The ninth edition of the internal competition “Present your thesis in 4 minutes” took place on 13 May at the Barcelona campus, as part of PHDay organised by the University’s Doctoral School. Doctoral students who took part in the competition had to face the challenge of presenting the topic of their project and the key findings of their research in no more than four minutes, using language that was easy to understand for a non-specialist audience.
On this occasion, first prize went to Marta Ferrón, a doctoral candidate on the Health Sciences programme, for her presentation “Respira la vida: de l’inhalador a la persona” (Breathe life: from the inhaler to the person). In her presentation, the researcher focused on the quality of life of adolescents with asthma, the central theme of her doctoral thesis, which she approaches from a holistic perspective on health. Ferrón was also recognised with a distinction for the best thesis in Catalan. Thanks to this award, Marta Ferrón will represent UIC Barcelona in the final of the competition organised by the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRi), which will take place on 11 June in Vic.
The panel, composed of Marian de Juan, lecturer in the Department of Nursing and member of the Doctoral Academic Committee for Health Sciences; Cinta Lluis, a former student of the Doctoral School and vice-dean of the School of Architecture; and Marta Gustà, director of Academic Management, particularly valued the participants’ ability to synthesise, the clarity of their presentations and their engagement with the audience.
In this edition of the competition, 10 doctoral theses were presented, three of them in Catalan. Second prize was awarded to Han Tang for the presentation “The Arte of Hiding”, focusing on censorship in Chinese cinema, while the audience prize went to Mercè Gómez Pallarès for research on membrane proteins and cancer entitled “La foto que las proteínas no querían hacerse” (The photo proteins did not want taken).
A physical, psychological and social approach to asthma
A graduate in Physiotherapy specialising in paediatric physiotherapy, Marta Ferrón is conducting doctoral research aimed at understanding how asthma affects adolescents’ quality of life beyond clinical symptoms. “An adolescent with asthma is not defined solely by their condition; they are, above all, an adolescent,” explains the doctoral candidate, who emphasises the need to approach this condition from a physical, psychological and social perspective.
Her research analyses the relationship between asthma control, physical activity, sleep, sedentary behaviour and psychosocial factors such as stress, social support, anxiety and self-efficacy. Based on this analysis, the project proposes a multicomponent online intervention grounded in behaviour change and personalised support in order to improve young people’s quality of life.
The doctoral candidate also incorporates an innovative methodology known as realist evaluation in her research, which makes it possible to explain what works, why, for whom and in what context, with the aim of making the findings more applicable and scalable within public health.
Reflecting on her experience in the competition, Ferrón notes that taking part in the internal final had enabled her to consider the social impact of her work. She explained, “It is an exercise that compels you to explain what truly matters and what you want society to understand about your research.” She also highlighted the value of presenting her project in Catalan, “It’s a wonderful initiative to promote the use of Catalan in the university setting.”
Having won first prize, Marta Ferrón is now looking ahead to the interuniversity final of the competition, saying, “I’m really looking forward to it and hope to make the most of the experience.”
