Fedorka Wins Three Minute Thesis Competition
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 5, 2016) — Veterinary sciences graduate student Carleigh Fedorka won first place in the recent University of Kentucky Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition. Fedorka received $1,000 and an expense-paid trip to the Southern Council of Graduate Schools Regional Competition in Annapolis, Maryland, where she will compete March 2-5.
Representing the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Fedorka’s topic was “The Dirty Brood Mare … Cleaned Up.” She also won the People’s Choice Award of $125 selected by the audience in attendance.
Nine graduate student finalists were each given only three minutes to describe their research to a live audience of judges, faculty and their peers.
Representing the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology in the College of Medicine, Andrew Welleford took second place and the $500 prize money with his discussion of “Nerve Support Cells: The Key to Stopping Parkinson’s Disease?”
Third place finisher with a $250 prize was Jessica Richard of the Department of Agricultural Economics in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment with the title, “Dairy Margin Protection Program.”
Sponsored by the Graduate Student Congress and the Student Government Association, 3MT is a research communication initiative requiring graduate students to speak succinctly and engagingly – in three minutes or less -- about their current research to a nonspecialist audience.
Other finalists, their major and the title of their research included:
Cynthia Dickerson, pharmaceutical sciences, "Multivariate Analysis: Making Medicine Safe for You!"
Hannah Ruehl, English, "Fighting the Grey: Aging and Victorian Women"
Jaclyn Johnson, political science, "Squeaky Wheels and Troop Loyalty: How Domestic Protests Influence Coups d’état, 1951–2005"
Kai Zhang, pharmacology, "Blocking MCP-1, a Potential Preventative Therapy for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD)"
Karen Guettler-James, educational psychology, "Resiliency: A Necessity for Black Male College Students"
Michael Halcomb, linguistics, "Amen to that! : Using Linguistics to Analyze the History of a Word"