Chemistry PhD researchers in final of 3 Minute Thesis

Posted on Tuesday 9 June 2026

3MT is an academic competition that challenges doctoral candidates to present their complex research and its significance to a non-specialist audience in just three minutes, using only a single static slide. 

Our three finalists where:

Dean McGettigan, Chemistry - MRI on Steroids: Optimising the Metals We Can’t Live Without (Simon Duckett group)

Gabriella Holland, Chemistry - No Place Like Home: Improving Cell Models for Better Medicines (Chris Spicer and David Smith groups)

Lucy Anderson, Biomedical Sciences - The Key to Cancer: Unlocking New Medicines (Martin Fascione group)

Congratulations to all three finalists, especially Gabriella who was the overall winner (also winning the People’s Choice prize), and Dean who came second overall. A Chemistry 1-2!

Some comments from our finalists:

Gabriella: “Condensing my entire PhD into just a three minute speech was definitely a challenge. It took loads of thinking, many revisions and, of course, lots of practice. Overall it was an enjoyable process and definitely helped build my confidence”.

Lucy: “It was a great way to meet people from different departments and build my confidence in public speaking. I had lots of fun participating!”

Dean: “This is a really exciting competition to get involved in as it pushes you to consider the broader themes of your research and how it might impact those around you, it's a really great opportunity to develop your public speaking skills and build confidence.”