2020 UCalgary Three Minute Thesis Finals
24 July 2020
UCalgary at the 2020 3MT Western Regionals
Sophia Shah, a masters student from Biomedical Engineering represented UCalgary at the 2020 Western Regional 3MT competition with her talk Epidural fat stem cells: do not discard.
The event was virtually hosted by the University of Alberta on Sept 23, 2020.

Sophia Shah, Biomedical engineering student and 2020 UCalgary 3MT winner
Sophia Shah
Re-watch our 2020 UCalgary Virtual 3MT finalists in action!
Missed the action in summer 2020? Well you are in luck! You can re-watch the final showdown, live-interviews with the participants, and a blooper reel below.
Congratulations to our 2020 UCalgary Virtual 3MT winners!
1st Place: Sophia Shah, Biomedical Engineering. Epidural fat stem cells: do not discard
2nd Place and People's Choice: Samiha Mohsen, Medicine - Community Health Sciences. Impact of family presence on critically ill patients
3rd Place: Iulia Bodnariuc, Chemistry. Designing a THC roadside test using a protein from our brain
Sophia Shah
1st place winner
Iulia Bodnariuc
3rd place winner
Akshita Tangri
Nikolas Ewasechko
Samiha Mohsen
2nd place winner and People's Choice
Alexandra (Alexa) Boesel
Kapilan Panchendrabose
2020 UCalgary 3MT Guest Judges


John Larsen
Member of the Board of Governors, Glenbow Museum
Executive Vice President, Edelman Canada


Top Performers in the 2020 UCalgary Three Minute Thesis Competition
The top two students from each heat (with the exception of heat 2) will move on to the finals.
Heat 1
- 1st Place: Akshita Tangri, Electrical and Computer Engineering. High efficiency power amplifiers - moves on to the finals
- 2nd Place: Alexa Boesel, Geography. Coyotes in the Foothills- moves on to the finals
- 3rd Place: Chelsea Greer, Geography. Let's talk about the captive elephant in the room
Heat 2
- 1st Place and Presenter’s People’s Choice: Sophia Shah, Biomedical Engineering. Epidural fat stem cells: do not discard - moves on to the finals
- 2nd Place: Kapilan Panchendrabose, Biomedical Engineering. The clot thickens… - moves on to the finals
- 3rd Place: Iulia Bodnariuc, Chemistry. Designing a THC roadside test - moves on to the finals
Heat 3
- 1st Place (TIE): Samiha Mohsen, Medicine - Community Health Sciences. Impact of family presence on critically ill patients - moves on to the finals
- 1st Place (TIE): Nikolas Ewasechko, Medicine - Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Creating a more effective vaccine against Haemophilus influenzae - moves on to the finals
- 3rd Place: Jess Gurnsey, Nursing. Children with autism and their nurses working alongside one another
- 4th Place: Isabel Ramos Fandino, Sociology. International student experiences in Canada
Congratulations to our finalists!
- Akshita Tangri, Electrical and Computer Engineering. High efficiency power amplifiers
- Alexandra Boesel, Geography. Coyotes in the Foothills
- Iulia Bodnariuc, Chemistry. Designing a THC roadside test using a protein from our brain
- Kapilan Panchendrabose, Biomedical Engineering. The clot thickens…or does it?
- Nikolas Ewasechko, Medicine - Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Creating a more effective vaccine against Haemophilus influenzae
- Samiha Mohsen, Medicine - Community Health Sciences. Impact of family presence on critically ill patients
- Sophia Shah, Biomedical Engineering. Epidural fat stem cells: do not discard
Congratulations to our UCalgary Three Minute Thesis winners. The 1st place winner will represent UCalgary in the regional competition:
- 1st Place: Sophia Shah, Biomedical Engineering. Epidural fat stem cells: do not discard
- 2nd Place and People's Choice: Samiha Mohsen, Medicine - Community Health Sciences. Impact of family presence on critically ill patients
- 3rd Place: Iulia Bodnariuc, Chemistry. Designing a THC roadside test using a protein from our brain
UCalgary on the national stage
To date, four UCalgary 3MT winners have gone to Canadian Nationals resulting in two national champions and one national People's Choice award winner, making the University of Calgary the most accomplished institution in the history of Canada's 3MT competition.

Elizabeth Watt
2015 Canadian National Champion
Program: Physics and Astronomy. Supervisor: Dr. Tyler Meyer, PhD.
Permanent Breast Seed Implant: Improving Patient Experience in Early-stage Breast Cancer.

Aprami Jaggi
2017 Western Regional Champion and Finalist, Canadian Nationals
Program: Geoscience. Supervisors: Dr. Steve R. Larter, PhD and Dr. Thomas B.P. Oldenburn, PhD
The Ultimate Fate of Oil in the Marine Environment Following Spillage.

Chidera Nwaroh
2018 Canadian National Champion
Program: Medical Science. Supervisor: Dr. Ashley Harris, PhD.
A Virtual Biopsy: Detecting Metabolite Changes in the Brain.

Laura Rios Carreno
2019 Canadian National People's Choice Winner
Program: Chemical and Petroleum Engineering. Supervisor: Dr. Martin Jasso, PhD.
Modification of Asphalt with Reactive Polymers for Quality Enhancement of the Pavement.