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It was a packed house at the 2025 Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition. More than 150 campus and community members registered to attend the annual event, with seats filling up quickly to get the best view.
Nineteen students representing 13 doctoral programs at the University of Colorado Anschutz had spent months preparing for the opportunity to present their research in the hopes of being crowned this year’s champion. Each competitor was given three minutes to explain their thesis, utilizing only one presentation slide. The biggest challenge? They needed to explain the research in a way that the general, non-scientific public could understand.
Dr. Jennifer Richer, dean of the Graduate School, kicked off the afternoon by welcoming Vice Chancellor of Advancement Scott Arthur to the stage to speak about the importance of building the right narrative to advance scientific pursuits and secure support.
He challenged the scientists in the audience to think about their dreams when talking to people without strong research backgrounds.
“What is your dream? If money and politics wasn’t an issue—I know, it’s kind of hard to imagine— how would your work change the world, or change medicine, or change the student experience,” Arthur said. The answer can help scientists build their stories, build their pictures, and then share their visions.
“And the main thing I want to tell you is, when you’re talking about research, don’t tell me what the science is,” he said. “Tell me what it will do."
The communications and storytelling frameworks Arthur then shared were both beneficial to the competitors in the midst of their graduate education experiences as well as members in the audience working in the scientific field.
Emceed by Dr. Erin Golden, assistant director of the Graduate School’s Postdoctoral Office, the competition began promptly after Arthur’s opening remarks.
The contestants covered a broad range of subjects spanning nearly every school and college on campus, including the School of Medicine, Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, and the Colorado School of Public Health.
"The 2025 Three Minute Thesis Competition was the most exciting yet with such eloquent and courageous doctoral candidates,” Richer said. “These students set an example of how complex biomedical research can be rendered accessible and exciting to any audience.”
At the end of the afternoon, it was Preston Stafford of the Cell Biology, Stem Cells, and.jpg?width=231&height=248&name=3minthesis2025-180%20(1).jpg)
Development program who lifted the newly minted hourglass trophy in victory. His presentation captured the attention of both the judges and the audience, also taking home the People’s Choice Award sponsored by the CU Anschutz Office of Student Affairs.
“It felt good to have the work that I try and do with science communication validated,” Stafford, a third-year student who is also a member of the science communication group Project Bridge, said. “Like, ‘Hey, you can actually convey this in a way that people enjoy listening to and actually want to hear from you.’ That’s something I’ve tried to craft over the last decade.”
Stafford was one of the students who took advantage of the 3MT workshops offered by the Graduate School’s Career Development Office in the lead up to competition. He said the most valuable thing about them was the feedback received by fellow competitors and workshop facilitators, giving participants helpful tweaks for their analogies and presentation slides.
As far as advice for future competitors, Stafford shared three elements.
“First, be yourself. At the end of the day, you can’t force yourself to change how you present. You have to be comfortable with who you are. Second would be, put some actual thought into it. Think about people who don’t talk science all day, every day. I know I found myself struggling with this,” he said. “Being able to notice what is jargon and what’s not takes a little bit more focus and concentration as you go through the process of making the presentation. Third one is just have fun. Science is the most amazing field to be in. Have fun while you’re explaining these cool things that we’re doing.”
Stafford wasn’t the only one to take home prizes at the event. Second place went to Dorah Labatte of the Epidemiology program and third went to Morgan Fox of Cancer Biology. Honorable mentions were given to five more contestants for their high marks from the judges: Rachel Cohen (Immunology and Medical Scientist Training Program), Utibeabasi Ettah (Toxicology), Danielle Heebner (Pharmacology and Molecular Medicine), JP Martin (Cell Biology, Stem Cells, and Development), and Charmie Vang (Microbiology).
Having won the CU Anschutz competition, Stafford will now move onto the Western Association of Graduate Schools (WAGS) Regional 3MT Competition as well as the Colorado Statewide 3MT Competition hosted by Metropolitan State University of Denver. Last year’s CU Anschutz winner, Grecia Rivera Palomino of the Microbiology program, took first at the statewide competition and received honorable mention at the regional contest.
“I’m going to try to go as far as I can. I know there’s a national competition at some point after regional, so I will do my best to see if what I can do in person translates to a Zoom,” Stafford said, referencing the virtual format of the WAGS competition.
Further out than the 3MT contests in his immediate future, Stafford has his eye on another scientific legacy.
“I hope that my career can leave somewhat of a positive impact on scientific education. I hope that with science communication, I can leave a legacy behind that props up science and really energizes the youth,” Stafford said. “At the end of the day, it is a group of people who are wicked smart, all looking for what is real, and that is the best that anyone can hope for out of this field.”
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