{"id":164664,"date":"2026-03-27T09:33:42","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T13:33:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=164664"},"modified":"2026-04-03T07:19:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T11:19:51","slug":"wright-state-biology-student-wins-three-minute-thesis-competition-with-parkinsons-research-presentation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2026\/03\/27\/wright-state-biology-student-wins-three-minute-thesis-competition-with-parkinsons-research-presentation\/","title":{"rendered":"Wright State biology student wins Three-Minute Thesis Competition with Parkinson\u2019s research presentation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Christina Minassian, left, a graduate biological sciences student, won first place, and Widad El-Zein, a doctoral biomedical sciences student, won second place in Wright State\u2019s Three-Minute Thesis Competition.<\/p><\/div>\n

Christina Minassian spent several years working in a medical laboratory identifying diseases. The experience inspired her to learn more about biology and illness.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to dig deeper and uncover the sources of these ailments,\u201d said Minassian, who is now pursuing a master\u2019s degree in biological sciences<\/a> at Wright State University.<\/p>\n

Her decision is paying off.<\/p>\n

Minassian recently won Wright State\u2019s Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition<\/a>, earning a spot at the Midwest Association of Graduate Schools Conference in Kansas City, where she will compete in the regional 3MT on March 27.<\/p>\n

Organized by the School of Graduate Studies, Wright State\u2019s Three-Minute Thesis Competition challenged graduate and undergraduate students to present their research to a general audience in just a few minutes, developing skills to communicate complex ideas with clarity and confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese skills are critical for sharing research with non-specialists, securing funding and teaching others,\u201d said Paula Bubulya, Ph.D., associate dean of the School of Graduate Studies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Minassian\u2019s research focuses on Parkinson\u2019s disease, the world\u2019s second most common neurodegenerative disorder. More than 90% of cases are sporadic and have no known cause or cure.<\/p>\n

Minassian\u2019s research centers on a protein called \u03b1-synuclein, which normally helps release dopamine in the brain but can misfold and clump into toxic inclusions, known as Lewy bodies, a hallmark of the disease.<\/p>\n

To better understand why that misfolding occurs, Minassian studied 18 genes involved in membrane and vesicle trafficking and their relationship to \u03b1-synuclein. Using yeast as a model organism, she studied how the genes interact with \u03b1-synuclein, whether they affect cell viability, and whether they play a role in increasing the size and number of protein inclusions.<\/p>\n

Establishing that relationship could explain how sporadic Parkinson\u2019s develops and potentially point toward new treatment options.<\/p>\n

Minassian applied to Wright State to work in the lab led by Quan Zhong, Ph.D., associate professor of biological sciences, drawn by her research on Parkinson\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that in research I get to do and learn something new every day,\u201d Minassian said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Christina Minassian won Wright State\u2019s Three-Minute Thesis Competition for her presentation on her research into Parkinson\u2019s disease.<\/p><\/div>\n

Minassian decided to participate in the Three-Minute Thesis competition to practice her public speaking skills through a fun and challenging experience. Researchers often have difficulty communicating complicated topics to a general audience without relying on jargon, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 3MT taught me how to better practice the skill of explaining complex concepts to a more general audience in a short amount of time,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was certainly more of a challenge than I initially thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

Minassian, who is scheduled to graduate this May, has applied for Wright State\u2019s Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. program, which she hopes will lead to a career as a full-time researcher.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I would enjoy research before starting my master\u2019s, and now that I\u2019m almost done, this has only further cemented my desire to continue down this path,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s 3MT Competition drew a record number of participants \u2014 23 graduate students and six undergraduate honors students from a variety of disciplines.<\/p>\n

Aaron Cline, an English major with a concentration in creative writing, won the Honors Blitz competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Graduate student Christina Minassian was honored for her three-minute presentation on her research on Parkinson\u2019s disease. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":164676,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,2064,2060,725,715,18,746],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-164664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-biology","category-graduate","category-home-news-sidebar","category-news","category-research","category-science-mathematics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164664"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":164815,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164664\/revisions\/164815"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}