Tenth Annual Three Minute Thesis Competition

Smokeless Fire

Department: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Advisor: Dr. Paul DesJardin

Biography: A passionate researcher from Chennai, India, Lakshmi Ganesh Shankar's research studies wood burning stoves and develops reduced order models for the complex interactions, chemical, fluid and heat transfer, that occur within the system. The model helps designers study modifications, improve efficiency and create better designs. Her goal is to design burning systems that produce less/no smoke and reduce air pollution. Lakshmi loves reading fiction, traveling, discovering new cuisines and planning trips to off-the-beaten-path destinations. In the future, she aims to be an applied research scientist.

How Our Diet Impacts Our DNA: A Potato Story

Department: Biological Sciences

Advisor: Dr. Omer Gokcumen

Biography: Originally from Porto Alegre, Brazil, Luane is studying how diet has shaped human evolution. Her research investigates positive selection on the amylase gene, which digests starch, in Peruvian populations. She found that Andean Peruvians carry more copies of this gene than any population worldwide, likely shaped by long-term potato domestication and consumption, highlighting how diet can drive human genetic evolution. Fluent in four languages, Luane is an avid museum-goer, theater lover, traveler and member of a book club. Her future plans involve completing a postdoc and becoming a researcher.

Spit Happens: Restoring Salivary Gland Function

Department: Oral Biology

Advisor: Dr. Rose-Anne Romano and Dr. Satrajit Sinha

Biography: Growing up in Connersville, IN, Theresa Wrynn moved through several states before coming to Buffalo. She enjoys hobbies of baking, hiking, ultimate frisbee and playing piano. Her research focuses on the mechanisms that guide the development of the salivary gland and how salivary gland function is maintained in adults. Motivated by the significant impact that impaired saliva production has on quality of life, from difficulty chewing to chronic oral health challenges, Theresa hopes her discoveries will someday support regenerative therapies for patients. Theresa aspires to secure a postdoctoral position and eventually run her own lab in the future.

It Wasn't a Stampede: How We Talk About Crowd Disasters and Why It Matters

Department: Communication

Advisor: Dr. Yotam Ophir

Biography: From Honolulu, HI, Emily Black studies crowd crushes where tens, hundreds or even thousands of people are crushed to death. Her research investigates how journalists talk about these accidents and how that news coverage changes public perceptions of crowd disasters. Motivated by stories like that of Itaewon victim Lee Jaehyun, Emily aims to shift to a world where crowd disaster survivors are not blamed for the worst day of their lives. Outside her research, she enjoys drawing, caring for her White Cloud Mountain minnows, practicing calligraphy and working on her signature denim jacket adorned with safety-pin wings. Emily's dream job is to become a professor at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

One Life, One Light: Get Your Injured Brain Back In The Game

Department: Pharmacology and Toxicology

Advisor: Dr. Thomas Covey

Biography: Hailing from Trumbull, CT, Hope enjoys traveling, skiing, hiking and cheering on the Buffalo Bills and New York Rangers. Her research investigates how low-level laser therapy helps recover from a recent minor head injury/concussion. In her research she uses symptom reports and paper-and pencil cognitive tests to assess the effect of the laser therapy treatment following the minor head injury. She also analyzes brain waves using Electroencephalography (EEG) testing and saliva biomarkers to better understand injury severity and healing trajectories. Motivated by the fact that millions suffer head injuries each year and many develop long-term complications, she hopes her research will lead to end the inconsistencies of treatments for these types of injuries that herself and millions of others have endured throughout the years. Her long-term goal is to remain in academia and continue to be involved in the community through teaching neuroscience inside and outside the classroom, continuing research in the field of neurorehabilitation and mentoring future scientists.

Corticosteroids: The Storm Stopper!

Department: Pharmaceutical Sciences

Advisor: Dr. William J. Jusko

Biography: Growing up in Brooklyn, NY, Wensi Wu is a first-generation student, McNair Scholar and devoted Minions fan. Her research explores corticosteroids and their role in treating cytokine release syndrome, a severe inflammatory response that can occur during cancer therapy or major infections. By developing a physiologically-based pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic model in rats, she compares methylprednisolone and dexamethasone to determine optimal dosing strategies for patient care. Her hobbies including cooking, baking and traveling around the U.S. for the annual Pokémon GO Fest. Her goal is to better understand corticosteroids for future uses in inflammation. In the future, she hopes to become a scientist in the pharmaceutical industry.