An 80,000-word thesis would take 9 hours to present. Their time limit… 3 minutes!
The 3MT competition asks Doctoral candidates to present their research in just three minutes, in language appropriate to non-specialists, and with only one single presentation slide to support them. Can it be done? Scroll down and find out.
Doctoral candidates competed in faculty heats from February to May 2023 with the winner and runner-up from each Faculty Heat progressing to the UCL 3MT® Institutional Final, which took place on Wednesday 7 June as part of the Doctoral School Showcase Day.
Eight finalists were judged by Dr Anand Patel, Associate Business Manager working across the BioPharma portfolio , Maria Caluianu, Winner of the UCL Three Minute Thesis 2022 competition , Sally Mackenzie, Associate Director, Education & Student Experience, and Emma Francis, Students’ Union UCL Research Students’ Officer.
The 2023 finalists were:
| Name | Faculty | Presentation Title |
|---|---|---|
| Nouf Almeshal | Faculty of Life Sciences | Why vaccines could not end the pandemic? |
| Parth Patel | Faculty of Population Health Science | From Concern to Confidence: Exploring the Magic of MicroRNAs |
| Puja Mehta | Faculty of Medical Sciences | Post-COVID Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD): Finding the Smooth(ie) Criminal |
| Sandra Olivia Kuswandani | Faculty of Medical Sciences | Combination of cell-based engineering and soft tissue substitutes (STS): a future for wound healing in tissue engineering? |
| Chivon Winsloe | Faculty of Population Health Science | Stillbirth Matters |
| Imogen Swift | Brain Sciences | Blood: a gateway to dementia treatments |
| Cliona Farrell | Brain Sciences | Narrowing the gap: Understanding Alzheimer's disease in Down syndrome |
| Carlos Navarrete León | Medical Physics and Bioengineering | A compact X-ray system for phase-contrast tomography with two-directional sensitivity |
And the winner is...
Imogen Swift (Brian Sciences), "Blood: a gateway to dementia treatments" - congratulations. Watch Imogen's winning presentation below:
Runner Up
Puja Mehta "Post-COVID Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD): Finding the Smooth(ie) Criminal"
People's Choice
Sandra Olivia Kuswandani "Combination of cell-based engineering and soft tissue substitutes (STS): a future for wound healing in tissue engineering?"
Have a look at the previous winners...
2021/22
Maria Caluianu (Population Health Sciences), "Getting a Molecular Train Back on its Tracks" - congratulations.
2020/21
On 17 June 2021, 11 incredible finalists competed. The event's winner was Lydia Mapstone, the runner-up was Emma Mitchell and Suviti Chari took home the People's Choice Award.
We streamed the event on our Facebook page and a recording is available here if you missed the live one!
2019/20
Our first remote 3MT final due to the Coronavirus Pandemic saw Nekisa Zakeri with The New Cells on the Block: removing the brakes for liver cancer therapy win.
2017/18
On 25 June 2018, 9 students competed. The winner of the event was Elizabeth Forsyth, the runner-up was Ione Woollacott and Sarah Slack took home the People’s Choice award.
2016/17
On 26 June 2017, 13 students competed. The winner of the event was Alexandra Bridarolli with Carlos Ledezma taking home the People’s Choice award.
2015/16
On the Final on 26 June 2016, 16 students competed. The winner of the event was Jonathan Lambert, with Fatumina Abukar taking home the People’s Choice award.
Jonathan was entered into the national UK Three Minute Thesis semi-final and progressed to the national final.
2014/15
On 30 June 2015, 11 students competed. The winner of the event was Jonathan Hannabuss, with Sabina Andron coming second.
Jonathan was entered into the national UK Three Minute Thesis semi-final and progressed to the national final.