Riley McInnis, a masters biology student, earned both first place and the people’s choice award for her presentation ‘Mussel Hustle: Can Fish Keep up with Their Pesky Parasites?’ in StFX’s recent Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition, which challenges thesis-based graduate students to present their scholarly and creative activity and its wider impact in three minutes or less.
The competition also showcases the outstanding graduate research being conducted across campus.
Ms. McInnis, who is supervised by Dr. Tammy Rodela and Dr. Heather Penney, will represent StFX at the regional competition at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, NS on June 5th.
Patrick Bowen, a masters computer science student, placed second for his presentation, ‘Debiasing Large Language Models for Rural Populations.’
StFX Associate Vice-President Research, Graduate and Professional Studies, Dr. Erin Morton, congratulated all 3MT participants for having the courage to pitch their graduate research to a wide audience. “This is a skill that will serve you all well as you advance in your careers. Congratulations to Riley for your winning presentation. Everyone at StFX will be cheering you on at 3MT regionals. Well done!"
Dr. Morton also thanked organizer, human nutrition professor, and Canada Research Chair in Protein and Flavour Chemistry, Dr. Marcia English for enabling StFX to host the third annual 3 Minute Thesis Competition.
“The success of this year’s 3MT competition reflects the vibrant research culture on campus and the dedication of our graduate students to advancing knowledge and addressing real-world challenges,” Dr. English noted. “The 3MT competition plays an important role in fostering research communication skills while celebrating the remarkable work of our emerging scholars.”
She said special thanks goes to Dr. Erin Morton and her team members Jacqueline Beaton and Navneet Kaur from the Research Office, James Okner from Media Services, and Adam Roy of Marketing & Communications, for their assistance. “Essential to the success of the 3MT competition is the participation of presentation judges. Thank you to all the judges: Dr. Lisa Watson (Faculty of Business); Dr. Gregory Hadley (Faculty of Education); Dr. Jill Murphy (Bachelor of Arts and Science in Health); Dr. Jessie McNichol (Department of Biology); and Dr. Laura Lambe (Department of Psychology).
“The competition continues to highlight the exceptional research talent on campus, and the important role graduate students play in driving innovation and discovery,” Dr. English says.
