Competitions · Biology · MDO
The Medicine and Disease Olympiad.
The one competition here that examines human disease directly - molecular biology, cell biology, human physiology and pathology. A national qualifier, and eight places on the national team for the international final.
First, the three names
IMDO, USMDO and ChinaMDO are one structure.
The names describe where you sit rather than what you sit. Establishing which one applies is the first step.
IMDO - the international final
The International Medicine and Disease Olympiad, run by the International Medical Olympiad Foundation since 2016. National teams compete here. It is not entered directly.
USMDO - the American qualifier
The US qualifier for IMDO. In 2022 more than 2,000 American students entered, and the top eight formed the national team.
ChinaMDO - the one you enter
The China-region qualifier, on the same model. The top eight nationally form the Chinese team for the international final.
At a glance
What the olympiad tests, and who can enter.
MDO covers biology as it bears on medicine - molecular biology, cell biology, human physiology and human disease. It is the only competition on this site that examines disease as a subject in its own right.
- Organiser
- The International Medical Olympiad Foundation
- Since
- 2016
- Subject areas
- Molecular biology, cell biology, human physiology and human disease
- Age limit
- Under 21 - that is, 20 or younger. Exceptions within a month of the exam date may be considered, but must be applied for by the organising committee of the country the student represents
- Status
- A citizen or permanent resident of the country represented, or the equivalent
- Must not be
- Already studying at university at the time of the competition
- Open to
- Students anywhere who meet the requirements, whether or not they are at school in their home country
- Format
- Computer-based, sat in person for the China region and online for the American qualifier
- Invigilation
- An online Autoproctor system plus an invigilator in the room
- Qualifier paper
- Single-answer multiple choice. ChinaMDO is 160 questions in two hours
- Final paper
- Multiple-select questions and written responses. 120 questions plus 7 free-response questions in three hours
- When
- Registration from early April to the end of June; the qualifier in summer, given as July in one part of the source and early August in another; the international final in mid-to-late August
- Results
- Seven to ten days after the paper
What is examined
Three areas, and one of them is not on any school syllabus.
The published content breakdown is what makes MDO distinct from the general biology olympiads.
Cell biology and genetics
Around sixty questions. This is the part that overlaps most with AP Biology and with the general biology olympiads, so it is the cheapest ground to secure.
Human physiology
Around sixty questions. School biology covers this, but rarely at the depth a medically framed paper demands.
Human disease
Around thirty questions, and the reason to enter. No school course teaches pathology, so this is where the competition separates candidates and where preparation has to be deliberate.
Note the arithmetic
Those figures total 150, while ChinaMDO is stated as 160 questions and the international final as 120 plus 7 written responses. Treat the breakdown as the balance of the paper rather than as a question count.
The two papers
The qualifier and the final are different exams.
A student preparing only for the qualifier is preparing for one of the two, and the change of format matters more than the change of difficulty.
Qualifier - single answer, at speed
One hundred and sixty single-answer multiple-choice questions in two hours. That is forty-five seconds each, which makes this a recall and recognition test.
Final - multiple select and written
The international final adds multiple-select questions, where partial knowledge no longer suffices, and seven free-response questions requiring written explanation.
Three hours instead of two
The final is longer but has fewer questions, which tells you where the difficulty has moved: from pace to depth.
And only eight get there
The national top eight form the team. This is a much narrower gate than the medal bands below suggest.
Awards
A team of eight, and three medal bands.
The awards are set by national ranking, so this is a competition against the rest of the national field rather than against a fixed mark.
The national top eight
They form the national team for the international final, and are listed on the organiser’s site.
Gold, top 10%
Awarded on national ranking in the qualifier. The band is generous relative to the eight team places above it.
Silver top 20%, bronze top 30%
The three bands together reach the top third of the national field.
Six months of preparation, recommended
The organisers suggest beginning about six months out. Given that a third of the paper covers material no school course teaches, that is not conservative.
Preparation
How Hanlin prepares students for MDO.
Two of the three subject areas extend school biology. The third has to be built from nothing.
Starting with disease
Pathology is the area no course covers and the one that decides placings. It needs the longest run-up, which is why preparation starts here rather than with the familiar material.
Deepening physiology
School biology covers human physiology, but not to the level a medically framed paper asks. This is extension of something known rather than new ground.
Drilling at forty-five seconds a question
One hundred and sixty questions in two hours leaves no working time. Timed sets are the only way to build that, and they expose gaps faster than reading does.
And preparing the final separately
For a student in contention for the top eight, multiple-select questions and written responses are a different exam. That preparation begins once the qualifier result is known.
Why Hanlin
Hanlin has been entering students for MDO for years, and publishes what they got. The record is further down this page.
Programme formats
Five ways this is taught.
Group size is the whole difference between these. It decides how much of the tutor's attention a student gets and how far the course can bend to them, so it is worth choosing rather than accepting.
| Format | Group size | What it suits |
|---|---|---|
| One-to-one | One student | Content, pace and emphasis set by what this student actually needs rather than by a syllabus. The only format that can be rebuilt mid-course. |
| Small group | Three to eight | Opens at three. Frequent discussion, and the tutor can slow down or move on according to what the group has absorbed. Most students chasing a higher award are taught in this one. |
| Class | Eight to twelve | Taught by the subject lead or a medal coach. Less back-and-forth, so it suits a student who will say when something is unclear. |
| Large class | Ten to twenty | For students in the middle of the placement range, and a way to try a competition before committing. Students often move to a small group or to one-to-one afterwards. |
| Past-paper class | No cap | Past papers worked through in sequence in the weeks before the sitting. Free to students already enrolled. |
Course tiers
Which course, and on what evidence.
