PhD candidate Cody Frear will represent The University of Queensland in the Asia-Pacific Three Minute Thesis Competition on Friday 4 October, after winning the 2019 UQ 3MT Final.
The Faculty of Medicine student won a hotly contested final against seven other UQ PhD candidates, presenting his research into the treatment of paediatric burns using negative pressure wound therapy.
Mr Frear’s research has the potential to change the way paediatric burns are treated.
He has been able to decrease the healing time of burns by three days, while at the same time significantly decreasing scarring.
Mr Frear said participation in 3MT had expanded his outlook and given him a wider audience for his research.
“The freedom to dedicate oneself so completely to a narrow field of research is one of the joys of pursuing a PhD,” he said.
“It is also, in a way, a curse; while highly-focused study is essential to immersing oneself in the literature and exploring previously untrodden avenues, it is often isolating, restricting one's interactions to a small group of people who belong to the same field.
“3MT has allowed me to share my work with a large audience outside of the burns world and, more importantly, opened my eyes to the inspiring research taking place in UQ's various faculties, schools, and institutions.”
As the winner of the UQ Final, Mr Frear pocketed a $5,000 prize.
“The prize money will help me share my findings with burns clinicians around the world through publications and presentations at international conferences.
“It will also provide the resources to develop follow-up studies aimed at improving the understanding and management of paediatric burns.”
UQ Graduate School Dean Professor Alastair McEwan said 3MT was invaluable in enhancing research students’ presentation skills and had become a highlight of the annual research calendar.
“The benefits of the 3MT competition are clearly demonstrated when you have presentations like Cody’s – the audience is engaged, and they become interested in finding out more about new research in Australia,” Professor McEwan said.
“This year, we had a record number of PhD students competing in 3MT at UQ.
“It is exciting to think that this competition, developed at UQ in 2008, now runs on six continents in 66 countries.
“The 3MT competition gives PhD candidates the skills to showcase the amazing research they are doing around the world.”
Yael Leibovitch from the School of Education was runner up with her presentation ‘Talking our way to better writing.’
The People’s Choice award went to the School of Psychology’s Gianni Ribeiro for her presentation, ‘From trial and error to trails with error.’
UniBank General Manager Mike Lanzing said UniBank was delighted to support the competition.
“The UQ 3MT finalists were remarkable as they delivered their 80,000 word thesis in just three minutes,” Mr Lanzing said.
“Well done everyone, and in particular Cody for his winning presentation.”
Mr Frear will now compete against 56 other PhD candidates representing universities across Australia, New Zealand, and Asia in the Asia-Pacific 3MT Competition on Friday 4 October at UQ.
Tickets to the event are free but you must register your attendance.
Image above left: Micha Jackson, 2018 UQ 3MT winner, Dr Jason Armstrong, Boeing Research & Technology Australia, Mike Lanzing, General Manager, Unibank, Cody Frear, Professor Bronwyn Harch, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Kelly Robinson, Chief Marketing and Communication Officer, Professor Alastair McEwan, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research Training) and Dean, Graduate School.
Image above right: Runnup-Up, Yael Leibovitch, Winner, Cody Frear, People's Choice, Gianni Ribeiro.
Media: 3mt@uq.edu.au, +61 7 3346 0503.
