Pharmaceutical sciences doctoral candidate Kishore Chittimalli won NDSU's Three Minute Thesis Competition.
Kishore Chittimalli, a doctoral candidate in pharmaceutical sciences, has taken home the $1,000 top prize in NDSU’s annual Three Minute Thesis competition.
Contestants have 180 seconds to present their thesis in terms anyone can understand. An 80,000-word thesis would take nine hours to present in full. The competition challenges students to present their work clearly and concisely.
Chittimalli’s presentation was called “Restructuring the Gut Microbiome for Healthy Aging.”
“As they say, everything starts in the gut. Our lab started working on the gut and asking, what are the mechanisms by which is going to affect the aging process? That’s how the research started,” said Chittimalli, whose faculty advisor is Yagna Jarajapu, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences. “It means a lot to win this award. I wanted to show my research to the audience and show that good stuff is going on in our department and lab.”
Chittimalli was one of six competitors in the championship round of the competition; all six received $250 for reaching the finals. The other five included:
• Yue Shen, doctoral student in pharmaceutical sciences, “Chronic Central Administration of Apelin-13 Induces Blood-pressure Elevation and Cardiac Remodeling in Conscious Rats.” Shen’s advisor is Chengwen Sun, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences.
• Biraj Saha, doctoral student in civil, construction and environmental engineering, “Breaking the Chain(s) of Forever Chemicals.” Saha’s advisor is Syeed Md Iskander, assistant professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering.
• Ellysa Johnson, master’s degree student in natural resource science, “A Piece of Cake: Updated Monarch (Danaus plexippus L.) Conservation in North Dakota Rangelands.” Johnson’s advisors are Torre Hovick, assistant professor in the School of Natural Resource Sciences, and Jason Harmon, associate professor in the School of Natural Resource Sciences.
• McKenna Wegner, master’s degree student in English, “Better Safe than Sorry: Social Media Responses to Emerging COVID-19 Research in the News.” Wegner’s advisor is Holly Hassel, professor of English.
• Nathaniel Johnson, doctoral candidate in health, nutrition and exercise sciences, “Protein Intake and Muscle Health.” Johnson’s advisor is Sherri Stastny, professor of health, nutrition and exercise sciences.
“I have a lot of excitement about the Carnegie R1 classification that we heard about in December. One thing I think is very important for people to know is it reflects a strength in what I call a ‘balanced portfolio,’” said Colleen Fitzgerald, vice president for research and creative activity and Three Minute Thesis emcee. “It’s not just about rewarding and recognizing STEM accomplishments, but also about our contributions in non-STEM areas. Our finalists cover fields that span the disciplines of our institution: English; pharmaceutical sciences; civil, construction and environmental engineering; natural resource management; and health, nutrition and exercise sciences.”
The competitors were judged in the areas of content, comprehension, communication and engagement.
The NDSU Graduate School hosted its first Three Minute Thesis competition in 2015. Since then, more than 200 NDSU graduate students have showcased their research for staff, faculty, fellow students and community leaders.
The University of Queensland hosted the first competition in 2008 and the idea has spread worldwide.
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