Adewunmi Giwa and Anne Manson will present their research in three minutes.
3MT finalists from Food and Human Nutritional Sciences explore human health challenges
In less time than it takes to boil water, two Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences graduate students will share their research at the University of Manitoba’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) final event on April 1. They and 10 other challengers will take the stage on April 1 at the Robert B. Schultz Theatre in St. John’s College at the Fort Garry Campus.
3MT is an international graduate student research communication competition developed in 2008 by The University of Queensland (UQ) where challengers have just three minutes to present their research and its importance in plain language, using only a single slide to illustrate their topic. The competitors are judged on comprehension, engagement, ease of communication while providing an understanding of the background and significance of their research.
The UM 2025 3MT event began in March with 37 challengers from 18 different departments who each explained their complex research to a panel of judges and audience members. The winners from those three heats have now moved on to the finals.
Students – both master’s and doctoral students – will now compete for the Dr. Archie McNicol Prize for First Place ($2000), the UM Retirees Prize for Second Place ($1250), and the Blenham & Associates prize for third place ($500).
Judges Loren Oschipok, Moses (Moe) Levy, and Renée Cable will determine the winners of the top prizes, while the audience—both in-person and online—will cast their votes for the People’s Choice Award ($200).
As well, the first place winner will advance to the Western Canada regional competition on May 6, 2025, hosted by the University of Victoria.
Meet our students:
Adewunmi Giwa
PhD student in Food Science
“Stripping cancer’s armor: How pea bioactive peptides trigger cancer self-destruction”
What is your presentation about?
My presentation is about using plant-derived bioactive peptides to target a key cancer survival mechanism. Specifically, I focus on how peptides from peas can block GPX4, an antioxidant endogenous enzyme that protects cancer cells from destruction. By inhibiting GPX4, we can trigger ferroptosis—a specialized form of cell death—making cancer cells self-destruct without harming healthy cells.
What are you trying to demonstrate or what problem are you trying to solve?
I am addressing the problem of cancer treatment resistance and harmful side effects. Traditional therapies like chemotherapy often fail because cancer cells adapt and develop resistance. Worse, these treatments attack both cancerous and healthy cells, leading to life-threatening complications. My research explores a plant-based, targeted approach that weakens cancer’s defenses without causing collateral damage.
Why did you want to do 3MT?
I wanted to participate in 3MT because my research has real-world implications, and I believe it should be communicated in a way that everyone can understand. Cancer affects millions of people, and if my work can contribute to a better treatment strategy, it’s important that I share it beyond academic circles.
What has your 3MT experience been like so far?
It has been both challenging and rewarding. Condensing my research into just three minutes while keeping it engaging has pushed me to think differently about how I communicate science. I’ve refined my delivery, learned to emphasize the most impactful points, and received valuable feedback on making my message clearer and more compelling.
What are your future plans?
I plan to continue my research on the bioactive properties of plant proteins, with a long-term goal of contributing to cancer treatment strategies. I hope to work in a cancer research institute in Canada, where I can apply my expertise in Food Science to develop functional foods or nutraceuticals that support cancer prevention and treatment.
Anne Manson
PhD student in Human Nutritional Sciences
“Using oxylipins to inform dietary omega-3 fat intake and heart drug development”
What is your presentation about?
My presentation summarizes the key findings of my PhD research. For my thesis, I developed two methods, one to be able to use oxylipins as indicators of dietary omega-3 fat intake for optimal health, and the other is a method to guide heart drug development. In my talk I highlight what we discovered in each of my PhD studies and their potential impact.
Why did you want to do 3MT?
I had considered doing 3MT for a long time, but I always felt I needed a clearer picture of what my PhD thesis would end up looking like before I could summarize it in just three minutes. And you simply don’t know in the beginning. I didn’t want to just make a “promise”, but I would rather give people a concrete answer. Now that I am writing my thesis, it felt like the right time. I have always been impressed by other 3MT challengers, who can distill extensive research ideas, plans and results in just three minutes. In my mind, that would be nearly impossible. I wanted to take on that challenge and prove to myself that I could do it too.
What has your 3MT experience been like so far?
It’s definitely a challenge to condense something so complex into just three minutes. The shorter the time you have to communicate, the harder it is. This is especially true when translating scientific research into terms that make sense to a general audience. But it is also a rewarding experience, and I have enjoyed the process of refining my message, thinking about how to say it in a way to resonate with people, and most importantly, what were the key points to talk about.
What are your future plans?
I am in the final stages of my PhD and preparing to finish it in the next few months. After that I plan to continue my research through a postdoctoral fellowship. I am pretty excited as I will be learning how to apply oxylipins in epidemiology, and this opens up new ways to explore their role in health and disease.
Don’t miss this exciting event on Tuesday April 1st at 7:00pm, at the Robert B. Shultz Theatre in St. John’s College at the Fort Garry Campus.