Biology student wins Three-Minute Thesis competition

Alexander Huber, a Biological Sciences student at Youngstown State University, placed first in the recent Three-Minute Thesis competition on campus.

Three-Minute Thesis, presented by the YSU College of Graduate Studies, requires students to explain their research in three minutes in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.

Huber’s researched is titled “Purification of Phage-Displayed HSA-Specific Peptide for Biosensor Production,” and his faculty advisor is Diana Fagan, professor of Biological Sciences. Huber also received the People’s Choice award.

Placing second in the competition was Astha Syal, Computing and Information Systems. Syal’s research is “Network Data Analysis to predict volume of Future Network Traffic,” and her faculty advisor is Alina Lazar, professor, Computer Science and Information Systems.

Judges for the competition were: Greg Dillon, YSU interim associate vice president for Research; Todd Franko, editor, The Vindicator; Cary Wecht, YSU professor and director of Faculty Development, Cliffe College of Creative Arts and Communication; and Mark Womble, professor, College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Judges for preliminary rounds were Rebecca Curnalia, associate professor of Communication; Donna DeBlasio, professor of History; and Brian Leskiw, professor of Chemistry.