Every tier for MDO is entered from a placement paper rather than from a year group. These are the actual standards.
| Course | Hours | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Full course | 60 hours | A complete USABO or BBO preparation already behind you. This is not a first competition |
Ask for the placement paper before choosing a tier. It takes an hour and it settles the question.
How it runs
Six steps, four people on your side.
The same process for every student, so that nothing depends on one tutor remembering to do it.
Step 1Pre-course assessment
A placement paper before anything is booked, so the course tier is chosen on evidence rather than on a year group.
Step 2Tutor matching
A subject tutor is matched to the result, and their full background is provided before you agree to it.
Step 3Plan and group
A study group opens with four people on one student: the tutor, a planner, a supervisor and an academic manager.
Step 4Scheduled teaching
The teaching office sets the timetable around the competition date and school term, and teaching begins.
Step 5After-class reports
What was covered, and how the student handled it, reported after every lesson.
Step 6Homework follow-up
The teaching assistant and the form teacher both check that homework is done, which is where most preparation quietly fails.
Free resource pack
Past papers and preparation pack
The same material our own MDO students work from. Scan the code, say what you need, and an advisor sends it.
Tell an advisor which competition and year group, and the material comes back the same day. Free, and you do not have to enrol in anything. If we do not already hold what you need, we will go and find it.
- PDFPast papers, every year the organiser has released
- PDFWorked solutions, where the organiser publishes them
- PDFThe syllabus on one page - every topic, and how heavily it is examined
- PDFEntry checklist and the dates for the current cycle
Teaching team
Who would teach it.
Three of the twenty-two tutors on the published Hanlin roster - the ones whose subject this is.
Yu
Master's in bioinformatics and computational biology from UT Dallas and a nutritional sciences degree from Wisconsin-Madison. Second author on an SCI-indexed paper from the Tanumihardjo vitamin-A laboratory, and formerly at ABS Global.
Zhang
Master's in cognitive science at UC San Diego on full scholarship, after double honours in neurobiology and behaviour and in cognitive science at UC Davis. Ten years overseas, a perfect TOEFL speaking score, and named an outstanding education scholar at UCSD.
Li
Biology at Emory, biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech, and a bioengineering master's at the University of Pennsylvania. College Board-accredited, teaching from a cross-disciplinary research base and folding research practice into the classroom.
Student results
What Hanlin students got.
Taken from Hanlin's published record of student honours and rewritten in English. Figures are as the organisers reported them.
Of the ChinaMDO top eight, 2025
One line from Hanlin's published MDO record. The rest of it is below.
MDO
- 2025A global Bronze and 8 students shortlisted - the whole ChinaMDO top eight. In USMDO one student scored 148 for a global Silver
- 20243 students shortlisted
Earlier years
- 20234 students selected for the Chinese national team
The full record, across every subject and year, is on the student honours page.
Where it is taught
Hanlin learning centres.
Teaching runs from Hanlin's own centres in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Hangzhou, and online for students elsewhere.
Talk to an advisor
Everything Hanlin does for MDO, in one conversation.
Entry, planning, coaching and the past papers. An advisor will tell you which of these a student actually needs, including when the answer is none of them.
Competition entry and planning
Which competitions suit this student, in what order, and by when - then we handle the registration, including the ones that can only be entered through a school or a centre.
Competition coaching
Taught by full-time subject tutors, on a course tier chosen by placement paper rather than by year group.
International curriculum tutoring
IB, AP, A-Level, IGCSE and the US high school curriculum, taught alongside school and timed around the exam calendar.
Competition past papers, free
A large library of past papers, mark schemes and syllabus breakdowns across every competition on this site. No charge and no enrolment.
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Say which competition or course you are asking about. Replies in Chinese or English.
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MDO, briefly answered.
What students and families ask before entering.
What is the difference between IMDO, USMDO and ChinaMDO?
IMDO is the international final, contested by national teams. USMDO is the American qualifier and ChinaMDO the China-region qualifier. Students enter a qualifier, not the final.
Who can enter?
Students under 21 - that is, 20 or younger - who are citizens or permanent residents of the country they represent, or the equivalent, and who are not already studying at university.
Can a student outside China enter ChinaMDO?
The organisers state that students not studying in China may also enter, and that anyone worldwide meeting the requirements is eligible.
What does it examine?
Molecular biology, cell biology, human physiology and human disease - roughly sixty questions on cell biology and genetics, sixty on human physiology and thirty on human disease.
What is the qualifier paper?
One hundred and sixty single-answer multiple-choice questions in two hours, sat as a computer-based test.
How is it invigilated?
By an online Autoproctor system together with an invigilator present in the room.
What is the international final like?
Three hours - 120 questions plus 7 free-response questions, with multiple-select as well as single-answer questions.
How do I reach the international final?
By finishing in the national top eight in the qualifier. Those eight form the national team.
What awards are there?
Gold for the national top 10%, silver for the top 20% and bronze for the top 30%, alongside the eight team places.
When do results come out?
Seven to ten days after the paper.
How long should I prepare?
The organisers recommend about six months. Human disease is not covered by any school syllabus, so that area needs the most time.
Related
Other biology and health contests.
What students commonly enter alongside MDO.
MDO enquiries
A third of the paper is not taught anywhere.
Cell biology and physiology extend what a student already studies. Human disease does not appear on any school syllabus, which is both why MDO is worth entering and why it needs six months. Tell us the year group and an advisor will map the summer qualifier.