2026's 3MT Competitors and Topics
Finalist
Check Back on February 13th!
Preliminary Competitors
Christy Anthony, "Destigmatizing Dialogue as Violence Prevention: How Bystander Intervention Trainers Incorporate Culturally Relevant Pedagogy"
Doctorate in Education, Graduate School of Education and Human Development, Advisor: Dr. Deniece Dortch
Ashley Bastin, "Trained to Destroy: Uncovering the Causes of HIV-Associated Dementias"
PhD Biological Sciences, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Advisors: Dr. Tara Scully and Dr. Michael Bukrinsky
Ananya Bhardwaj "The Empire Gives Meaning: Migrant Stories of Land Dispossession, Climate Crisis, and Planetary Exclusions"
PhD English, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Advisors: Dr. Kavita Daiya and Dr. Jennifer James
Nayoung Bishoff, "Multisensory Heterotopia: Women’s Spaces in East Asian Cinematic Adaptations of Shakespeare"
PhD English, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Alexa Alice Joubin
Tommy DeStefanis, "Identifying HIV Resistance Pathways to Broadly Neutralizing Antibody Therapies"
PhD Microbiology & Immunology, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Rebecca Lynch
Zhuqing Ding, "Adult Learners’ Exploration of Self/Other Relationship in Difficult Dialogues Through Embodied Theater-Based Learning: Polarization in Higher Education and Possible Ways Forward"
PhD Human and Organizational Learning. Graduate School of Education and Human Development, Advisor: Dr. Yoshie Nakamura
Amber Douglass, "How Platelets Shape the Antitumor Activity of Vδ2 T Cells"
PhD Cancer Biology, School of Medicine and Health Sciences , Advisor: Dr. Sanjay Maggirwar
Egemen Erbayat, "Optimizing Power-Enabled Fronthaul and Information Freshness in Mobile Edge Computing Networks"
PhD Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Suresh Subramaniam
Mariana Fagundes Grilo, "Do Non-sugar-sweetener Warning Labels Change What Parents Buy? A Grocery Store Randomized Trial"
PhD Exercise Physiology and Applied Nutrition, Milken Institute School of Public Health, Advisor: Dr. Allison Sylvetsky Do non-sugar-sweetener warning labels change what parents buy? A grocery store randomized trial
Nick Foreman, "Exercise Prevents the Negative Effects of High-Fat Foods"
PhD Exercise Physiology and Applied Nutrition, Milken Institute School of Public Health, Advisor: Dr. Matthew Barberio
Gabriel Galeotos, "Characterizing the Autologous CD4bs Antibody Response in HIV-1 Clinical Trial Participants"
PhD Microbiology & Immunology, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Rebecca Lynch
Soumi Ganguly, "Imperial Intimacies: Forced Displacement from Sri Lanka and Myanmar"
PhD English, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Advisors: Dr. Kavita Daiya and Dr. Benjamin Hopkins
Abigail Haffey, "Combination TCR-CAR T Cells Improve CAR T Cell Persistence and Cytotoxicity against High-Grade Gliomas"
PhD Cancer Biology, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Dalia Haydar
Clarissa Halpern, "Investigating HIV Infection in Platelets and Megakaryocytes"
PhD Microbiology & Immunology, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Sanjay Maggirwar
Zhenzhen He, "Peroxide Disinfection of Vesicle-Cloaked Murine Norovirus Clusters: Vesicle Membranes Protect Viruses from Inactivation"
PhD Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Danmeng Shuai
Pingfan Hu, "Measuring Consumer Willingness to Enroll in Battery Electric Vehicle Smart Charging Programs"
PhD Systems Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Advisor: Dr. John Paul Helveston
Erin Jones, "Mechanisms for Attenuating Cognitive Decline Caused by Neuroinflammation"
PhD Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Advisor: Dr. John Bethea
Ashley Karraro, "Instructional Coaching on Teacher Retention and Self-Efficacy"
PhD Education Policy, Graduate School of Education and Human Development, AdvisorL Dr. Josh Glazer
Bridget Kelly, "Prioritization of Menstrual Health on the Global Agenda"
Doctor of Public Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, Advisor: Dr. Karen McDonnell
Wael Khalifa, "AI-Driven Drug Repurposing for Lung Cancer (NSCLC)"
PhD Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Advisor: Dr. James Lola
Minsoo Khang, "Autonomic Sensitivity and ASMR: A Polyvagal-Theoretic Examination of Triggers, Misophonia, and Adverse Childhood Experiences"
PhD Counselor Education, Graduate School of Education and Human Development, Advisor: Dr. Sylvia Marotta-Walters
Xinxia Li, "Understanding Peer Relationships for Adolescent Girls with ADHD: Content Analysis on Voices Shared on TikTok"
EdD Special Education, School of Education and Human Development, Advisor: Dr. Elisabeth Rice
Gefei Lin, "Advancing Risk Prediction in Sickle Cell Disease Using Multi-task Deep Learning"
PhD Statistics, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Xiaoke Zhang
Qingyu Liu, "Decoding the Crash: Can We Predict Financial Bubbles?"
