快速! 整整三分钟, 不用科学或医学术语, explain the function of the blood-brain barrier and the role it might play in treating disease.
It might sound like a tall order, but Iris Garcia-Pak is up for the task. 事实上，正规欧洲杯买球网站圣地亚哥分校神经科学硕士.D.-Ph.D. student just took the top prize in the much-anticipated UC Grad Slam contest for doing just that.
The ninth annual systemwide Grad Slam competition took place on Friday, 5月3日在旧金山领英总部. Ten contestants — one graduate student from each UC campus — were charged with the challenge of condensing years of nuanced research into clear, 180秒或更短的演讲. 每个参与者都已经是冠军了, having beat out contenders in their own campus competitions before coming together for the ultimate matchup.
一个粘人的合成词
赢得毕业大满贯冠军的头衔, $7,000美元的奖金和梦寐以求的奖杯, Garcia-Pak offered a tantalizing and relatable peek into her neuroscience research on the blood-brain barrier.
Garcia-Pak compared the brain to an exclusive VIP club where the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a bouncer keeping the riff-raff out (the BBBouncer, 当然). 保镖控制着大脑的里里外外, letting in necessary nutrients and oxygen while keeping out harmful bacteria, 例如.
Garcia-Pak’s lab has found that the BBB may also control glutamate levels in the brain. This finding is significant because uncontrolled levels of glutamate are associated with epilepsy, 焦虑和其他情况. Her research suggests that the BBB may play a role in preventing these conditions, pointing to the immense potential of targeting the blood brain barrier to treat brain diseases.
朴智贤在舞台上成功的秘诀是什么? “I leaned into my personality and relied heavily on my non-STEM partner, Alex, for feedback. We came up with the blood-brain barrier as a bouncer analogy together. Then I just wanted to make it silly and fun by creating a portmanteau of BBB and bouncer. 它恰好对听众来说很粘!”
精英中的精英
Joining Garcia-Pak in the winner’s circle were Shannon Brady of UC Riverside and Kacie Ring of UC Santa Barbara. Brady took the third place prize for her compelling presentation on how self-talk might help children manage their emotions — a potential game changer for child development. 开创了毕业大满贯的先例, Ring won both second place and the People’s Choice award for her summary of how deforestation can lead to “spillover” events where zoonotic viruses jump from animal to human populations.
Iris Garcia-Pak of UC San Diego presents her Grad Slam talk, "The Brain: An Exclusive VIP club."
杰出的评委团包括朱夏莲, a professor of biology at San Francisco State University; author and SF State Cal-Bridge Scholar Daphne Jomo; UC Regent Nancy Lee; UC 学术参议院 Chair James A. Steintrager; and Stephanie Weisman, founder and artistic/executive director of The Marsh. 现场和网上的观众也参与了讨论, 为人民选择奖投票.
传达研究的价值
All 10 Grad Slam presenters spent months preparing their pitches and working their way through qualifying rounds at their respective campuses. 为什么要承担额外的工作? Beyond the allure of capturing the shimmering Slammy and a hefty check, contestants in the campus and systemwide competitions build communication skills to make it easier to land jobs, 获得研究资金，揭开科学的神秘面纱.
Fans in the audience cheer for UC Merced Grad Slam contestant Ambarish Varadan.
Garcia-Pak describes the process: “When preparing for the UC San Diego Grad Slam, 我们都在一起讨论我们的谈话. I felt a great sense of community across such different disciplines, 从提交到决赛，我们都有了很大的进步. It was also a great way to hear about what other grad students do in a very digestible way.”
在正规欧洲杯买球网站圣巴巴拉分校，凯西·林也有类似的经历. “As I went through the process, I realized I was building skills beyond the scope of a fun contest. I was totally put outside my comfort zone, and now I am so excited to talk about science to anyone. The most unexpected outcome was gaining a group of new colleagues and friends. 我的心灵, community and heart have been immeasurably expanded from these connections, and I am so thankful for this competition for facilitating that.”
最终, Grad Slam is all about the groundbreaking research happening across the UC system, giving the public a preview of the fruits of that work and why it matters.
“你必须这么做!” Ring advises other graduate students considering participating in Grad Slam. “至少是这样, you'll have a developed three-minute pitch about your research, 这可能有助于将这些点联系起来.”
