2026 3MT winner Jessica Tomacic with Sarah Sharma, acting vice-dean, research and program innovation at the School of Graduate Studies (photo credit: Andy Jibb (Full Effect Media))

Master of Science student Jessica Tomacic from the department of earth sciences is the winner of this year’s University of Toronto Three Minute Thesis (3MT) final. Jessica’s engaging presentation “A Small Crystal with a Big Impact: Unlocking the History of Mars with Garnet” came out on top in a final where the strength and variety of U of T graduate research was on full display. Presentations ranged from a recipe for accurate cancer treatment to an in-depth ethnography and analysis of citizen-led practices in the search for the disappeared. Finalists represented 10 graduate units across diverse disciplines including pharmacy, astronomy and astrophysics, medicine, biochemistry, nutrition, criminology and sociolegal studies, and engineering.
 
The second- and third-place prizes went to master’s student Alessia Pileggi from the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy for “Radiopharmaceuticals: Hitting the “Bullseye” of Cancer Therapy” and PhD student Nathan Reyes from the Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies for “The Heart of the Search: Examining the Citizen-Led Search for the Disappeared as an Act of Resistance”. PhD candidate Kate Kazlovich from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering took home the People’s Choice Award for her presentation “No Patients Were Harmed in the Making of This Research”.

Eighty participants, eight heats and three semifinals all led to the U of T 3MT final held March 25 in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the William Doo Auditorium on the St. George campus. Twelve finalists had just three minutes and one static presentation slide to explain their highly specialized thesis research to a non-expert audience. And six judges from across the university community had the difficult task of choosing winners from just under an hour’s worth of fascinating research and captivating presentations.

As Sarah Sharma, acting vice-dean, research and program innovation, noted, “Never has it been more important for our students to articulate their incredibly complex research to a wider public. These students did so with remarkable breadth and brilliance, and it was an absolute privilege to be in the room with them.”

The 3MT® is an academic research communication program developed in 2008 by the University of Queensland, Australia, that has since expanded to include events at over 900 universities across more than 85 countries. Since 2013, the School of Graduate Studies has presented the U of T 3MT, with participants receiving feedback and coaching as they work on their presentations across all three rounds. Winners receive cash prizes ranging from $200 to $1,250, and the first-place winner has an opportunity to represent U of T at the regional and provincial 3MT showcases.

The winners and finalists are all smiles after an exciting U of T 3MT final. (Photo by Andy Jibb (Full Effect Media))

Congratulations to all the finalists and to this year’s U of T 3MT winners!

1st place
Jessica Tomacic, MSc student, Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Arts & Science
A Small Crystal with a Big Impact: Unlocking the History of Mars with Garnet

2nd Place
Alessia Pileggi, MSc student, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy
Radiopharmaceuticals: Hitting the “Bullseye” of Cancer Therapy

3rd Place
Nathan Reyes, PhD student, Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies, Faculty of Arts & Science
The Heart of the Search: Examining the Citizen-Led Search for the Disappeared as an Act of Resistance

People’s Choice
Kate Kazlovich, PhD candidate, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
No Patients Were Harmed in the Making of This Research

Finalists in alphabetical order

Camila Aprosoff, Department of Biochemistry
Riya Dama, Institute of Medical Science
Kate Kazlovich, Institute of Biomedical Engineering
Michelle Lau, Department of Nutritional Sciences
Kristen Li, Department of Physiology
Emma Lord, Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry
Alessia Pileggi, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy
Michael Poon, David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics
Megh Rathod, Institute of Biomedical Engineering
Dharsan Ravindran, Institute of Biomedical Engineering
Nathan Reyes, Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies
Jessica Tomacic, Department of Earth Sciences

Learn more about the U of T 3MT and watch the finalists’ presentations.