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- What: Competition that challenges doctoral students to present their research to a non-specialist audience
- Open to: Ph.D. students actively engaged in the research phase of their degree program
- When: Competition held annually each summer
- Applications deadline: The 2026 competition is underway, and applications are closed
Communicate Your Research. Inspire Your Audience.
The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition challenges doctoral students to present their research and its impact in language that a non-specialist audience can understand. Using only one static slide and no more than three minutes, participants develop valuable skills in research communication, public speaking, and audience engagement.
Why Participate?
Participating in 3MT helps students:
- Develop concise and compelling communication skills
- Explain complex research to broad audiences
- Build confidence in public speaking
- Increase the visibility and impact of their research
- Connect with fellow graduate researchers across disciplines
- Prepare for conferences, interviews, networking opportunities, and careers both inside and outside academia
About the 2026 Competition
The 2026 Duke Three Minute Thesis competition is currently underway! Three preliminary rounds for the 2026 competition were held on July 15 and July 20.
The top ten finalists will compete for cash prizes at the final event on August 4, 2024 from 3–5 p.m. in the Schiciano Auditorium in the Fitzpatrick Building.
Students, faculty, staff, and members of the Duke community are encouraged to attend and support participants as they share their research with a broad audience.
Meet the 2026 Finalists
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Tyler Cope
Population Health Sciences
"Rethinking Pain Care: Building a Delivery Model That Doesn't Hurt"
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Sophie Dornbaum
University Program in Genetics and Genomics
"Bringing Psychiatric Disease Risk to Light"
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Parker Esswein
Biomedical Engineering
"Gaining inSight: Modeling Blood Vessels to Treat Diabetic Visual Impairment"
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Kyungdo Kim
Biomedical Engineering
"From Physical Body to Digital Human: Quantitative Assessment of Human Movement for Parkinson's Disease"
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Ellisa Lang
Neurobiology
"An Incomplete Bridge in the Brain"
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Lailah Ligons
Biomedical Engineering
"ElectroGLuE: Understanding Each Musician in the Symphony of the Brain"
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Anna Towne
Pharmacology and Cancer Biology
"No Leg to Stand On: Exploiting Cancer's Balancing Act to Improve Treatment Options"
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Violet Tu
Immunobiology / Medical Scientist Training Program
"A Vaccine for Cancer: The Future of Cancer Therapy"
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Margaret Weber Barbier
Pharmacology and Cancer Biology / Medical Scientist Training Program
"Who Are You? Discovering What Cancer Cannot Live Without"
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Kent Yamamoto
Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
"Robot Snakes and Lasers! The Future of Surgery"
2026 Competition Sponsors
A very special thanks to Pratt School of Engineering and the Office of Biomedical Graduate Education for organizing the 2026 competition!
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