Lily Yee-Sloan

Ontario-wide Three Minute Thesis win for ��˾��ֱ��'s Daiva Nielsen

sgupta — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 11:10:45 +0000

Ontario-wide Three Minute Thesis win for ��˾��ֱ��'s Daiva Nielsen sgupta Mon, 04/28/2014 - 07:10

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From left, second-place finisher at ��˾��ֱ�� finals Joseph Bondy-Denomy, Dean Brian Corman and provincial winner Daiva Nielsen

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Nutritional Sciences PhD defends university's winning title

A speedy lecture on nutritional sciences took the cake: doctoral candidate Daiva Nielsen and her brief research round-up won the 2014 Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Provincial Championship, successfully defending ��˾��ֱ��'s title in Ontario.

“The entire experience has been wonderful,” said Nielsen.

Her three-minute research presentation probed the question: Do Dietary Recommendations Based on Genetics Change Eating Behaviour? Nielsen took home the $1,000 top prize, gained valuable recognition, and earned ��˾��ֱ�� one of 11 spots in the upcoming National 3MT® competition.

A PhD candidate in nutritional sciences, Nielsen was one of 19 finalists competing in the province’s second annual 3MT® held at McMaster University on April 24. The School of Graduate Studies congratulates Nielsen on defending the University of Toronto’s 2013 championship title. (Read more about ��˾��ֱ��'s 2013 win)

"I spent a lot of time focusing my overall goal," Nielsen said after qualifying for the provincial championship. "I looked at the bigger picture and thought about the most important point to get across."

The annual 3MT® challenges graduate students to present their complex research in an engaging, accessible, and compelling talk. Nielsen’s winning presentation showcased her research on genes and personalized nutrition; it also exhibited her stellar communication skills.

Nielsen started her 3MT® journey in March at the ��˾��ֱ��-wide competition hosted by the School of Graduate Studies. She placed first in the tough competition against 44 other ��˾��ֱ�� doctoral candidates, landing her a $1,000 prize and a spot in the Ontario competition. (Read more about the University of Toronto-wide qualifying competition)

At the provincial finals, Nielsen was one of 19 finalists from universities across Ontario. The competition was tight, but the judges selected Nielsen’s presentation to take home first place.

Brian Corman, dean of graduate studies and vice-provost of graduate education travelled to McMaster to support Nielsen. “I enjoyed our victory. I was there because I think the event has real value and importance.

“The 3MT® is a forum for showcasing the great research being done by our graduate students. It also reminds our students that it is important to be able to explain that research to the non-specialist public so that they can appreciate the fine results of the research they help support.

“The event itself is a lot of fun, seeing the range of student research being done across the universities in Ontario."

The top 5 winners from the Ontario provincial finals will compete for the Anglophone national 3MT® title in a virtual event using recorded footage from the provincial finals.

Competing with Nielsen from Ontario will be Leslie Nash from Brock University, Muhammad Ali Naqvi from Ryerson University, Joseph Donohue from Western University, and Yasina Somani from the University of Windsor.

Eleven finalists from Canada’s three regional competitions—Western, Eastern, and Ontario—vie for the first ever Anglophone National 3MT® title in May. A national francophone competition will also be held in May. (Read more about the national title)

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This talented speaker will defend ��˾��ֱ��'s title at the Three Minute Thesis Competition

sgupta — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 15:22:43 +0000

This talented speaker will defend ��˾��ֱ��'s title at the Three Minute Thesis Competition sgupta Mon, 04/14/2014 - 11:22

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From left, second-place finisher Joseph Bondy-Denomy, Dean Brian Corman and winner Daiva Nielsen

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How do you serve up a winning Three Minute Thesis? Just ask Daiva Nielsen – the $1,000 prize winner of the Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) University of Toronto competition for her talk: Do Dietary Recommendations Based on Genetics Change Eating Behaviour?

"I spent a lot of time focusing my overall goal," she explained. "I looked at the bigger picture and thought about the most important point to get across."

A PhD candidate in nutritional sciences, Nielsen is undertaking research to personalize nutrition to the level of genes. "It is a new field, and I wanted to get the ideas across clearly."

To prepare for the 3MT®, she practiced her talk in front of her lab group and supervisor, and then kept improving it, choosing her study design as the focus of her presentation.

"My study design is the gold standard. I am looking at the most direct relationship."

The 3MT® challenge is to present complex research information in an engaging, accessible, and compelling way. On March 26, the School of Graduate Studies, in partnership with Student Life, hosted the 3MT®, a University-wide competition for doctoral students. Fifteen finalists from three divisional heats competed for two prizes.

