College finalist wins University 3 Minute Thesis competition

Christopher West, winner of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine 3 Minute Thesis final back in May, took first prize at the University of Edinburgh Final on Wednesday 24 July with his presentation “Blood, sweat and ears”.

Christopher, who cut short his honeymoon in order to take part in the Final, was one of nine finalists from around the University who had to sum up their thesis verbally - with no props or electronic media - in less than three minutes, using just one slide. Christopher - a clinician by trade - is undertaking research into how to grow an ear using fat.

Other University finalists from the College included Alejandro Cervantes, who is looking at epithelial to mesenchymal transition process as a stemness inducer in breast cancer cells, and Katie Nicol, whose research looks at social and emotional difficulties in borderline personality disorder.

Universitas 21 Final

Christopher will now represent the University of Edinburgh at the 3 Minute Thesis Universitas 21 final which takes place on 29 October 2013. At least 17 universities across nine countries and territories will be represented in the Grand Final which will take the form of a virtual competition. The winner will be announced on 29 October and the prizegiving ceremony will be streamed live.

Grand Prize

Two prizes are available for the Grand Final: a bursary of $2500 for the winner to visit a Universitas 21 university of their choice to benefit their research or on-going career development, and a people’s choice prize of $300.

The 3 Minute Thesis competition is based on a concept developed by the University of Queensland which quickly spread across Australia and New Zealand, and has gone global.