The Graduate College is excited to announce the winners of the 2015 Research Live! competition. Twelve finalists competed in the first ever Research Live! competition on Wednesday, November 11 at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.

Ipek Tasan, first place winner

Ipek Tasan (Biochemistry) won first place with her presentation entitled “Finding Partners in Crime Causing Colon Cancer.” 

Marc R. Gancayco (Chemical Biology) and Vahid Mirshafiee (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering) tied for second place.  Gancayco presented “Sublancin: An Antibiotic with a Sweet Side,” and Mirshafiee presented “Targeted Delivery of Anticancer Drugs to Tumors.”

Robin Holland (Vet Med Pathobiology) took home the People’s Choice award for “Taking Down the Powerhouse.”

The 65 entrants in the competition were tasked with presenting on one research topic using two slides for just three minutes. Presentations were scored on delivery, clarity, effectiveness of visual material, and accessibility of language. After a preliminary round of presentations last week, 12 finalists were selected to continue on to the public final round.

“This event was a wonderful way to see the great work of our graduate students. I was impressed by the quality of the work and energy they brought to their presentations,” said Alexis Thompson, Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Development and Postdoctoral Affairs.

Special thanks to the faculty and staff from across campus who served as judges for the preliminary and final rounds of the competition.

Vahid Mirshafiee, Robin Holland, Marc Ryan Gancayco, and Ipek Tasan.

Interested in more of the Research Live! story? Check out the #ILLINOISResearchLive hashtag on twitter and view photos on Facebook. Videos of the final presentations are available online.