PhD student's 'Three Minute Thesis' success

Áine claimed first prize at the recent University of Edinburgh final for her excellent presentation explaining her work on Parkinson's disease. Áine will now go forward and represent the University at the international Universitas 21 (U21) competition later this year.

PhD students are challenged to present their research to a non-specialist audience in just three minutes. 

When the stars misalign in Parkinson's

Áine explained that her PhD research focuses on the progressive neurological condition Parkinson's disease.

The goal of my PhD is to use a human stem cell model to understand the differences in a type of star-shaped brain cell called astrocytes between those with Parkinson’s and healthy individuals. 

Originally from Ireland, Áine moved to Edinburgh for her PhD and is currently in the final year and starting to write up her thesis. A fun fact from Áine was that in order to make the 3-Minute Thesis final in Edinburgh, she had to catch a midnight flight from Crete, where she had just presented her research at an international conference. She delivered her presentation in a sleep-deprived, coffee-fuelled state, but felt that luckily it didn't appear to show, and she went on to win the competition!

Thesis challenge

The 3-Minute Thesis competition was first developed by the University of Queensland in 2008, but quickly spread around the world. Each U21 member university competes against the others in the 3-Minute Thesis competition. Before that, each University holds a competition internally to select a local winner. This winner then goes forward (via video submission) to the U21 final to be judged by an international panel.

University of Edinburgh final

Watch Áine giving her presentation at the University of Edinburgh final that was held in June 2024.

We would like to wish Áine every success in the international finals!

Related links

Áine Heffernan's profile

Research and trials

Universitas 21 website (external website)