As the ��˾��ֱ�� winner, Nielsen will be heading to McMaster University to participate in the 3MT® provincial competition April 24 and defend ��˾��ֱ��'s championship title won last year.

"I will be revising my presentation slightly by incorporating some of the feedback from the judges," Nielsen said. "The new material will add enthusiasm and simplicity. It will be like a mini-Ted Talk.

"In science, it is important that other people understand our research. We need to disseminate our findings."

Joseph Bondy-Denomy agrees about the importance of accessibility. A PhD candidate in molecular genetics, his talk, Harnessing Viruses as the Next Generation Antibiotic, earned him second place.

"I asked myself what someone who is outside the field of science would think," he said, adding it is important to practice with someone who provides honest, critical feedback. "It makes all the difference."

Brian Corman, dean of graduate studies and vice-provost of graduate education, said students taking part in the 3MT® gain valuable experience in distilling their research discoveries and their impact into a three-minute talk aimed at a non-specialist audience.

"This provides them with the opportunity to develop the communications skills they need to explain their important work to the public that has supported them. The 3MT® competition allows the University of Toronto the opportunity to showcase the significant research being done by our graduate students."

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Fully, Completely: explaining a thesis in three minutes

sgupta — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:05:23 +0000

Fully, Completely: explaining a thesis in three minutes sgupta Wed, 04/24/2013 - 04:05

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Jasdeep Saggar (left) took top honours and Abraham Heifits (right) placed second in the provincial Three Minute Thesis competition

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��˾��ֱ�� students take top prizes in competition

It was not your typical dissertation panel: a swimmer, a lawyer, an economist, a policy analyst and a guitarist from the Tragically Hip.

They gathered at Queen’s University to judge 30 doctoral presentations from students representing 16 Ontario universities at the Ontario Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition.

Each graduate student had three minutes, one static slide, and no other props to convey their research topic to the non-specialist judging panel. The University of Toronto entered two scholars.

The competitors scored first and second place.

Jasdeep Saggar won top honours. A PhD student in medical biophysics, Saggar claimed the championship trophy and $1,000 for her presentation on hypoxia-activated pro-drugs: a novel approach for breast cancer.

"My participation in the three minute thesis competition has been nothing short of exhilarating; representing the University of Toronto at the provincial level is an honour and truly humbling," said Saggar."I’ve always been passionate about science communication and received the most satisfaction and joy after being approached by non-specialist audience members who said that they understood how chemotherapy worked after hearing my talk.

"Being able to communicate with a multi-disciplinary audience is crucial for knowledge dissemination. After all, science alone cannot be truly appreciated until its value is contextualized within the domain of human health."

Second-place winner Abraham Heifets is a PhD student in computer science. He posed the question: how can we make better medicines? Computer tools for chemistry.

"Participating was a lot of fun," said Heifets. "I appreciate the huge amount of work that it took to organize these competitions. It is rare to have the opportunity to practice describing my work honestly, accurately, simply, and succinctly; I believe that everyone, including researchers, needs these skills to communicate effectively."

Third place went to Chau Minh Phan, a PhD student in vision science from Waterloo University whose presentation focused on treatment of fungal eye infections using contact lenses and nanoparticles.

The five-member judging panel – Rob Baker (guitarist for the Tragically Hip), Vicki Keith (marathon swimmer), Hugh Christie (lawyer), Donald Drummond (economist), and Peter Gooch (Council of Ontario Universities) – made the decision at the province-wide event.

School of Graduate Studies Dean Brian Corman was at Queen’s to support the two ��˾��ֱ�� finalists.

“This is a proud moment for the School of Graduate Studies and for the University of Toronto," said Corman. "To capture first and second place amongst a prestigious group of graduate researchers doing excellent research at 16 Ontario universities is an impressive achievement. I am indeed very proud of the presentations made by winners Jasdeep and Abraham.

“Doctoral students may be deeply immersed in their research, but to be able to encapsulate their research and to clearly, but concisely, convey it in layperson’s terms is a critical skill. Universities must continue to translate their research to the community in a comprehensible manner.”

The 3MT® provides a platform to hone the skills for that activity. It showcases innovative and significant research undertaken by our graduate students. Participants present their research and its wider impact in 3 minutes or less to a panel of non-specialist judges. The challenge is to present complex research in an engaging and compelling way, using minimal visual aids.

The School of Graduate Studies held divisional heats to choose two students to represent the University of Toronto at the provincial finals. Approximately 60 doctoral students from across all four SGS divisions – humanities, social sciences, physical sciences, and life sciences – competed in divisional rounds in March.

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