3MT at UM Winner Represents UM at Regional Competition

Minjia Wang is a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences student who won the Three Minute Thesis® (3MT) competition at University of Mississippi. More than 100 students participated in the preliminary round of competition, and 25 finalists advanced to the final round. The preliminary round was held in October of 2019, with the final round taking place on November 7, 2019.

Minjia, along with the other contestants, was only allowed three minutes to present his research, with one PowerPoint slide as a visual aid. The point of the Three Minute Thesis® competition is to be able to succinctly explain complicated academic research in a way that a general audience can understand.

The Three Minute Thesis® Competition originated at the University of Queensland in Australia, and similar competitions are held all over the world. The winner of the 3MT at UM competition advances to the regional competition, held in conjunction with the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools (CSGS) Annual Meeting.

This year, as the Grand Prize winner, Minjia represented the University of Mississippi Graduate School at the CSGS in Birmingham, Alabama, where he competed against over 50 other graduate students representing SEC schools and other southeastern schools. The CSGS Annual Meeting was held March 5-7. Minjia’s trip to Birmingham was completely funded by the Graduate School.

The Graduate School interviewed Minjia about his overall 3MT experience.

Graduate School: What is your thesis/research that you presented?

Minjia: “My research is about carbon monoxide therapeutic application and pharmaceutical development. I mainly focus on the in vivo pharmacokinetic studies as well as the design of solid oral dosage formulations for a carbon monoxide prodrug.”

Graduate School: What made you enter 3MT at UM in the first place?

Minjia: “I thought my research is very intriguing: first, because using carbon monoxide gas as a drug is counterintuitive. Yet, it might have a direct impact on the general public in the near future, and is quite relevant to everyone’s well-being. Therefore, I want to showcase my research to the broader audience, and let more people know a little bit about the therapeutic potential of carbon monoxide. Also, the 3MT competition is a very good opportunity to practice my scientific communication skills.”

Graduate School: How did you prepare for both the UM competition and the regional competition?

Minjia: “In the beginning, I prepared a written script and memorized it for the presentation. And then I practiced many times just to get as prepared as possible. I also rehearsed the speech in front of my labmates in our research group to gain more confidence and experience.”

Graduate School: Can you tell us about the regional experience? How many competitors, the atmosphere, the trip, etc.

Minjia: “The regional 3MT competition was a wonderful experience, that I could share my research story, as well as compete with other 3MT winners. All the 3MT participants in the regional conference were very well prepared and extremely competitive. Although I didn’t make it to the final round, I was still very excited to learn about others’ research areas and to enjoy their performances.” 

Minjia shares that “The 3MT competition was such a great opportunity for me. It was also a great honor to represent our university to compete on the regional level.”