We are delighted to announce that James McMullan, a PhD researcher working within NICHE in the School of Biomedical Sciences, has won the 2024 UK Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) People’s Choice Award, sponsored by Universal Impact, 2024!
The Vitae Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition is in its tenth year of hosting this exciting competition for PhD Researchers across the UK and Ireland, challenging them to communicate their research in just three minutes using non-specialist language and just one Powerpoint slide. It would normally take 9 hours to present an 80,000 word thesis!
In only three minutes, James presented his research on “Start Young, Live Long: is reeling in a tasty catch the secret to longevity?” at the final which was broadcast live on 2 October.
James's research examines the role of fish consumption in healthy ageing in his unique multidisciplinary project supervised by Professor Emeir McSorley, Dr Alison Yeates, Dr Philip Allsopp, Dr Maria Mulhern and Professor Sean Strain (Ulster University) as well as Professor Karin Broberg (Karolinska Institute) and Professor Edwin van Wijngaarden (University of Rochester, USA).
In June 2024, James beat stiff competition from fellow Ulster PhD researchers to win the Ulster 3MT® Judges’ Choice AND People’s Choice Award after impressing the audience with his confident presentation. He then went on to compete with five other finalists whittled down from entrants from 65 universities across the UK and Ireland.
Ulster University has an impressive record of success at the UK Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition since we started taking part seven years ago! We have reached the Semi-Final stages every year and reached the overall 3MT® Final four times and have now scooped our THIRD People’s Choice Award. Yasna Najmi won the People’s Choice Award in 2022 and Oluwashina Akinsanmi won the People’s Choice Award in 2019!
Lisa Thompson from the Ulster University Doctoral College said:
“Huge congratulations to James McMullan from Ulster University for being the winner of the People’s Choice Award for the Vitae Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT®)! The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) celebrates academic excellence but also underscores the importance of clear communication in making research accessible to a broader audience – and James was fantastic at this.
"I would like to thank James and all the other PhD Researchers who took part in the challenge this year, showcasing the excellent PhD research at Ulster University. Once again, this year our 3MT® Finalists at Ulster did an amazing job of communicating their research and we are delighted to have supported them in the process.
"We are so proud of James and this magnificent achievement!”
Professor Emeir McSorley, is one of James’s supervisors and notes:
“We extend our heartfelt congratulations to James for embracing the challenge of the 3MT competition with such passion and dedication. His commitment to communicating complex research in a clear and compelling way reflects the spirit of innovation and excellence that drives this competition. We are incredibly proud of his achievements and wish him continued success in all his future endeavours.”
View the video of James’s 3MT® final submission that saw him being named winner of the People’s Choice Award.