A celebration of innovative research by graduate students in Ontario. 
After seeing the success of the Three Minute Thesis competition in Australia and New Zealand, it was only a matter of time before Universities in Ontario decided to not only run their own events but also have a province-wide competition.
In 2012, Queen's, Western and McMaster got together to discuss running an Ontario competition, based on the rules of the original 3MT from the University of Queensland. It was decided that Queen's would host the inaugural competition, with McMaster in 2014 and Western in 2015.
When the call to see how much interest in the rest of the province for the competition, it was incredible to hear that all had an interest and 16 actually registered for the first competition in 2013. Interesting to note that other than Queen's and Western, no other Ontario University had actually run their own event yet!
Queen's University also hosted the 2023 Ontario 3-Minute Thesis at the beautiful lakefront Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, 17th May.
In 2024, Lakehead University hosted the Ontario 3-Minute Thesis, with Queen's participant Julia Tropak (Chemistry) coming in first place and the Participants Choice winner.
In 2025, the University of Toronto hosted the Ontario 3-Minute Thesis, with Queen's Dilakshan Srikanthan (Translational Medicine) taking first place. This makes Queen's a back-to-back O3MT winner!
2025 Participants
-
Tanner Boyle – Lakehead University
Degree: MSc Computer Science (Thesis A.I. Spec)
3MT Presentation Title: “Teaching an MRI to Assist in the Diagnostic Process“ -
Jessica Tomacic – University of Toronto
Degree: Master of Science (MSc) Earth Science
3MT Presentation Title: “A Small Crystal with a Big Impact: Unlocking the History of Mars with Garnet“ -
Justine Alvarado – Trent University
Degree: Master of Science (MSc) in Psychology
3MT Presentation Title:“Beyond the Mirror: Exploring Social Media, Body Image, and Self-Identity in Young Adults“Jessica M. Biasin – Ontario Tech University
Degree: Master of Science (MSc) Forensic Psychology
3MT Presentation Title: “Developmental Patterns of Honesty from Childhood to Adolescence: A Six-Year Longitudinal Investigation“ -
Isabelle Hinch – University of Windsor
Degree: PhD in Biology
3MT Presentation Title: “Breastfeeding does reduce breast cancer risk, but…” -
Karolyn McGovern – Laurentian University
Degree: Master of Science (MSc) in Biology
3MT Presentation Title: “Frogs: The Canaries of Wetlands“ -
Kimia Ghanaatpisheh – Carleton University
Degree: Master of Science (MSc) Physics (specialization in Particle Physics)
3MT Presentation Title: “A cosmic flip-flop “ -
Anna Nickel – Brock University
Degree: Master of Science (MSc) in Applied Health Sciences
3MT Presentation Title: “Seeing Concussion Differently: Rethinking Testing for Athletes with Visual Impairment“ -
Hrishikesh Patil – University of Guelph
Degree: PhD (Biological Engineering)
3MT Presentation Title: Can we protect vitamin B12 and deliver it to the right place? -
Ananya Singh – Nipissing University
Degree: Master of Arts (MA) in Sociology – Applied Social Research
3MT Presentation Title: “Domestic Labour, Fairness, and Fertility Intentions in Canada” -
Mahta Fakhraei Rad – Queen’s University
Degree: Master of Engineering (MASc), Mining Engineering
3MT Presentation Title: “Rare earth elements: seeds of technology“ -
Nameera Shaikh – Toronto Metropolitan University
Degree: Master of Science (MSc) in Occupational and Public Health
3MT Presentation Title: “Acrylonitrile: Invisible but not Harmless“
Judges
- Rob Baker
- Karl Dockstader
- Dr. Janelle Joseph
- Dr. Adam Shoalts
Results History
2013 Results
| Place | Name | University | Title of Presentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Place | Jasdeep Saggar (Medical Biophysics) | University of Toronto | Hypoxia-activated pro-drugs: A novel approach for breast cancer treatment |
| 2nd Place | Abraham Heifets (Computing Science) | University of Toronto | How can we make better medicines? Computer tools for chemistry |
| 3rd Place | Chau-Minh Phan (Vision Science) | University of Waterloo | Treatment of fungal eye infections using contact lenses and nanoparticles |
| Participant's Choice | Michael Taylor (Epidemiology & Biostatistics) | Western University | Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes: An Immigrant Story |
2014 Results
| Place | Name | University | Title of Presentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Place | Dalva Nielsen | Toronto | Do dietary recommendations based on genetics change eating behaviour? |
| 2nd Place | Leslie Nash | Brock | Simplici-tea: Investigating tea as a dietary strategy for better bone health |
| 3rd Place | Muhammad Ali Naqvi | Ryerson | Milk. It does a body good!... but how? |
