Congratulations to all of the NCARD PhD students for fantastic 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) presentations at the 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting.
As anyone who has considered the 3MT, a competition that is growing in popularity in universities knows, it’s actually more challenging to explain complicated science in 3 minutes than in 30. However, given the time poor nature of modern life – coupled with the necessary ability to be able to capture and keep the attention of a potential donor, a health consumer, or even a family member – for enough time to explain why a PhD student is doing the (gruelling years of) work they do, it’s a challenge worth mastering. The students are allowed one Powerpoint slide only, and need to assume that their audience are not all (in the case of the NCARD ASM) immunologists, radiation oncologists or respiratory specialists.
The presentations by all of the participants – and NCARD students were joined by several others from different, but related fields – were truly outstanding. Puns were popular, presenters were upbeat, and judging – using the app Slido – was a very hard choice.
Below are the presenters and each of their titles, together with recordings from three of the presenters. Nicola Principe was the overall winner of this year’s 3MT, and Rebecca D’Alonzo received Highly Commended. Really, it was the audience that won.
- Lizeth Orozco – What drives mesothelioma invasion? From invasive-related targets to combined immunotherapy
- Jessica Boulter – Vaccines that flag your NAgs
- Linda Ye – Getting personal with cancer
- Joel Kidman – How can we tell cancer’s future with T cell repertoires?
- Nicola Principe – When do we wake up T cells before they go-go?
- Kiarash Behrouzfar – Genetic predisposition to mesothelioma: the need for a BETTER animal model
- Synat Keam – How radiation will improve the efficacy of immunotherapy
- Rebecca D’Alonzo – Radiation and its hidden potential in cancer treatments
- Calvin Sidhu – Optimising Pleural Disease Management
- Hui Juin Shak – Using bacteria as novel anti-mesothelioma agents.
Featured photo: Rebecca D’Alonzo, Professor Anna Nowak and Nicola Principe