Postdoc Research Slam 2024
Present your Research and Win!
The Postdoctoral Scholar Office invites all current postdoctoral scholars to participate in the 5th annual Postdoc Research Slam. Practice your communication skills and compete for great prizes!
Each competitor will have the opportunity to deliver a three-minute thesis (3MT) presentation. Judges will score based on communication style, comprehension, and engagement.
The Postdoc Research Slam will be held in February of 2024.
Contest Timeline
- All participants must be current postdoctoral scholars at the University of Calgary
- This event is for individual competitors. No pairs or groups will be permitted
- A single static PowerPoint slide is permitted (no slide transitions, animations or 'movement' of any description, the slide is to be presented from the beginning of the oration). Images used in the slide must be your own, or you must have permission from the owner of the photo(s) and provide proper credit(s).
- No additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files) are permitted.
- No additional props (e.g. costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment, laser pointers or note cards) are permitted.
- Presentations are limited to 3 minutes maximum.
- Presentations that go over 3 minutes will have marks deducted from scoring.
- Presentations are to be spoken word (e.g. no poems, raps or songs).
- Presentations must be based on research directly related to the postdoctoral scholar’s research.
- Presentations are to commence from the stage.
- Presentations are considered to have commenced when a presenter starts their presentation through movement or speech.
- The decision of the adjudicating panel is final.
Each of the three judging criteria has equal weight. Note that each criterion has an emphasis on the audience.
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Communication style:
- Was the research topic and its significance communicated in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience?
- Did the speaker use sufficient eye contact and vocal range, maintain a steady pace, and a confident stance?
- Did the speaker avoid scientific jargon, explain terminology, and provide adequate background information to illustrate points?
- Did the speaker spend the right amount of time on each element of their presentation - or did they elaborate for too long or were they rushed?
- Did the PowerPoint slide enhance, rather than detract, from their presentation - was it clear, legible, and concise?
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Comprehension:
- Did the presentation help the audience understand the research?
- Did the presenter clearly outline the nature and aims of the research?
- Was the significance of the presenter's research clearly outlined?
- Did the presentation follow a logical sequence?
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Engagement:
- Did the presentation make the audience want to know more?
- Was the presenter careful not to trivialize or 'dumb-down' the research?
- Did the presenter convey enthusiasm for their research?
- Did the presenter capture and maintain their audience's attention?
- Did the presentation make me want to know more about the speaker's research?
2023 Postdoc Research Slam Finalists
Back row, from left: Sedigheh Mahdavi, Connor McDougall, Meaghan Perdue, Patrick Sipila, Penny Pexman, William Ghali, vice-president (research), Kenzie Friesen, Kaue Duarte Tartarotti Nepomuceno and Youssef Allami. Front row, from left: Daniel Comadurán Márquez, Maryam Ghahremani, Mohammad Rehan, Xiao Yang Fang (Yangyang) and Michelle Hawks.
1st Place
Dr. Michelle Hawks
Werklund School of Education
Are past math classes haunting us? Using history to explore ideas of intelligence in math
2nd Place
Dr. Daniel Comaduran Marquez
Cumming School of Medicine
Brain-controlled devices for playing sports
3rd Place
Dr. Meaghan Perdue
Cumming School of Medicine
Reading isn't as easy as A-B-C: Looking into the brain to understand reading disability
Dr. Youssef Allami
Faculty of Arts
Department of Psychology
Do predictors of remission from a gambling disorder apply equally to everyone?
Dr. Kaue Duarte Tartarotti Nepomuceno
Cumming School of Medicine
Detecting Signs of Dementia sooner using Artificial Intelligence
Dr. Xiao Yang Fang (Yangyang)
Cumming School of Medicine
Radical Mental Health Doulas
A New Approach to Care
Dr. Kenzie Friesen
Faculty of Kinesiology
It’s common sense!: Sensors in mouthguards can be used to sense risk factors of concussion
Dr. Maryam Ghahremani
Cumming School of Medicine
Mild behavioural impairment (MBI) in early-stage dementia
Dr. Sedigheh Mahdavi
Schulich School of Engineering
Application of Cattle Manure to Make Oil Production More Sustainable in Alberta?
