Grad Students and Postdocs Explain Their Research — Quickly — in the Three Minute Thesis Competition

From left: Celia Marshik, dean of The Graduate School; 3MT placewinners Sarah Betz, Tamor Khan and Esther Opoola; Alumni Association President Neil Butterklee; and Molly Lotz, director of research training initiatives in The Graduate School. Photos by John Griffin.

Stony Brook University graduate students and postdoctoral scholars work on groundbreaking research that may take years to complete, but in the Three Minute Thesis (3MT®)competition, they have just three minutes to explain that research.

The annual competition challenges graduate students to present their dissertation research to a general audience in three minutes using only a single slide. The event also features a Postdoc Spotlight round that highlights the work of postdoctoral scholars. Students are judged on how clearly they communicate their research and how effectively they engage the audience.

This year's event, held March 13 in the Student Activities Center and hosted by The Graduate School, featured 14 graduate students and nine postdoctoral scholars presenting their research.

David Rubenstein, associate dean for academic and student affairs in The Graduate School, explained that the competition is part of an international initiative that asks scholars to distill complex work into a concise and compelling presentation. "The goal is not to dumb down complex research, but to communicate the significance, impact and clarity of one's work to a broad, non-specialist audience," Rubenstein said. "In an era where researchers must speak across disciplines, this skill is essential."

From left: Celia Marshik; Postdoc Spotlight placewinners Shafeeque Mohammedali, Anwesha Sil, Anthony Bogetti and Myeongjin Bae; Interim Vice President for Research and Innovation Mónica Bugallo; and Molly Lotz.

Stony Brook University President Andrea Goldsmith told competitors that communicating research effectively is just as important as conducting it, allowing ideas to reach a wider audience and create greater impact.

"No matter how good your research is, if you can't explain it well in writing, in presentations, nobody else is going to know how brilliant the ideas that you've developed are," she said, encouraging students to see the competition as the start of a longer journey as communicators.

"Your presentation today is the beginning of your journey as a storyteller, which will be so important to your professional as well as personal success."

For Celia Marshik, dean of The Graduate School, the competition showcases the importance of graduate student and postdoctoral research to the university and beyond.

"One of the things I love about this day is that it really demonstrates to the campus the importance of graduate student and postdoc research, both to the researcher and to their immediate and wider scholarly community," Marshik said. "I always think that when we talk about research at Stony Brook, it's the people in this group who drive research."

Marshik said the competition also emphasizes the need to share research more broadly.

"There's a need for the public to understand what we do and to engage with our scholarship," she said. "The graduate students and postdocs on stage today are that offense. They will take their specialized training, their thirst to create knowledge, and they will help us all understand their research and why it matters."

Mónica Bugallo speaking a the 3MT competition.

Provost Carl Lejuez said the event helps students develop essential professional skills.

"This event helps our students in who they are becoming as scholars, scientists, performers, but also as people," Lejuez said. "So to be able to have this sort of professional development experience that is independent, but mentored, supported, but also have the opportunity to find your voice, it's just an amazing event."

Last year's 3MT winner, biomedical engineering PhD student Sai Abasolo, returned to share her experience and reflect on how the competition shaped her development as a researcher and communicator.

"Three minutes is actually longer than you think," said Abasolo, who went on to compete at the Council of Graduate Schools national 3MT competition in December 2025. "Overall, my 3MT journey lasted an entire year, and it helped me realize the importance of communication in research."

Abasolo encouraged the competitors to take pride in their work and the effort that brought them to the stage. "The hard part is over. You have your talks already completed. All that's left is to step onto this stage and to share it."

This year's 3MT winner was Esther Opoola, a doctoral student in molecular and cellular biology, for her presentation, "RSVP Required: Infections Denied Entry."

Opoola described the experience as "thrilling" and rewarding. "The idea of communicating your science to everyone is so exciting because we work in the lab all the time. So actually getting out to talk to everyone about your research is so much fun."