| 4th Place | Joseph Donohue | Western | Scale-up of a Circulating Fluidized-bed Bioreactor |
| 5th Place | Yasina Somani | Windsor | Getting a grip on high blood pressure with a novel treatment |
| Participant's Choice | Cory Scurr | Wilfrid Laurier | Cold War Warrior? Diefenbaker and Canadian-Soviet Relations |
| Participant's Choice | Muhammad Ali Naqvi | Ryerson | Milk. It does a body good!... but how? |
2015 Results
| Place | Name | University | Title of Presentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Place | Meghan Yip | Guelph | Can we use the skin of our feet for better balance? |
| 2nd Place | Jenna Butler | Western | Computing a Cure for Cancer |
| 3rd Place | Stephen McCarthy | Toronto | Towards an Ebola Cure |
| 4th Place | Chenman (Cara) Yin | Queen's | Seeing the world at the tip of a laser beam |
| 5th Place | Teng Guo | McMaster | Double Rotor Motor: Making 1 + 1 > 2 |
| Participant's Choice | Lacy Bateman | Nipissing | Stories of Violence Against Indigenous Women in Canada: Understanding the Case of Helen Betty Osborne |
2016 Results
| Place | Name | University | Title of Presentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Place | Gah-Jone Won | Waterloo | The development of an antibody-drug conjugate to specifically target and soften the crystalline lens in vivo |
| 2nd Place | Michael Moore | Ryerson | Listening to the "Seeds" of Cancer |
| 3rd Place | Anastasia Shavrova | Queen's | Strategies on Winning the Game of Life |
| 4th Place | Justin Whitaker | Ottawa | Bacto-Glue for you (and better building bases too) |
| 5th Place | Carly Cameron | Brock | Mirror, Mirror on the Wall... |
| Participant's Choice | Carly Cameron | Brock | Mirror, Mirror on the Wall... |
2017 Results
| Place | Name | University | Title of Presentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Place | Richard Kil | Toronto | Blood Testing with Baker's Yeast in Developing Regions |
| 2nd Place | Richard Edwards | Wilfrid Laurier | Chiral Quantum Dots: Lending a Hand in the Fight Against Cancer |
| 3rd Place | Ella Dubinsky | Ryerson | Singing for your Brain |
| 4th Place | Ololade Sanusi | UOIT | Next-Generation Blood Irradiation Systems |
| 5th Place | Shanthanu Krishna Kumar | Guelph | Enhancing Shelf Life of Fruit Using Hexanal |
| Participant's Choice | Richard Kil & Ella Dubinsky | Toronto & Guelph | See above |
2018 Results
| Place | Name | University | Title of Presentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Place | Matthew Berry | McMaster | Scientifically Quantifying the Craft of Acting |
| 2nd Place | Daniella Briotto Faustino | Carleton | Bend Passwords for People with Vision Impairment |
| 3rd Place | Tianqi Xie | Western | Are We Alone? Unlocking the Mystery of the Moon |
| 4th Place | Amélie Litalien | RMC | A Plant Worthy of its Salt |
| 5th Place | Gregory Lui | Waterloo | Photocatalysts: Using Today's Waste to Power the Future |
2019 Results
| Place | Name | University | Title of Presentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Place | Alex Kjorven | Ryerson | The Gamification of Climate Change |
| 2nd Place | Yoah Sui | Western | Sofa, so good? Maybe not |
| 3rd Place | Amanda Brissenden | Queen's | Building Blocks for a Healthier Spine |
| 4th Place | David Patch | RMC | A Slippery Situation: Release of PFAS from Commercial Products |
| 5th Place | Haya Almutairi | Waterloo | Self-Healing Asphalt Pavement |
| Participant's Choice | Yoah Sui | Western | Sofa, so good? Maybe not |
Results 2020
| Place | Name | University | Title of Presentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Place | Amalia Gil (Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering) | Toronto | Identifying Distractions in Surgery with Eye-Tracking |
| 2nd Place | Jessica Allingham (Chemistry) | Lakehead | Brightening Up Brain Injuries |
| 3rd Place | Alice Santilli (Computing) | Queen's | Sniffing Out Breast Cancer |
| 4th Place | Sara Stricker (Plant Agriculture) | Guelph | Know Thy Enemy: Stemphylium Leaf Blight |
| 5th Place | Taryn Fournie (Civil & Environmental Engineering) | Western | What is the value of your poop? |
| Participant's Choice | Taryn Fournie (Civil & Environmental Engineering) | Western | What is the value of your poop? |
As this was still during the pandemic, only three Ontario Universities held a 3MT competition in 2021. So that Ontario was represented at the National 3MT showcase, The 3 Universities – Guelph, Ontario Tech and Queen’s put forward their top two presentations to be adjudicated by a committee of five individuals with expertise in research communication and public engagement including - including – Ursula Gobel, VP of SSHRC; Nicola Luksic, Senior Producer CBC; Evelyn Asiedu, PDFellow and producer of The Good and the Bad of Black Grad; Newsha Arezi, PhD Candidate and 2019 National 3MT Winner; and Rob Baker, guitarist for The Tragically Hip.
