Chemistry

Emily Majaesic wins first place at the Ontario Regionals Three-Minute Thesis competition

siddiq22 — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 19:42:37 +0000

Emily Majaesic wins first place at the Ontario Regionals Three-Minute Thesis competition

Research & Innovation

siddiq22 Thu, 07/06/2023 - 15:42

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St. George

Chemistry

Faculty of Arts & Science

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Emily Majaesic (supplied image)

Third-year Chemistry PhD student Emily Majaesic has won first place at the 2023 Ontario Regional Finals of the Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.

Held on May 17 at Queen’s University, the regional finals followed Majaesic’s first-place win at the University of Toronto’s tenth 3MT competition in April.

The 3MT competition challenges graduate students in thesis-based programs to present their research to a non-expert audience in under three minutes, using one static slide. The presentations are assessed for communication, comprehension and engagement, rather than the quality of the student’s research.

"Distilling a complex concept down to its essence, and then being able to communicate that, is a skill I am glad to have developed," Majaesic said.

For her achievement, Majaesic received a prize of $1,000. In November, she and the second-place winner will represent Ontario at the National 3MT Competition in Victoria, B.C.

“Emily took a complex concept – the early detection of leukemia through protein markers – and not only made it accessible but also humanized it,” said Christopher DeLuca, associate dean at Queen’s University’s School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs.

“Through a personal narrative, humour, and clear communication, Emily’s 3MT talk made us understand the cutting-edge work she is pursuing, which has clear, life-saving potential through the early identification and treatment of diseases.”

The award-winning presentation, "Catch A Protein By Its Tail," refers to Majaesic’s research on the latest application of the enzyme, ClpX. One possible application of this technology is the detection of very low-level biomarker proteins, which could alert doctors to the onset of disease at very early stages.

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Watch Emily's award-winning presentation

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U of T's Dwight Seferos awarded E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship

rahul.kalvapalle — Mon, 06 May 2019 19:17:24 +0000

U of T's Dwight Seferos awarded E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship

Research & Innovation

rahul.kalvapalle Mon, 05/06/2019 - 15:17

Faculty

St. George

Chemistry

Faculty of Arts & Science

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(Photo by Martin Lipman/NSERC)

Dwight Seferos, a professor in the University of Toronto's department of chemistry and the Canada Research Chair in Polymer Nanomaterials, has been awarded one of six E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowships handed out in 2019.

The fellowship, named after pioneering Canadian chemist Edgar William Richard Steacie, recognizes the career achievements of outstanding scientists and engineers at Canadian universities.

Seferos is being honoured for his recent advances in synthetic chemistry, specifically the development of power-storing plastics.

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University Professor Douglas Stephan wins John C. Polanyi Award

rahul.kalvapalle — Mon, 06 May 2019 19:17:12 +0000

University Professor Douglas Stephan wins John C. Polanyi Award

Research & Innovation

rahul.kalvapalle Mon, 05/06/2019 - 15:17

Faculty

St. George

Chemistry

Faculty of Arts & Science

landscape

(Photo by Martin Lipman/NSERC)

University Professor Douglas Stephan of the University of Toronto's department of chemistry has been awarded the John C. Polanyi Award by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

Named after U of T University Professor and Nobel Prize-winner John Polanyi, the award recognizes a Canadian-based individual or team whose research has led to a recent, outstanding advance in the natural sciences or engineering.

Stephan, who is internationally recognized for his work in inorganic chemistry, was honoured for his work in frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs), with NSERC noting that he “took a 100-year-old chemistry process and redesigned it into something cheaper, more efficient and more environmentally friendly.”

Stephan said the Polanyi Award feels different than his other honours because he has come to know Polanyi as a colleague and admires him greatly.

Read the story at U of T News

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