Ontario Competition

Ontario Competition

Ontario Competition

Ontario Competition

A celebration of innovative research by graduate students in Ontario. 3MT Logo 2024After seeing the success of the Three Minute Thesis competition in Australia and New Zealand, it was only a matter of time before Universities in Ontario decided to not only run their own events but also have a province-wide competition.

In 2012, Queen's, Western and McMaster got together to discuss running an Ontario competition, based on the rules of the original 3MT from the University of Queensland.  It was decided that Queen's would host the inaugural competition, with McMaster in 2014 and Western in 2015.  

When the call to see how much interest in the rest of the province for the competition, it was incredible to hear that all had an interest and 16 actually registered for the first competition in 2013. Interesting to note that other than Queen's and Western, no other Ontario University had actually run their own event yet!

Queen's University also hosted the 2023 Ontario 3-Minute Thesis at the beautiful lakefront Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, 17th May.

In 2024, Lakehead University hosted the Ontario 3-Minute Thesis, with Queen's participant Julia Tropak (Chemistry) coming in first place and the Participants Choice winner.

2024 Participants

  1. Rebecca Misiasz - Nipissing University
    “The role of coaches in normalizing abusive behaviour towards referees in youth ice hockey”
  2. Daniil Lisus - University of Toronto
    “Helping Autonomous Cars See What Our Eyes Can’t”
  3. Parisa Varshosaz - Laurentian University
    “Regulation of Vitamin A Metabolism During Embryonic Calvaria Bone Formation”
  4. Madeline Fabiano - Lakehead University
    "The SHINE Program: Fostering Physical Activity Among Female Undergraduate Students"
  5. Zoe Gagnon - Brock University
    “I Remember It All Too Well: The Role of Semaphorin 3A in Learning and Memory Formation”
  6. Julia Tropak - Queen’s University
    “Bacteria: Friend or Foe?”
  7. Jenna Bolzon - Trent University
    "Paying Attention to Replication Issues can Unearth a Ton of Problems"
  8. Bria Hughes-Small - Ontario Tech University
    “Disentangling the Unique Impacts of Socioeconomic Status and Adversity on the Development of Neural Networks and Social Cognitive Functioning in Children and Adolescents”
  9. Ana Hernandez Martinez de la Riva - Carleton University
    “Where is Jack? How to find rare plants”
  10. Jordan Carrillo Zurita - Toronto Metropolitan University
    “Building Better Processed Foods, Block by Block”
  11.  Samra Khan - University of Windsor
     "Sugar-coated cancer vaccines for ‘sweet’ adaptive oncoimmunology"
  12. Sasikumar Deivasigamani - University of Guelph
    "Microwave Cooking of Food: How Hard Can It Be?"

Judges

Kathrine Killam, Community Engagement & Innovation Manager, Camphill Communities Ontario

Carmine Stumpo, President and CEO of Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (OSMH)

Nicole Norris, Director of Social Innovation, a department under Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship and one of three AshokaU Changemaker Campus Leads at Georgian College. 

Steve Loftus, CEO and a founding partner of the Innovative Group of Companies. These companies include Innovative Automation, MecSmart Systems, and RoboTape.

Matt Mahoney, Manager of Innovation Strategies in the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade

Results History

2013 Results

Place Name University Title of Presentation
1st Place Jasdeep Saggar (Medical Biophysics) University of Toronto Hypoxia-activated pro-drugs: A novel approach for breast cancer treatment
2nd Place Abraham Heifets (Computing Science) University of Toronto How can we make better medicines? Computer tools for chemistry
3rd Place Chau-Minh Phan (Vision Science) University of Waterloo Treatment of fungal eye infections using contact lenses and nanoparticles
Participant's Choice Michael Taylor (Epidemiology & Biostatistics) Western University Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes: An Immigrant Story

2014 Results

Place Name University Title of Presentation
1st Place Dalva Nielsen Toronto Do dietary recommendations based on genetics change eating behaviour?
2nd Place Leslie Nash Brock Simplici-tea: Investigating tea as a dietary strategy for better bone health
3rd Place Muhammad Ali Naqvi Ryerson Milk. It does a body good!... but how?
4th Place Joseph Donohue Western Scale-up of a Circulating Fluidized-bed Bioreactor
5th Place Yasina Somani Windsor Getting a grip on high blood pressure with a novel treatment
Participant's Choice Cory Scurr Wilfrid Laurier Cold War Warrior? Diefenbaker and Canadian-Soviet Relations
Participant's Choice Muhammad Ali Naqvi Ryerson Milk. It does a body good!... but how?

2015 Results

Place Name University Title of Presentation
1st Place Meghan Yip Guelph Can we use the skin of our feet for better balance?
2nd Place Jenna Butler Western Computing a Cure for Cancer
3rd Place Stephen McCarthy Toronto Towards an Ebola Cure
4th Place Chenman (Cara) Yin Queen's Seeing the world at the tip of a laser beam
5th Place Teng Guo McMaster Double Rotor Motor: Making 1 + 1 > 2
Participant's Choice Lacy Bateman Nipissing Stories of Violence Against Indigenous Women in Canada: Understanding the Case of Helen Betty Osborne

2016 Results

Place Name University Title of Presentation
1st Place Gah-Jone Won Waterloo The development of an antibody-drug conjugate to specifically target and soften the crystalline lens in vivo
2nd Place Michael Moore Ryerson Listening to the "Seeds" of Cancer
3rd Place Anastasia Shavrova Queen's Strategies on Winning the Game of Life
4th Place Justin Whitaker Ottawa Bacto-Glue for you (and better building bases too)
5th Place Carly Cameron Brock Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...
Participant's Choice Carly Cameron Brock Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...