The final scores were compiled by staff at the CAGS national office.
The winner of the 2021 Ontario Regional 3MT Competition:
Claire Mindus, PhD Animal Bio Sciences, University of Guelph. “Don’t be Snappy, Be Happy! Preventing Feather Pecking in Chickens Using Probiotic Bacteria.”
Results 2022
| Place | Name | University | Title of Presentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Place | Emeline Means Miller | Ontario Tech | Identifying salivary cytokines associated with prolonged sitting |
| 2nd Place | Vanessa Ruscetta | Toronto Metropolitan | Gaining the upper hand on cancer therapeutics |
| 3rd Place | Atefeh Mohammadi | Toronto | Lung disease in premature babies: Are watermelons the answer? |
| Participant's Choice |
Results 2023
| Place | Name | University | Title of Presentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Place | Emily Majaesic | University of Toronto | Catch a Protein by Its Tail |
| 2nd Place | Sarah Rijkenberg | Ontario Tech University | Go Fish: Using plankton characteristics to monitor Ontario's fish populations |
| 3rd Place | Alexis Harvey | Lakehead University | Training the Socially-Responsible Healthcare Provider |
| Participant's Choice | Jordan Till | Trent University | Paint Me a Picture: Longitudinal Symptom Stability in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder |
Check out the full recordings of each presentation on the SGSPA YouTube channel!
Results 2024
| Place | Name | University | Title of Presentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Place | Julia Tropak | Queen's University | Bacteria: Friend or Foe? |
| 2nd Place | Jordan Carrillo Zurita | Toronto Metropolitan University | Building Better Processed Foods, Block by Block |
| 3rd Place | Madeline Fabiano | Lakehead University | The SHINE Program: Fostering Physical Activity Among Female Undergraduate Students |
| Participant's Choice | Julia Tropak | Queen's University | Bacteria: Friend or Foe? |
Check out the 2024 presentations here!
Results 2025
| Place | Name | University | Title of Presentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Place | Dilakshan Srikanthan | Queen's University | Real-time tumour detection in brain surgery |
| 2nd Place | Salma Bafagih | Ontario Tech University | What’s on your plate? Examining predictor of food literacy among Canadian adults. |
| 3rd Place | Hayden Reaume | Laurentian University | Investigating the role of Natural Background Radiation in Yeast |
| Participant's Choice | Emily Wood | University of Toronto | Turning the page on unfair reading screening. |
Check out the 2025 presentations here!
Results 2026
| Place | Name | University | Title of Presentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Place | Anna Nickel | Brock University | Seeing Concussion Differently: Rethinking Testing for Athletes with Visual Impairment |
| 2nd Place | Isabelle Hinch | University of Windsor | Breastfeeding does reduce breast cancer risk, but… |
| 3rd Place | Jessica M. Biasin | Ontario Tech University | Developmental Patterns of Honesty from Childhood to Adolescence: A Six-Year Longitudinal Investigation |
| Participant's Choice (Tied) | Hrishikesh Patil | University of Guelph | Can we protect vitamin B12 and deliver it to the right place |
| Participant's Choice (Tied) | Anna Nickel | Brock University | Seeing Concussion Differently: Rethinking Testing for Athletes with Visual Impairment |
Check out the 2026 presentations here!