CHICAGO – Mary Fernandes, a Ph.D. candidate in clinical neuropsychology at Georgia State University, won first place in the 2019 Psych Science-in-3 Competition Aug. 9 at the American Psychological Association’s (APA) annual conference.
Fernandes gave a three-minute presentation entitled, “The Associations Between Pupillary Response Patterns to Emotional Faces and Self-Reported Social Anxiety,” competing against more advanced doctoral students as well as postdoctoral contestants.
The competition required participants to explain their thesis or dissertation research succinctly, in a compelling way that non-specialists can understand. She won $2,500.
Fernandes mastered these skills at Georgia State through the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition held at the university in March, where she won first prize in the doctoral student category. She also won the People’s Choice award in the category.
The APA’s annual convention, held Aug. 8-11 in Chicago, is attended by more than 10,000 people, representing more than 800 academic institutions from 50 countries.
Fernandes is a member of the APA and is a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship. Her advisor is Dr. Erin Tone, professor of clinical neuropsychology in the university’s College of Arts & Sciences.
To watch Fernandes’ presentation as first recorded at Georgia State’s 3MT competition in the spring, visit https://provost.gsu.edu/2019/03/26/three-minute-thesis-3mt-contestants-practice-explaining-research-to-general-audiences/.
— Jeremy Craig, Communications Manager, Office of the Provost