PhD candidate Sidharth Panda wins 2024 CSE Three-Minute Thesis competition

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (11/8/2024) –  Department of Chemistry PhD candidate Sidharth Panda took top honors in the recent College of Science and Engineering Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. Sidharth’s presentation was titled "Fixing Genes with mRNA Packages."

Sidharth Panda was born and raised in Odisha, India. He graduated from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata in 2021 with a BS and MS in Chemistry. He then moved to Minnesota to pursue his PhD in Chemistry at the UMN, where he is currently advised by Professor Theresa Reineke.

At the 3MT competition, Sidharth presented his thesis work focusing on developing the next generation of polymer-based nanoparticles for organ-specific therapeutic mRNA delivery. These novel polymeric nanoparticles can be easily tuned to passively target different organs with high accuracy to deliver mRNA as a potential therapeutic for disorders like Cystic Fibrosis, overcoming current limitations in delivery methods. This approach enhances both the stability and effectiveness of mRNA, potentially revolutionizing treatment for such conditions.

The 3MT is a research communication competition that challenges students to communicate the significance of their projects without the use of props or industry jargon, in just three minutes. Sidharth is the first chemistry PhD student to win the college-level competition.