Meet Our Twelve 3MT Participants for 2019!

Mariken Stegmann – Medical Sciences

My name is Mariken Stegmann, and I’m 32 years old. I’m combining my vocational training for general practitioner with a PhD project. My research topic is communication in oncology and the role of the general practitioner in this process.

During the 3 minute thesis competition I will present the results of the PION-project (Patient Information exchange in ONcology). We studied which information general practitioners and oncologists share and how we can improve this communication. I think this is a very important subject, because communication difficulties can have direct negative effects on patients, such as prescribing the wrong medication, being too late with blood checks, and omitting to offer emotional support when needed. Improvements in the communication, however they sometimes may seem small or simple, can make the difference.

I love my job, especially the possibility to combine research, teaching and working in a general practice. And fortunately there is also enough time left for rowing, running and all other beautiful things in life.

Eleonora Bailoni – Science and Engineering

I am deeply intrigued by a fundamental scientific question. What is life? In other words: what is the minimal ensemble of molecules that makes a cell alive? Synthetic biologists aim to understand the complex mechanisms of life by constructing a minimal synthetic cell from the bottom up. They exploit well-characterized functional building blocks with the ultimate goal of achieving self-encoded metabolism, growth and division. With my work, I aim to increase the complexity of current synthetic systems by bringing metabolism and growth together. I intend to couple a system for metabolic energy regeneration to a pathway for phospholipid biosynthesis. By providing all required substrates, I hope to achieve autonomous membrane growth fueled by self-regenerated energy – bringing us a step closer to the construction of a synthetic cell. The 3MT competition represents for me a great occasion to share my enthusiasm for my work. For the first time, I have the opportunity to develop my communication skills to address a broad and non-specialized audience. By using a simplified language, I hope to reach and inspire the public with what I consider the most charming scientific question.

Yannick Hill - Psychology

I am currently doing my PhD at the department of psychology. More specifically, my research is embedded in the Talent Development & Creativity program, which combines several units within the department, such as developmental psychology and psychometrics. Mainly, I focus on predicting breakdowns and breakthroughs in athletic careers. To do so, I primarily employ a dynamical systems approach to resilience (i.e., the process of adapting to stressors). I am convinced that predictions about whether a person fails to adapt to a stressor or even thrives from experiencing adversity can be improved by understanding and capturing the complexity of this process.

My main motivation to participate in this competition is to share my research with others, learn from other competitors how they approach their research topics, and improve my overall presentation skills by learning to convey as much information as possible in just 3 minutes time.

José Luis Flores-Guerrero – Medical Sciences

Since December 2017 I am working as PhD candidate in the department of Nephrology of the University Medical Centre Groningen. In addition, I am a board member of the Aletta Talents Network of the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health (RUG), where I promote the exchange and collaboration among people from different fields.

I am interested in the axis nutrition - gut microbiota - cardiometabolic disease. My research activities have been centred on the characterization of new biomarkers for early detection of diabetic kidney disease, T2D, cardiovascular events and mortality. I work on large and long term cohorts to assess metabolomic and proteomic biomarkers. My work has contributed to describe the use of a multidimensional biomarker that contains 273 peptides to detect the progression of diabetic kidney disease and mortality. I have also worked with a polybiomarker of different lipid species and branched chain amino acids, as predictors of new onset of diabetes.

Besides research, I am interested in education and science divulgation. Therefore I find the 3MT a very exciting forum to share with everyone not only my research, but my passion for it! My enthusiasm for science divulgation drove me to work with the international organization Teach For All-MX, teaching natural sciences and promoting STEM careers in schools located in high need areas in Mexico. Moreover, I strongly believe that the only way to face the biggest problems of humanity is through the transdisciplinary action. So, the 3MT is an extraordinary opportunity to bring together the new generation of scientists (from all fields!) to learn from each other.

Anouk Willems – Science and Engineering

My name is Anouk Willems and I am currently in my second year of my PhD at the University of Groningen in collaboration with Van Hall Larenstein, University of Applied Sciences in Leeuwarden. For my research I am looking into the effect of change in dietary patterns on mental and physical complaints and the gut microbiome. I am participating in this competition because I think it is nice to learn to better introduce my research in an understandable and concise matter. Also because my project “Eten voor de Wetenschap” is based on citizen science, I am dependent on the general population to participate in my research. In Leeuwarden I am also a teacher and I think the presentation skills I will gain, will help me be better at that.

In my spare time I like to be as active as possible both on and off the athletics track. On the track I am a sprinter, with preference for the shortest distances and the occasional sidestep to long jumping. Off the track I am currently organizing the next Dutch Student Championships for athletics.

Suzanne Schot - Criminal Law and Criminology

My research focusses on testimonies of witnesses and those accused of international crimes – such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity – who testify about what happened. More specifically, I focus on potential distortions in testimonial evidence of such crimes. In this regard, my project considers how testimonies are collected, presented and challenged in the courtroom, and how they are eventually assessed by judges who determine whether or not the accused can be held responsible.

I am participating in the 3 Minute Thesis Competition because it offers the opportunity to not only communicate my research to a broader audience but also to train my communication and presentation skills, which I believe are all very important aspects of conducting scientific research.
It also gives me the opportunity to work together with other enthusiastic PhD students from various disciplines. I look very much forward to present my research to a broader audience, and hope that by doing so I can highlight the importance of research into international criminal law and evidence.

