“One in six people will develop knee osteoarthritis by the time they are 60 years old,” began Sydney Womack, a biomedical and biological sciences doctoral candidate and doctor of veterinary medicine student, at the 10th Cornell University Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. “Osteoarthritis is a joint disease which causes symptoms like pain and stiffness, and there are no drugs available that can slow the progression of the disease and are safe for people to use in the long term. Don’t you wish we had a way to really study diseases like osteoarthritis and develop new therapies?”

Credit: Simon Wheeler for Cornell University

Alongside seven other finalists, Womack presented her dissertation research in just three minutes on March 19 to a panel of judges and an audience from across campus while additional friends, family, advisors and lab mates watched online. Presentations were judged by how clearly and compellingly students summarized their research to a general audience, using only one static slide.

Womack’s presentation, “Joint Disease Across Species: The Bee’s Knees,” earned her first place and $1,500. Second place and $1,000 was awarded to food science and technology doctoral candidate Ranee Anderson for her presentation, “Phage on Patrol: A High-Speed Biosensor for Salmonella.”

Read more on the Graduate School website.