Kendra Isable is the 2024 Three Minute Thesis (3MT) People’s Choice Winner

Isable won with her presentation titled “Bones Tell Tales: Giving a Voice to the Historically Silenced.” Her research delves into the paleopathology of African Americans to determine if/how their skeletal modifications highlight inequities in access to medical care for African Americans and unequal opportunities to heal from injuries.

The session was sponsored by ProQuest™, part of Clarivate™ and featured the 12 winners of regional 3MT competitions in North America: The Canadian Association of Graduate Studies (CAGS,) Consejo Mexicano de Estudios de Posgrado (COMEPO,) the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools (CSGS,) the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS,) the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools (NAGS,) and the Western Association of Graduate Schools (WAGS). Higher Education institutions are launching 3MT^®competitions, a concept developed by The University of Queensland, to help prepare graduate students to communicate the value of their research to a broad audience.

The regional winners participated in a roundtable discussion, reflecting on their experiences and offering insights that can help graduate schools develop successful 3MT^® competitions and other programs designed to hone students’ communication skills.

The regional winners are:

Michael Mensah, CAGS Awardee, University of Regina

Nada Al-Emadi, CAGS Awardee, University of British Columbia

Patricia Alejandra Brand Ruvalcaba, COMPEO Awardee, University of Guadalajara

Laura Angelica Vera Salazar, COMEPO Awardee, Institute for Scientific and Technological Research of San Luis Potosi

Vishal Thomas, CSGS Awardee, Clemson University

Sindupa De Silva, CSGS Awardee, West Virginia University

Brian Choi, MAGS Awardee, Loyola University Chicago

Emma Elizabeth Sabu Kattuman, MAGS Awardee, University of Toledo

Sarah Davis, NAGS Awardee, University of Rhode Island

Dominique Louer, NAGS Awardee, McGill University

Anne Johnson, WAGS Awardee, Portland State University

Kendra Isable, WAGS Awardee, University of Nevada, Reno

CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega stated that the work of the participating students represents the best of graduate research and communication, and merits recognition.

“The 3MT showcase and roundtable recognizes the innovative research and scholarship of graduate students and provides them the opportunity to communicate their work to the broader graduate education community and beyond,” said Ortega. “Now more than ever, our scholars need to be able to communicate cutting-edge research accurately and succinctly to broad audiences.”

Chris Burghardt, Senior Vice President of Information Solutions, Academia & Government at Clarivate said, “The 3MT challenges students to share a compelling and accessible narrative about their thesis or dissertation, in exactly three minutes. It is an enormous challenge—but the energy and brilliance these students bring to the competition makes it a ton of fun to watch!”

ProQuest, part of Clarivate – whose ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global (PQDT) database features a vast collection of dissertations and theses – sponsors this showcase.