Malou Luchtenberg - Medical Sciences

I am currently in training to become a medical doctor, and at the same time working on my PhD research in Ethics and Pediatrics at the University Medical Center Groningen. The aim of my research is to give a voice to children who participate in medical research. I believe that both in research and medical practice, young people should be involved in every single step according to their individual needs and wishes. Within my research, I work with people from different backgrounds, countries and cultures, who are researchers or members of the public, children or adults. All these people bring valuable insights from their own perspectives. This does not only bring research to a higher level, it also enriches my personal life.

I like to challenge myself and I always look for opportunities to communicate science to a broader audience. To me it’s important to share our knowledge with everyone that might benefit from it, and thereby to bridge the gap between the academic world and society. That’s why I decided to participate in the 3MT competition.

Nutifafa Doumon – Science and Engineering

My name is Nutifafa. I am an upcoming Physicist and Nanoscientist, a receiver and giver of knowledge. Originally from Ghana, I have lived and studied in Togo, Ghana, and Nigeria before moving to The Netherlands. Facing new challenges is core to my very existence. My interests lie in education, leadership, energy, and energy transition among others for the future betterment of Africa and the world.

I currently work at the UG, with Prof. L. Jan Anton Koster at the Photophysics and Opto-Electronics department of the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, Faculty of Science and Engineering. I research Organic Electronics, i.e. Physics of Novel Semiconductors and Devices focusing especially on organic solar cells. My current goal is to understand the degradation of organic solar cells and how to make them more stable. It is about renewable energy sources, making use of the sun. It is not only about solar energy, but also about greener materials to generate this energy.

For me, the 3MT competition is a new challenge: To talk to people about a very crucial subject and at the same time to clearly summarize the research I have been conducting over several years in 3 minutes. I am excited to have been selected for the 3MT competition. If nothing at all, I hope I can make the audience rethink Solar Energy.

Femke Cnossen – Economics and Business

My name is Femke Cnossen and my work is to study work. I am a PhD student in labour economics from the faculty of economics and business. Here, I spend my days studying the effects of automation and globalization on the wages and careers of Dutch workers. Some of these workers are left empty-handed, because firms are offshoring work to cheaper countries or replacing workers by robots, machines and computers. Over the past decades, this has created inequalities between different groups of workers. The highly skilled workers are thriving: their wages are higher than ever and their employment is secure. On the other hand, some other workers are hurt by these trends. I am trying to discover who has benefited and who hasn’t.

In my work, I continuously try to find the balance between scientific and societal relevance. To me, it is not only important to work hard behind my desk, but also to share my research, my questions and my findings with the world. As a PhD student, you have great opportunities to do so, and I try to enjoy it as much as I can. Together with other people, both within and outside my field of expertise, I believe we can strengthen our ideas and improve our research. This is also why I am participating in the 3MT-competition: I want to share my research with a larger audience and make everyone as enthusiastic about it as I am!

Melanie Reijrink – Medical Sciences

My name is Melanie Reijrink and I am 24 years old. Since 2017 I am happy to perform a unique project within the Graduate School of Medical Sciences, the MD/PhD tract. In a total of 5 years I am combining my clinical development in the field of medicine with scientific progress. With a multi-disciplinary team we aim to get novel insights in the role of adipose tissue in vascular ageing, especially in patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease. The translational projects follow a bench-to-bed approach which makes it a very versatile tract. I am participating in the competition because of the interest in speaking intriguingly and the challenging feature of pitches.

Gideon Vos – Science and Engineering

I'm a theoretical physics PhD student at the VSI and my work falls in the broad category of string theory. This particular subject has the unfortunate public perception tied to it that it is hopelessly impenetrable to anyone other than a small number of overzealous devotees. My aim is to demonstrate that this is not quite fair, the details may be shrouded in mathematical formalism, but the core ideas are often quite accessible.

I will apply this mindset to my own research topic, which is focused on the holographic principle. One of the holy grails of physics is to find a framework that unites the two pillars of early 20th century physics, gravity and quantum mechanics. Lately, string theory has shed light on a potential reason why this merger has been so evasive. It turns out that our image of our universe as a big sphere containing gravitating objects is perhaps severely misguided and the fundamental constituents that make up our universe only live on the edge of the sphere. Similar to how the grooves of a 2d hologram encode a full three-dimensional picture, hence the name holographic principle.

The gateway to understanding the link between gravitating objects inside the sphere and the constituents on the edge is deeply rooted in the physics of the largest interstellar objects, black holes. This is summarized in a main question; how are black holes similar to cups of tea? I will not be able to answer this in full, but I will clarify why it makes sense to ask the question in the first place.

Minita Franzen - Psychology

I am a 3rd year PhD student in the department of Clinical Psychology & Experimental Psychopathology at the University of Groningen. I am investigating whether interpersonal behaviors and perceptions (i.e., interpersonal styles) can help explain why victims of bullying have a higher chance of developing depressive symptoms. Possibly, being victimized by dominant, aggressive people might lead victims to become more submissive, withdrawn, and losing self-esteem. This can interfere with building new relationships and can increase social isolation, well-known precursors for depression. I am testing this by assessing everyday-life behaviors and perceptions during social interactions using a smartphone app and by conducting a virtual-reality experiment. Identifying interpersonal styles of behavior of victims can help tailor interventions and psychotherapy to reduce the negative mental health consequences of bullying.

Participating in the 3MT competition offers me the great opportunity to raise awareness about my research while practicing how to best communicate the what, why, and how of my PhD project to people inside and outside my field.