Medical Research Graduate Program PhD student Jasmine Mah was the winner of the finals of 新澳门六合彩开奖's 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. 3MT challenges research-based master鈥檚 and doctoral students to distill their research into three-minute chunks for a non-specialist audience, with a single PowerPoint slide permitted as a visual aid.
After a year away in 2021 due to the pandemic, 3MT returned to 新澳门六合彩开奖 in a virtual format in 2022. The Faculty of Graduate Studies hosted the event via Zoom on the evening of Thursday, April 21.
For finishing in first place, Mah earned a $2,000 prize and a spot representing 新澳门六合彩开奖 in the Eastern Regional 3MT competition that will be hosted virtually by the University of New Brunswick in June. Second place went to PhD in Agriculture student Tommy Davies, with MSc in Medical Neuroscience student Adam Sunavsky finishing third. The People鈥檚 Choice Award, as voted on by the live virtual audience, went to MSc in Epidemiology and Applied Health Science student Alex Stirling.
Measuring social vulnerability
Mah opened her presentation, titled Social Vulnerability: What It Is, How to Measure It, and Why It Matters, by showing photos of two older adults and asking which of them was more likely to be the victim of 鈥済ranny dumping鈥�, a colloquial term for the act of being abandoned at a hospital, usually by members of their own family.
鈥淟ucy, who despite living below the poverty line, has a large and loving family who visit regularly and cook her meals,鈥� said Mah, 鈥渙r Elliott, a retired lawyer who lives in a mansion but is estranged from his only son and has no close friends.鈥�
The holder of an MD, Mah explained that her research uses large information databases and medical statistics to create a holistic measure of someone鈥檚 social circumstances. This social vulnerability index, or SVI, can be used to predict deaths, disability, and nursing home placements among seniors.
Mah said afterward that she felt 鈥渟hocked鈥� to have been named the winner. 鈥淧ublic speaking has always scared me,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y heart was palpitating at a dangerous rate.鈥� Despite those nerves, she decided to enter the 3MT competition after being encouraged to do so by Dr. Lynne Robinson, a 新澳门六合彩开奖 professor and academic director of the OpenThink Initiative, of which .
鈥淕ood quality research is useless if those who will benefit or those who can enact change can鈥檛 understand it,鈥� said Mah. 鈥淚n my research on social vulnerability, I want to convince older adults, caregivers, healthcare professionals and policymakers that social factors beyond medicine are overwhelmingly contributing to poor health outcomes and healthcare inefficiencies.鈥�
Participating also provided an opportunity to share her research with members of her family. 鈥淲hile always supportive, my family has difficulties understanding my research and why it matters. The 3MT was the first time my parents watched me talk about my work in an academic setting and felt they could relate to it.
鈥淭his is why the 3MT has been one of the most special experiences of my graduate studies.鈥�
Mah also thanked her thesis committ