage devices into the existing power grid. These are an important part of enabling the use of renewable sources since they provide additional supply and demand for electricity to complement renewable sources. Several types of grid-scale storage that vary in the amount of energy they can store and how quickly they can discharge it into the grid are under development. Some are physical (flywheels, pumped hydro, and compressed air) and some are chemical (traditional batteries, flow batteries , supercapacitors, and hydrogen ), but all are the subject of active chemistry and materials development research. The U.S. government is encouraging development in this area through tax credits as part of the Inflation Reduction Act and a $7 billion program to establish regional hydrogen hubs.

Meanwhile, nuclear power will continue to be an active R&D area in 2024. In nuclear fission, multiple companies are developing small modular reactors (SMRs) for use in electricity production and chemical manufacturing, including hydrogen. The development of nuclear fusion reactors involves fundamental research in physics and materials science. One major challenge is finding a material that can be used for the wall of the reactor facing the fusion plasma; so far, candidate materials have included high-entropy alloys and even molten metals .

Neurodegenerative diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases are a major public health concern, being a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. While there is currently no cure for any neurodegenerative disease, new scientific discoveries and understandings of these pathways may be the key to helping patient outcomes.

• Alzheimer’s disease: Two immunotherapeutics have received FDA approval to reduce both cognitive and functional decline in individuals living with early Alzheimer's disease. Aducannumab (Aduhelm®) received accelerated approval in 2021 and is the first new treatment approved for Alzheimer’s since 2003 and the first therapy targeting the disease pathophysiology, reducing beta-amyloid plaques in the brains of early Alzheimer’s disease patients. Lecanemab (Leqembi®) received traditional approval in 2023 and is the first drug targeting Alzheimer’s disease pathophysiology to show clinical benefits, reducing the rate of disease progression and slowing cognitive and functional decline in adults with early stages of the disease.
• Parkinson’s disease: New treatment modalities outside of pharmaceuticals and deep brain stimulation are being researched and approved by the FDA for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease symptoms. The non-invasive medical device, Exablate Neuro (approved by the FDA in 2021), uses focused ultrasound on one side of the brain to provide relief from severe symptoms such as tremors, limb rigidity, and dyskinesia. 2023 brought major news for Parkinson’s disease research with the validation of the biomarker alpha-synuclein. Researchers have developed a tool called the α-synuclein seeding amplification assay which detects the biomarker in the spinal fluid of people diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and individuals who have not shown clinical symptoms.
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): Two pharmaceuticals have seen FDA approval in the past two years to slow disease progression in individuals with ALS. Relyvrio ® was approved in 2022 and acts by preventing or slowing more neuron cell death in patients with ALS. Tofersen (Qalsody®), an antisense oligonucleotide, was approved in 2023 under the accelerated approval pathway. Tofersen targets RNA produced from mutated superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) genes to eliminate toxic SOD1 protein production. Recently published genetic research on how mutations contribute to ALS is ongoing with researchers recently discovering how NEK1 gene mutations lead to ALS. This discovery suggests a possible rational therapeutic approach to stabilizing microtubules in ALS patients.

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