Monash BDI 3MT final
Imagine finding yourself in the same elevator as Bill Gates or Elon Musk. The businessman turns to you and, after discovering that you are a scientist, asks “Why should I fund your research?” You have until the elevator reaches its destination to pitch him your research. Let’s say three minutes. Three minutes to condense the very complex into something simple and accessible.
The ability to communicate your science to the public is highly valuable. Not just for the hypothetical elevator ride with a billionaire (or other, more plausible funding opportunities), but for grant writing, media interactions and general communication with the wider public.
This is why the University of Queensland established the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition more than 10 years ago. Every year, PhD students across the world are challenged to condense their complex PhD research into a three-minute presentation for a general audience.
The 3MT competition offers students the opportunity to showcase their research, build academic, presentation and research communication skills, raise their public profile and build confidence, and network with other graduate researchers.
The Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) held its 3MT final on Tuesday 4 June. Professor Mibel Aguilar moderated the competition. The judging panel assessed the students’ presentations on both comprehension and content, and engagement and communication.
Seven Monash BDI PhD students took part in the institute final, presenting on their postdoctoral research:
- Tara Scott: Let's win the war against high blood pressure in the lungs
- Mingyu (May) Zhu: Breaking the lock to keep blood pressure down
- Tabinda Hussain: Too drained to fight: Does infection history affect immune ageing?
- Brady Cress: PRC2: Controlling gene activity through RNA and DNA binding
- Ming Shen Tham: Exploring the contribution of INPP5E and AURKA interaction to polycystic kidney disease
- Wei Cao: Sperm and egg production - lessons from worms!
- Pippa Iva: Speech processing impairments in multiple sclerosis. An invisible symptom with real consequences
After careful deliberation, the judges selected Brady Cress, from the Davidovich lab, as runner up, and Tabinda Hussain, from the La Gruta lab, and Ming Shen Tham, from the Smyth lab, as the two winners.
Tabinda’s presentation was on how immune ageing affects the elderly people and puts them at greater risk of developing cancer and infections. She talked about how repeated pathogen exposure–which occurs during the lifetime–could cause one type of killer cells, which are the body's defence against cancer and infections, to become dysfunctional. This could in turn contributes to the poor immune response that is seen in elderly people. Tabinda’s PhD thesis aims to understand how this dysfunction occurs and if it can be fixed.
Ming Shen’s 3MT talk was on polycystic kidney disease (PKD). PKD is a condition where formation of multiple fluid-filled cyst results in the destruction of the kidneys. This disease is associated with mutations in INPP5E, a protein which interacts with another called AURKA. Removal of INPP5E and AURKA in animal models significantly reduces PKD. This raises the exciting possibility that removal of AURKA (or its downstream effectors) could be a therapy for PKD caused by INPP5E mutation.
Tabinda and Ming Shen will represent the Monash BDI at the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences 3MT Final on Monday 17 June. Show your support for our Monash BDI representatives by heading along!
Details of the university 3MT Final can be found here.
About the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute
Committed to making the discoveries that will relieve the future burden of disease, the newly established Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute at Monash University brings together more than 120 internationally-renowned research teams. Our researchers are supported by world-class technology and infrastructure, and partner with industry, clinicians and researchers internationally to enhance lives through discovery.