2017 Results

Place Name University Title of Presentation
1st Place Richard Kil Toronto Blood Testing with Baker's Yeast in Developing Regions
2nd Place Richard Edwards Wilfrid Laurier Chiral Quantum Dots: Lending a Hand in the Fight Against Cancer
3rd Place Ella Dubinsky Ryerson Singing for your Brain
4th Place Ololade Sanusi UOIT Next-Generation Blood Irradiation Systems
5th Place Shanthanu Krishna Kumar Guelph Enhancing Shelf Life of Fruit Using Hexanal
Participant's Choice Richard Kil & Ella Dubinsky Toronto & Guelph See above

2018 Results

Place Name University Title of Presentation
1st Place Matthew Berry McMaster Scientifically Quantifying the Craft of Acting
2nd Place Daniella Briotto Faustino Carleton Bend Passwords for People with Vision Impairment
3rd Place Tianqi Xie Western Are We Alone? Unlocking the Mystery of the Moon
4th Place Amélie Litalien RMC A Plant Worthy of its Salt
5th Place Gregory Lui Waterloo Photocatalysts: Using Today's Waste to Power the Future

2019 Results

Place Name University Title of Presentation
1st Place Alex Kjorven Ryerson The Gamification of Climate Change
2nd Place Yoah Sui Western Sofa, so good? Maybe not
3rd Place Amanda Brissenden Queen's Building Blocks for a Healthier Spine
4th Place David Patch RMC A Slippery Situation: Release of PFAS from Commercial Products
5th Place Haya Almutairi Waterloo Self-Healing Asphalt Pavement
Participant's Choice Yoah Sui Western Sofa, so good? Maybe not

Results 2020

Place Name University Title of Presentation
1st Place Amalia Gil (Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering) Toronto Identifying Distractions in Surgery with Eye-Tracking
2nd Place Jessica Allingham (Chemistry) Lakehead Brightening Up Brain Injuries
3rd Place Alice Santilli (Computing) Queen's Sniffing Out Breast Cancer
4th Place Sara Stricker (Plant Agriculture) Guelph Know Thy Enemy: Stemphylium Leaf Blight
5th Place Taryn Fournie (Civil & Environmental Engineering) Western What is the value of your poop?
Participant's Choice Taryn Fournie (Civil & Environmental Engineering) Western What is the value of your poop?

As this was still during the pandemic, only three Ontario Universities held a 3MT competition in 2021. So that Ontario was represented at the National 3MT showcase, The 3 Universities – Guelph, Ontario Tech and Queen’s put forward their top two presentations to be adjudicated by a committee of five individuals with expertise in research communication and public engagement including - including – Ursula Gobel, VP of SSHRC; Nicola Luksic, Senior Producer CBC; Evelyn Asiedu, PDFellow and producer of The Good and the Bad of Black Grad; Newsha Arezi, PhD Candidate and 2019 National 3MT Winner; and Rob Baker, guitarist for The Tragically Hip.

The final scores were compiled by staff at the CAGS national office.

The winner of the 2021 Ontario Regional 3MT Competition:

Claire Mindus, PhD Animal Bio Sciences, University of Guelph. “Don’t be Snappy, Be Happy! Preventing Feather Pecking in Chickens Using Probiotic Bacteria.”

Results 2022

Place Name University Title of Presentation
1st Place Emeline Means Miller Ontario Tech Identifying salivary cytokines associated with prolonged sitting
2nd Place Vanessa Ruscetta Toronto Metropolitan Gaining the upper hand on cancer therapeutics
3rd Place Atefeh Mohammadi Toronto Lung disease in premature babies: Are watermelons the answer?
Participant's Choice      

Results 2023

Place Name University Title of Presentation
1st Place Emily Majaesic University of Toronto Catch a Protein by Its Tail
2nd Place Sarah Rijkenberg Ontario Tech University Go Fish: Using plankton characteristics to monitor Ontario's fish populations
3rd Place Alexis Harvey Lakehead University Training the Socially-Responsible Healthcare Provider
Participant's Choice Jordan Till Trent University Paint Me a Picture: Longitudinal Symptom Stability in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Check out the full recordings of each presentation on the SGSPA YouTube channel!

Results 2024

Place Name University Title of Presentation
1st Place Julia Tropak Queen's University Bacteria: Friend or Foe?
2nd Place Jordan Carrillo Zurita Toronto Metropolitan University Building Better Processed Foods, Block by Block
3rd Place Madeline Fabiano Lakehead University The SHINE Program: Fostering Physical Activity Among Female Undergraduate Students
Participant's Choice Julia Tropak Queen's University Bacteria: Friend or Foe?

 Check out the 2024 presentations here!