Clinical Center Three-Minute Talk (TMT) Coaching and Competition

The Office of Clinical Research Training and Medical Education sponsors an annual Three-Minute Talk Competition for Clinical Center trainees (Postbac, Predoc, Postdoc, and Visiting Fellows). Trainees receive individualized coaching sessions to provide feedback on speech development and delivery.

The TMT competition is held each spring. The winner of the Clinical Center competition is entered into the NIH TMT Competition held in the summer.

2026 Winners and Participants

Grace Monette – 1st Place
Title: Heart or Muscle: What Limits Aerobic Capacity in RYR1 Myopathies?
Training Program: Postbac IRTA
Department: Rehabilitation Medicine Department

Samuel Degenhard – 2nd Place
Title: Using the PERMA Model of Well-being as a Conceptual Framework to Understand the Potential Role of Cooking in Psychiatric Treatment
Training Program: Postbac IRTA
Department: Translational Biobehavioral and Health Promotion Branch

Farha Mithila – 2nd Place
Title: Accelerating CAR-T Manufacturing Timeline and Reducing Costs
Training Program: Post-doc IRTA
Department: Department of Transfusion Medicine

Shriniwas Patwardhan – 3rd Place
Title: Same Therapy, Different Outcomes: What Are We Missing?
Training Program: Post-doc IRTA
Department: Rehabilitation Medicine Department

Gabriella Chefitz
Title: Borrowing Immunity to Fight Merkel Cell Carcinoma
Training Program: Pre-doc IRTA
Department: NIH Medical Research Scholars Program

Brynn Conrad
Title: Radiolabeled Fragment Antibodies as PET Tracers for Invasive Mucormycosis
Training Program: Postbac IRTA
Department: Radiology and Imaging Sciences Department

Djaina-Shae Dervil
Title: A Scoping Review of Neuroimaging and Cooking
Training Program: Postbac IRTA
Department: Translational Biobehavioral and Health Promotion Branch

Clare Howard
Title: Assessing Accuracy and Reliability of Research and Diagnostic Tests in Translational Research
Training Program: Postbac IRTA
Department: Department of Transfusion Medicine

Arushi Kotru
Title: Assessing Postural Limits of Stability and Gait in Traumatic Brain Injury
Training Program: Postbac IRTA
Department: Rehabilitation Medicine Department

Mattias Lenz
Title: Using BCR Repertoire Analysis to Uncover Mechanisms of HCV-Associated B Cell Lymphoma
Training Program: Postbac IRTA
Department: Department of Transfusion Medicine

Raj Nair
Title: Tag It or Lose It: A Molecular Switch for Protein Stability in ALS Neurons
Training Program: Pre-doc IRTA
Department: NIH Medical Research Scholars Program

Shubi Nanda
Title: Exploring Diet Quality and Ultra-Processed Food (UPF) Intake Among Adults with Colorectal Cancer and their Spouses
Training Program: Postbac IRTA
Department: Translational Biobehavioral and Health Promotion Branch

Morin Nessim
Title: Characterization of RYR1 Variants in Congenital Myopathy Zebrafish Models
Training Program: Postbac IRTA
Department: Translational Biobehavioral and Health Promotion Branch

Mayra Saintilus
Title: Characterization of RYR1 Variants in HEK293 Cells
Training Program: Postbac IRTA
Department: Translational Biobehavioral and Health Promotion Branch

Emily Scoville
Title: Using Proteomics to Discover how ECMO affects Inflammation in the Lungs
Training Program: Pre-doc IRTA
Department: NIH Medical Research Scholars Program

Jason Simon
Title: Ultra-Processed Foods Classified by Ingredient Label
Training Program: Postbac IRTA
Department: Department of Laboratory Medicine

Isabelle Yaremenko
Title: CD36 Regulates Adenoviral Transduction In Vitro and In Vivo
Training Program: Postbac IRTA
Department: Department of Laboratory Medicine

Jenny Yarmovsky
Title: Staying the course: Outpatient treatment predictors for Alcohol Use Disorder
Training Program: Postbac IRTA
Department: Translational Biobehavioral and Health Promotion Branch