The 23 finalists in the Three Minute Thesis and Postdoc Spotlight competition along with (first row) Celia Marshik, Provost Carl Lejuez, Stony Brook University President Andrea Goldsmith and Molly Lotz.

Opoola credited the coaching and support she received from The Graduate School throughout the process. "We had so much feedback, which was so helpful, along with the support from my lab because they supported me through every step of it," she said. "I feel like this definitely has me more excited to talk to people about my work, and it has made me much more comfortable talking about it."

Second place went to Tamor Khan, neuroscience, for "Scribbling Away Memories," while Sarah Betz, economics, took third place and the People's Choice Award for "Finding Home: The Forces That Shape Migration."

In the Postdoc Spotlight round, first place went to Myeongjin Bae, neurology, for "Why Balance Gets Harder With Age: What the Brain Tells Us."

"I'm shy," Bae said. "It was hard for me to deliver my research project to a general audience, but I kept communicating with my old mentors and current mentors and colleagues about how I can deliver my research effectively and I practiced every day."

He added that feedback from Molly Lotz, director of research training initiatives in The Graduate School, played a crucial role in refining his presentation, and that the process helped him grow more comfortable sharing his work.

"I feel more confident and now I feel comfortable delivering my research to the general audience, making it more interesting, fun and humorous," Bae said.

Second place went to Anthony Bogetti of the Laufer Center for "The Tiny Things That Do Everything Inside You," while Anwesha Sil, radiology, placed third for "A Smarter Way to Deliver Cancer Treatment." The People's Choice Award went to Shafeeque Mohammedali, neurology, for "Why Some People Age Faster: The Gene-Metabolism Connection."

As Abasolo told the audience, "Research is only half of what we do. The other half is making sure people understand why it matters."

- Beth Squire

3MT Participants

• Elnaz Azimi, Linguistics - The Chicken-and-Egg Problem of Language: Speech or Mind
• Sarah Betz, Economics - Finding Home: The Forces That Shape Migration
• Taryn Brechbill, Neuroscience - Hidden Patches: Rethinking Parkinson's Disease
• Dana Golden, Economics - Trade Creates Transformation: Making the Sun Rise Again on the Market for Power
• Meroona Gopang, Public Health - What 9/11 Left Behind
• Jiayu Ji , Physics and Astronomy - Catching the Uncatchable: Tracing Ghost Particles
• Tamor Khan, Neuroscience - Scribbling Away Memories
• Isabelle Kwan, Chemistry - Got Side Effects? The Missing Motion in Drug Design
• Sean Mascarenhas, Materials Science and Engineering - Metals to Hold a Sun
• Esther Opoola, Molecular and Cellular Biology - RSVP Required: Infections Denied Entry!
• Rideeta Raquib, Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology - This is the Protein of a Killer, Bella!
• Sabina Sagynbayeva, Physics and Astronomy - Reading the Tilts from Starlight
• Hossein Seyedzadeh, Civil Engineering - Digital Twins: the Smart Future of Power at Sea
• Donal Thomas, History - Plants, Animals, and Remaking Landscapes

Postdoc Participants

• Yasmeen Abdelaziz, Chemistry - Giving Waste Another Chance!
• Myeongjin Bae, Neurology - Why Balance Gets Harder with Age: What the Brain Tells Us
• Anthony Bogetti, Laufer Center - The Tiny Things That Do Everything Inside You
• Yixin Li, Radiology - Seeing Through the Forest: Better 3D Breast Cancer Imaging
• Paul Griffin, Chemistry - Toward a Colorful Future with Iron and Cyanide
• Nihal Medatwal, Cancer Center - A Tiny Lipid That Controls Cancer Cell Behavior
• Shafeeque Mohammedali, Neurology - Why Some People Age Faster: The Gene-Metabolism Connection
• Anwesha Sil, Radiology - A Smarter Way to Deliver Cancer Treatment
• Aaron Sloutski, Materials Science and Chemical Engineering - Soft Solution for a Hard Problem