New strategy against breast cancer wins 3 Minute Thesis

PhD candidate Lilly Hatwell’s presentation on breast cancer treatments targeting the androgen receptor has won the 3MT competition and inaugural UNSW Founders Award.

UNSW’s innovative and world-changing doctoral research was on display at the popular 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) final on Tuesday evening.

This year’s 18 contestants distilled their 100,000-word PhD theses into bite-sized three-minute talks, delivered in front of a packed audience at Leighton Hall in the John Niland Scientia Building.

Topics ranged from modifying food prices to help improve diets, to using AI to improve transport planning, and the 16 traits that make for a charismatic leader.

The winner of the $3000 top prize was Lilly Hatwell from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and UNSW Medicine & Health. She delivered an engaging presentation on game-changing tactics against breast cancer.

“I am incredibly honoured and thrilled to have received first prize and the UNSW Founders Award. The quality and diversity of research across UNSW is inspiring and it is such an exciting event to be a part of,” Lilly said.

Lilly’s presentation spoke about the ‘hormonal tug of war’ in the fight against the most common form of breast cancer. The hormone estrogen is already known to promote the proliferation of cancer cells, and as such, most current strategies target the estrogen receptor. However, many patients develop resistance to this type of treatment.

Her thesis flips the focus and targets a different hormone receptor – the androgen receptor – using a drug that increases its expression. This approach helps the androgen receptor suppress the tumour and steals genes that the estrogen receptor needs to drive tumour growth. Her research combines this drug with clinically available targeted therapies to hopefully identify effective combinations.

Lilly was also presented with the inaugural UNSW Founders Award that recognises the best story deserving to win an award.

She will now go on to represent UNSW at the Asia-Pacific 3MT Finals at the University of Queensland, as well as the International Universitas 21 competitions.

UNSW Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Attila Brungs, extended his praise to all the PhD researchers who presented.

“My congratulations go out to all 3MT finalists for their ongoing dedication to their fascinating research. Each finalist demonstrated the diverse and forward-thinking research that UNSW is renowned for, and I have been left feeling incredibly inspired,” Prof. Brungs said.

“Lilly Hatwell’s presentation on breast cancer treatments targeting the androgen receptor combined with patient specific treatments was outstanding. She displayed exceptional knowledge in her field of research and communicated it to the audience in a clear and engaging manner.”

This year’s 3MT judges included Director of Marinya Capital and newspaper proprietor John Fairfax AO; Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Suzanne Cotter; Co-founder of The Daily Aus, Zara Seidler; UNSW Vice-Chancellor and President, Attila Brungs; and UNSW Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research and Enterprise Professor Bronwyn Fox.

Professor Jonathan Morris, UNSW’s Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research Training and Dean of Graduate Research, said the highlight of this year’s 3MT competition was seeing the University’s talented PhD candidates demonstrate their ability to communicate their world class research.  

“Our PhD candidates are engaged in high quality research and these presentations demonstrate the impact that their research has on society. The 3MT competition showcases their work in a really engaging and accessible way,” Prof. Morris said. 

“I want to congratulate all our outstanding finalists for their efforts. This competition is the highlight of the higher degree research calendar and it’s one of the University’s premier events because it showcases the people who carry out the research and the quality of their work.” 

3MT awardees

Milad Mousavi from the Faculty of Engineering took second place with his innovative research presentation, ‘The Invisible Guardian of the Underground Galaxy’. His research addresses the many lives lost in the mining sector and aims to use a digital invisible guardian to predict accidents.

Third place was awarded to Ellen Bowden-Reid from The Kirby Institute and UNSW Medicine & Health for her presentation on RNA vaccines: the secret weapon against pandemic viruses.

The audience voted for their favourite 3MT in the People’s Choice award, which was awarded to Sari Puspita Dewi from the Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture for her presentation on why Indonesian translation of academic textbooks is confusing and how it can be fixed to improve learning.