Dr. Connor McDougall
Cumming School of Medicine
Optimizing Medical Imaging in Stroke Care
Dr. Mohammad Rehan
Cumming School of Medicine
Construction of Real Human Lung 3D Tissue in Lab to Study Lung Diseases
Dr. Patrick Sipila
Cumming School of Medicine
Discovery of drug resistance-informed treatment approach for pediatric malignancies
Past Competitors
1st Place: Cameron Semper, Cumming School of Medicine, Producing Meat from Cell Cultures: Helping to Reduce Costs in the Field of Cellular Agriculture.
2nd Place: Catherine Hume, Cumming School of Medicine, Investigating ‘The Munchies’; How Does Cannabis Use Alter Our Eating Habits?
3rd Place (tie):
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Chukwunonso Nzelu, Cumming School of Medicine, Prior Exposure to Insect Bites Creates a Good Environment for Deadly Diseases
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Samantha Noyek, Faculty of Arts, Photos Sculpt Life Stories of Youth Undergoing Major Surgery.
People’s Choice: Deepika Dogra, Cumming School of Medicine, A Precision Medicine Approach to Modelling a Rare Pediatric Eepilepsy
Watch all of the videos here.
Francina Agosti: Sensory neurons at the rescue against infection
Bruna Araujo David: Maternal serum prevents newborn death by Escherichia coli infection
Sofia Backaberg: The way you move matters - now and later
Raquel Farias Franyutti: Integrating lung function and laboratory measurements to identify COVID-19 disease categories in the intensive care unit
Simona Denise Frederiksen: Rare Diseases have Many Faces: The Road to Diagnostic Success
Leigh Gabel: Skeletons on a mission: understanding bone loss on long-duration spaceflight (2nd Place Winner)
Michèle L. Hébert: Solving the Maze: Understanding the Journey and Opening Doors for Children with Disabilities and Their Family
Steven Hersch: Fighting fire with fire to kill antibiotic resistant bacteria
Catherine Hume: Is having 'the munchies' bad for our health?
Matthew Josephson: Hot or Cold? Understanding how organisms can live in a wide range of temperatures
Tiffany Prete: Surviving Colonization in Photographs (1st Place Winner)
Anu Räisänen: Young people with old knees: We KNEE-d to prevent osteoarthritis after a knee injury
Mostafa Salari: Social Distancing in passengers seat assignment
Anne-Marieke Smid: Modern dairy farming: to graze or not to graze? (3rd Place Winner)
Renata Kruger: A bike ride to thrive in assisted living care.
Liz Baker, Faculty of Social Work: Preventing Dating Violence on College Campuses
Tiffany Bell, Cumming School of Medicine: I’m so excited and I just can’t hide it: Understanding brain hyperexcitability in childhood migraine
Lauren Benson, Faculty of Kinesiology: Sport Injury Prevention with Wearable Technology
Jaime Colmenares, Faculty of Science: Once upon a time, I met Isotopes
Mahdad Eghbalian, Schulich School of Engineering: A novel multiscale model of hydraulic fracturing in tight rocks
Raquel Farias Franyutti, Cumming School of Medicine: The neuro-immune axis in the lung: understanding how our nerves communicate with our immune cells to protect us from infection (3rd Place Winner)
Eli Kinney-Lang, Cumming School of Medicine: Imagine that! Using Brain-Computer Interfaces and Imagined Sign Language to Enable Children with Complex Communication Needs (2nd Place Winner)
Brae Anne McArthur, Faculty of Arts: Identifying the "Digital Tipping Point": Understanding the Relation between Screen Time and Child Development (1st Place Winner)
Zahra Shakeri Hossein Abad, Cumming School of Medicine: A novel artificial intelligence system to protect children from unhealthy food and brand marketing in the digital age
Maria Stietz, Veterinary Medicine: Know your enemy
Ivana Vranjes, Haskayne School of Business: #MeToo - But don't tell anyone…
Chunyang Yu, Schulich School of Engineering: Navigation for Pedestrians and Autonomous Vehicles