Ten UB PhD candidates will show off their research and communication skills on March 6 at the 10th annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.

The contest will begin at 3 p.m. in the Screening Room in the Center for the Arts, North Campus. Members of the UB community can also watch a livestream via YouTube.

The concept for 3MT is simple: Contestants have up to three minutes to present their dissertation research in an engaging way to a non-specialist audience using just one PowerPoint slide.

Contestants are judged based on their communication style, the audience’s comprehension of their research and engagement with the audience. 

Prizes are awarded for first place ($2,000), second place ($1,500) and third place ($1,000). Members of the audience can cast their vote to select the winner of the People’s Choice Award, who will receive $500.

The finalists who will be competing in this year’s 3MT, their departments and the topics of their thesis research:

Wensi Wu, Pharmaceutical Sciences, “Corticosteroids: The Storm Stopper!” Wu’s research explores corticosteroids and their role in treating cytokine release syndrome, a severe inflammatory response that can occur during cancer therapy or major infections.

Gavin Raffloer, Communication, “CounselorGPT: Understanding Users of Generative AI for Therapy.” Raffloer studies artificial intelligence and how human beings interact with it in social and emotional ways.

Hope Nyarady, Pharmacology and Toxicology, “One Life, One Light: Get Your Injured Brain Back in the Game.” Nyarady’s research investigates how low-level laser therapy aids recovery from a recent minor head injury/concussion.

Emily Alden Black, Communication, “It Wasn’t a Stampede: How We Talk About Crowd Disasters and Why It Matters.” 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.

Yuya Yamamoto, Learning and Instruction, “Who Owns Teachers’ Learning? Reimagining Teacher Professional Growth Through Co-Design.” Yamamoto’s research aims to develop and deliver a personalized teacher-training model built and co-designed with teachers.

Theresa Wrynn, Oral Biology, “Spit Happens: Restoring Salivary Gland Function.” Wrynn’s research focuses on the mechanisms that guide the development of the salivary gland and how salivary gland function is maintained in adults.

Christopher Romeo, Engineering Education, “The Trouble with Troubleshooting: Investigating Undergraduate Engineering Students’ Difficulties with Troubleshooting.” Romeo’s research examines how and why undergraduate engineering students struggle with troubleshooting issues in technical systems.

Luane Landau, Biological Sciences,” How Our Diet Impacts Our DNA: A Potato Story.” Landau studies how diet has shaped human evolution; her research investigates positive selection on the amylase gene, which digests starch, in Peruvian populations.

Chathura Perera, Biological Sciences, “Pausing by Tangling: How RNA Knots Tell Genes to Stop and Go.” Perera’s research addresses diseases caused by faulty RNA structures or design antibiotics against RNA structures of certain pathogens.

Lakshmi Ganesh Shankar, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Smokeless Fire.” Shankar’s research examines wood-burning stoves and develops reduced order models for the complex interactions, chemical, fluid and heat transfer that occur within the system.