Doctoral Researcher Saara Koskela from the Institute of Biomedicine and InFLAMES Research Flagship won the Three Minute Thesis competition of the University of Turku. Koskela will represent the University of Turku in the international 3MT competition organised by the Coimbra Group for European universities. 

Ten doctoral researchers from the University of Turku participated in the 3MT competition held in the Main Building lobby on 6 March 2024. In the competition, the doctoral researchers summarise their research as engagingly as possible in only three minutes.

In her winning presentation, Saara Koskela described her research where she has developed a model for predicting cancer patients’ response to treatment. According to Koskela, summarising her own research subject in three minutes was rewarding and crystallised her thoughts on how to talk about her research to the general public.

“I love my research and it was inspiring to be present it to an audience. It is great to represent the University of Turku in the Coimbra Group’s competition and to be able to present my research on an international stage,” Koskela said.

Koskela will participate in the Coimbra Group’s international competition with a video of her 3MT presentation. On the basis of the video presentations, three doctoral researchers will be selected to the Coimbra 3MT final which will take place in Turku this year.

Second place in the competition went to Doctoral Researcher in materials engineering Bahar Mostafiz, who was also voted the audience’s favourite. In her presentation, Mostafiz discussed her work on developing a sensor that would detect dopamine levels in the brain and could improve the lives of people suffering from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. The judges selected Doctoral Researcher Nicko Widjaja from the Institute of Biomedicine to represent the University in the international 3MT competition organised by the SANORD network. Widjaja’s presentation handled the health effects of adipose tissue in bones.

The University’s 3MT jury included Vice Rector Piia Björn, Director of the Centre for Language and Communication Studies Michael Nelson and Professor of Natural Compound Chemistry Juha-Pekka Salminen.

The competition is organised jointly by the University of Turku Graduate School UTUGS, Centre for Language and Communication Studies, and University Communications.