Meet our 3 minute man

Meet Eamonn Fahy – the world’s three-minute man.

The University of Melbourne PhD student has just been crowned the international winner of the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, beating 25 entrants from around the globe.

The unique challenge – sprung from an idea at the University of Queensland - is to condense years of research into mere minutes.

Up against tough competition from as far afield as Singapore, Chile and Ireland, Dr Fahy’s presentation on the potential early detection of glaucoma was ruled this year’s best by an international judging panel.

More than 300,000 Australians suffer from glaucoma, but half are undiagnosed. Dr Fahy’s doctoral work in the Department of Ophthalmology, identifying early deterioration of the eye, could lead the way to preventing the disease in its tracks.

Firstly, congratulations! How does it feel to be the U21 3MT international winner?

Incredible! It’s a real honour to take first place among so many top competitors.

I’m assuming friends might make jokes about you being a three-minute man. (Sorry). But what do you think are the real positives of this three-minute format?

Yes. Yes they have. I have to repeatedly brandish my awards to shut them up!

On a serious note, three minutes forces you to really distil the key aspects of your research - why you’re doing it, what you did, what you found and how this is useful. So the positives are being able to frame your PhD in your own mind and for the benefit of others.

How difficult is it to condense your research into three minutes?

It’s not easy! The challenge is providing just enough information for your audience to understand, while still delivering the key messages and not over-simplifying your material. Then on top of that add creating an engaging, entertaining presentation that leaves the people wanting more!

Did you suss out the competition? How confident were you of victory?

I did watch most of the other competitors’ videos - I was really impressed on the whole and enjoyed seeing the different approaches that were taken. It was really hard to predict who would come out on top - all the topics were so different, delivery styles were different. I was confident that I had a good talk but to be honest I was pleasantly surprised that I won.

A simple test to catch out glaucoma in its early stages – how far off are we really?

Well, it’s by working in incredible labs like the one run by my supervisor Jonathan Crowston that we get closer. We have basic science and clinical research groups working in constant collaboration. My findings are informing the clinical researchers and vice versa. The clinical researchers are working on gathering data from existing tests in a new way, which could be incredibly powerful, so watch this space!

Banner image: Eamonn Fahy presenting his winning 3MT speech. Picture: Centre for the Study of Higher Education