Medical Research Graduate Program PhD student Jasmine Mah was the winner of the finals of AV俱乐部's 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. 3MT challenges research-based master鈥檚 and doctoral students to distill their research into three-minute chunks for a non-specialist audience, with a single PowerPoint slide permitted as a visual aid.
After a year away in 2021 due to the pandemic, 3MT returned to AV俱乐部 in a virtual format in 2022. The Faculty of Graduate Studies hosted the event via Zoom on the evening of Thursday, April 21.
For finishing in first place, Mah earned a $2,000 prize and a spot representing AV俱乐部 in the Eastern Regional 3MT competition that will be hosted virtually by the University of New Brunswick in June. Second place went to PhD in Agriculture student Tommy Davies, with MSc in Medical Neuroscience student Adam Sunavsky finishing third. The People鈥檚 Choice Award, as voted on by the live virtual audience, went to MSc in Epidemiology and Applied Health Science student Alex Stirling.
Measuring social vulnerability
Mah opened her presentation, titled Social Vulnerability: What It Is, How to Measure It, and Why It Matters, by showing photos of two older adults and asking which of them was more likely to be the victim of 鈥済ranny dumping鈥�, a colloquial term for the act of being abandoned at a hospital, usually by members of their own family.
鈥淟ucy, who despite living below the poverty line, has a large and loving family who visit regularly and cook her meals,鈥� said Mah, 鈥渙r Elliott, a retired lawyer who lives in a mansion but is estranged from his only son and has no close friends.鈥�
The holder of an MD, Mah explained that her research uses large information databases and medical statistics to create a holistic measure of someone鈥檚 social circumstances. This social vulnerability index, or SVI, can be used to predict deaths, disability, and nursing home placements among seniors.
Mah said afterward that she felt 鈥渟hocked鈥� to have been named the winner. 鈥淧ublic speaking has always scared me,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y heart was palpitating at a dangerous rate.鈥� Despite those nerves, she decided to enter the 3MT competition after being encouraged to do so by Dr. Lynne Robinson, a AV俱乐部 professor and academic director of the OpenThink Initiative, of which .
鈥淕ood quality research is useless if those who will benefit or those who can enact change can鈥檛 understand it,鈥� said Mah. 鈥淚n my research on social vulnerability, I want to convince older adults, caregivers, healthcare professionals and policymakers that social factors beyond medicine are overwhelmingly contributing to poor health outcomes and healthcare inefficiencies.鈥�
Participating also provided an opportunity to share her research with members of her family. 鈥淲hile always supportive, my family has difficulties understanding my research and why it matters. The 3MT was the first time my parents watched me talk about my work in an academic setting and felt they could relate to it.
鈥淭his is why the 3MT has been one of the most special experiences of my graduate studies.鈥�
Mah also thanked her thesis committee (Dr. Melissa Andrew, Dr. Kenneth Rockwood, Dr. Janice Keefe and Professor Susan Stevens), the Medical Research Graduate Program, Geriatric Medicine Research and the Department for Medicine for supporting her research endeavours.
The people鈥檚 choice
MSc in Epidemiology and Applied Health Science student Alex Stirling took home the $500 People鈥檚 Choice Award, sponsored by Estelle Joubert and Paul Doerwald. In his presentation, he asked the audience to imagine they were a paramedic forced to make a quick decision when a patient stops breathing. Would you provide the basic option for treatment, the effects of which, while reliable, may not last long enough to make it to the hospital, or the advanced option, a high-risk, invasive procedure that could easily leave the patient worse off should it fail?
鈥淎s a paramedic, I understand the stress of these emergency situations and want to help ground medics make the best choices,鈥� said Stirling afterward. 鈥淏eing in these situations myself and facing these exact questions has made me very passionate about this project, and I think that shines through when I鈥檓 presenting.
鈥淚 want to thank my supervisors and committee members Dr. Sanja Stanojevic, Dr. Jill Hayden, Dr. Judah Goldstein and Dr. Samuel Campbell. I wouldn鈥檛 have been able to get this far without their help.鈥�
Future thought leaders on display
The Faculty of Graduate Studies鈥� annual battle of brains and brevity had a different feel compared to pre-pandemic editions of the competition, which featured both the heats and finals performed in front of in-person audiences (a line in the recap of the 2020 event referencing a 鈥減acked crowd of 200 people鈥� in the Student Union Building鈥檚 McInnes Room feels particularly anachronistic). Due to uncertainties surrounding in-person gathering limits and masking requirements, the 2022 3MT was held entirely online. For the preliminary heats, participants provided video recordings of their presentations, with judges determining the finalists who presented live on Thursday evening.
Some things about the finals remained the same, despite the virtual format. CBC reporter and video journalist Brett Ruskin served as host for the fourth time, a VIP judging panel of Frank Harvey, Kristan Hines and Theresa Rajack-Talley deliberated over the final rankings, and approximately 200 members of the AV俱乐部 community signed up to watch, albeit from their homes.
The competition showcased the high-impact research being done by AV俱乐部鈥檚 graduate students. 鈥淭he very important contributions that graduate students make to AV俱乐部鈥檚 research enterprise is one of the major reasons why AV俱乐部 is one of Canada鈥檚 leading research universities,鈥� said AV俱乐部 President and Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini, in his opening remarks. 鈥淚 have no doubt that these future thought leaders that we have with us today will go on to make an impact in the world.鈥�
In her opening remarks, FGS Dean Marty Leonard brought up the challenge of summarizing a complex research topic for a non-specialist audience within a set time limit. 鈥淯sually when I ask students what is harder, putting together a 45-minute research seminar or a 3 Minute Thesis presentation, hands down the 3MT presentation is much more difficult and time consuming to put together.鈥�
Looking to next year
鈥淚鈥檇 like to congratulate Jasmine Mah for finishing first in this year鈥檚 competition,鈥� said Dr. Leonard afterward. 鈥淣ova Scotia has a large population of older adults, and social vulnerability is a growing concern. Jasmine did a great job of explaining her research and the problems it aims to solve. She is a very worthy winner.
鈥淚 also want to congratulate each of the finalists and thank everyone who took part and showed the initiative and commitment to improving their communication skills. Next year, I hope we will all be back together on-campus so we can do this in-person!鈥�
The finalists
- Jasmine Mah, PhD in Medical Research Graduate Program, Faculty of Medicine (First place)
- Tommy Davies, PhD in Agriculture (Second place)
- Adam Sunavsky, MSc in Medical Neuroscience (Third place)
- Alex Stirling, MSc in Epidemiology and Applied Health Science (People鈥檚 Choice Award)
- Julia Jordan, MA in Musicology
- Madeline Shivgulam, MSc in Kinesiology
Learn more about the finalists and their research areas
Judges
- Frank Harvey (Provost and Vice-President, Academic)
- Kristan Hines (Board of Governors; Senior Vice-President, Public Affairs, NATIONAL Public Relations)
- Theresa Rajack-Talley (Vice-Provost, Equity and Inclusion)
Related reading: Get to know this year鈥檚 3 Minute Thesis finalists as they prepare to battle it out