Page 3 - CEMS News Winter 2023

STUDENT NEWS
Paulina Eberts wins top prizes in Three-Minute
Thesis Competition
Eberts won First Place and the People’s Choice Award.
Paulina Eberts, a sixth-year doctoral candidate in chemical engineering co-advised by CEMS Associate Professor Samira Azarin and Biomedical Engineering Professor Casim Sarkar, took home the First Place and People’s Choice Award (based on votes from audience members) at the University of Minnesota 3-Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition on November 11 for her presentation on “Decoding Blood-Brain Barrier Dysfunction in Alzheimer’s Disease.”
The 3-Minute Thesis Competition challenges graduate students to present their research in just 180 seconds, in a way that can be understood by an intelligent audience with no background in the subject. This competition
helps graduate students develop presentation and communication skills; the benefits of preparing for a three-minute thesis competition are valuable regardless of career path, degree objective, or discipline. Participants are allowed to refer to one, static slide during their presentations, but may not use any other props or media.
Eberts was among seven finalists participating in the University-wide competition. To reach that level of the competition, Eberts won the CEMS 3MT® competition and then proceeded to claim First Place among 15
other graduate students in a similar event hosted by the College of Science and Engineering (CSE) on October 20.
“I decided to participate in the competition because
I viewed it as a great opportunity to practice communicating science. I prepared by discussing my project with my family one evening, which allowed me to pinpoint which aspects of my project might be confusing to someone without a background in chemistry and/or biology,” said Eberts.
She continued, “A broad collection of experiences prepared me for this competition; everything from consulting competitions that I participated in back when I was an undergraduate student to routine group meeting presentations in the Azarin and Sarkar labs. The most challenging aspect of the competition has been balancing brevity and simplicity with the type of nuance that I would typically include when discussing my work in scientific circles. For example, Alzheimer’s disease is frequently
Scott Lanyon, Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Education, congratulates Paulina Eberts for winning First Place and the People’s Choice Award in the 7th Annual Three-Minute Thesis Competition. Photo courtesy of UMN Graduate School.
divided into two types: sporadic Alzheimer’s disease
and familial Alzheimer’s disease. Sporadic Alzheimer’s disease accounts for the vast majority of cases and is the focus of my work, but in a 3MT® competition this is not a distinction that I can take the time to explain.”
She will represent the University of Minnesota at the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) 3-Minute Thesis competition in Spring 2023. In addition, she will be invited to present her research at an upcoming Board of Regents meeting.
After many rounds of competition, Eberts is focused on further perfecting her presentation. “In terms of preparing for the next round, I have a great group of friends who have already offered to provide further feedback and practice for the Spring competition. I feel very fortunate to have the support that I do,” she said.
Eberts is a past recipient of the Jan and Sofia Milner Laskowski Fellowship, the Teletzke Family Fellowship, the Fridley Fellowship, an the Erling A. Dalaker Fellowship in CEMS.
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