PhD Economics, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Roberto Samaniego
Abby McClain, "Death and Friendship in Wild Apes"
PhD Anthropology, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Carson Murray
Jocelyn McDaniel, "How Fair is Fair?"
PhD Human and Organizational Learning, Graduate School of Education and Human Development , Advisor: Dr. Ellen Scully Russ
Claudia Melo, "Fc-Optimized Antibodies Enhance NK-Cell Clearance of HIV-Infected Cells"
PhD Microbiology & Immunology, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Alberto Bosque
Tim O'Neal, "Lifestyle Behaviors and Cardio Metabolic Risk Clustering in Adolescents Living in the US"
PhD Exercise Physiology and Applied Nutrition, Milken Institute School of Public Health, Advisor: Loretta DiPietro
Jahlani Odujole, "Addressing Algorithmic Bias in Facial Recognition: An AI-Driven Approach to Fairness"
PhD Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Advisor: Dr. John Fossaceca
Shem Opolot, "A Blueprint for Health: Why Isn't It Built Yet?"
Doctor of Public Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, Advisor: Dr. Nino Paichadze
Hasara Rathnasekara, "When borders go digital: Evidence from India's Ban on Chineses Apps"
PhD Economics, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Maggie Chen
Kavya Ravindranath, "Raising Revenues: A Study of Property Taxes in India"
PhD Economics, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Elira Kuka
Pedro Rodriguez-Martinez, "The Within-Family Labor Market Effects of Incarceration: Evidence from Ecuador"
PhD Economics, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Paul Carrillo
Matthew Rohn, "Going Going I Don’t Know Where": African American Migrating Campaigns in the Insular and Indian Territory
PhD History, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Quito Swan
Han Su, "Regularized Ensemble Forecasting Integrating Past and Present Information"
PhD Statistics , Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Xiaoke Zhang
Leenu Sugathan, "The Aesthetics of Human Rights: Caste, Race, and Gender in Indian and South Asian American Literatures"
PhD English, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Kavita Daiya
Elton VanNoy, "Epigenetic Modulation During CAR T Cell Manufacturing: Advancing Immunotherapeutic Strategies for Pediatric Glioma"
PhD Pharmacology & Physiology, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Dalia Haydar
Layvon Washington, "Red Lines in the Genome: A Comparative Analysis of Biotechnology Investments in Genome Manipulation and Their Implications for National Security in the US and EU (1990 – 2024)"
PhD Public Policy & Public Administration, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Kathy Newcomer
Sydney Woods, "Serotonergic Dysregulation and Social Dysfunction following Early Life Stress"
PhD Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Abigail Polter
Donghao Wu, "Spending Shifts in Response to Remote Work: Evidence from Transaction Data in Metropolitan Areas"
PhD Economics, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Leah Brooks
Mehmet Yapar, "Noninvasive Organ Pressure Estimation Using Ultrasound Contrast Agents"
PhD Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Advisor: Dr. Kausik Sarkar