Emily Majaesic (supplied image)
Emily Majaesic wins first place at the Ontario Regionals Three-Minute Thesis competition
Published: July 6, 2023
Third-year Chemistry PhD student has won first place at the 2023 Ontario Regional Finals of the Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.
Held on May 17 at Queen鈥檚 University, the regional finals followed at the University of Toronto鈥檚 tenth 3MT competition in April.
The challenges graduate students in thesis-based programs to present their research to a non-expert audience in under three minutes, using one static slide. The presentations are assessed for communication, comprehension and engagement, rather than the quality of the student鈥檚 research.
"Distilling a complex concept down to its essence, and then being able to communicate that, is a skill I am glad to have developed," Majaesic said.
For her achievement, Majaesic received a prize of $1,000. In November, she and the second-place winner will represent Ontario at the National 3MT Competition in Victoria, B.C.
鈥淓mily took a complex concept 鈥 the early detection of leukemia through protein markers 鈥 and not only made it accessible but also humanized it,鈥 said Christopher DeLuca, associate dean at Queen鈥檚 University鈥檚 School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs.
鈥淭hrough a personal narrative, humour, and clear communication, Emily鈥檚 3MT talk made us understand the cutting-edge work she is pursuing, which has clear, life-saving potential through the early identification and treatment of diseases.鈥
The award-winning presentation, "Catch A Protein By Its Tail," refers to Majaesic鈥檚 research on the latest application of the enzyme, ClpX. One possible application of this technology is the detection of very low-level biomarker proteins, which could alert doctors to the onset of disease at very early stages.
