Stony Brook’s 2026 3MT Winner Esther Opoola Advances to NAGS Regionals

Stony Brook University doctoral student Esther Opoola, winner of the 2026 Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, has advanced to the second round of the Northeastern American Association of Graduate Schools (NAGS) regional 3MT competition.

The virtual regional 3MT competition, held virtually on Wednesday, April 22 from 2-4 pm, will feature winners of each NAGS member's local competitions, with the NAGS winner and runner-up being sent to the next Council of Graduate Schools national competition.

Opoola, a doctoral student in molecular and cellular biology, won the Stony Brook 3MT competition with her presentation, "RSVP Required: Infections Denied Entry." The 3MT competition challenges graduate students to present their dissertation research to a general audience in three minutes using only a single slide.

After winning 3MT, Opoola said, "Research is only half of what we do. The other half is making sure people understand why it matters."

3MT is a spoken word thesis competition, developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia, that asks students to engage all their communication skills to make their research vivid and engaging while emphasizing its key point without jargon, and gain professional development along the way.

Stony Brook University students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to join and support Opoola during the virtual competition. Attendees will be able to vote for the People's Choice Award.

To view the virtual competition, please register now online to receive the Zoom link.