Cancer warrior Ayla Orang has taken out the title of 2017 3MT Winner for her presentation on bowel cancer research.

Congratulations also goes to Runner-Up, Tiffany Knight, who gave a presentation on taboo subjects in theatre, and the People’s Choice, Sarah Marshall, who presented on the ecology of groundwater at mining sites.

Ayla Orang is currently a PhD student in cancer genetics who is examining the metabolism of bowel cancer cells in the hope of contributing to improved therapeutic interventions for the disease.

Ayla lost both of her grandmothers to cancer and this experience led her to the world of cancer research.

After completing a placement in a medical genetic laboratory, Ayla was inspired by the exciting world of genes and decided to pursue both a Masters degree and a PhD in genetics.

She has long been fascinated by the way in which cancer cells manifest themselves to become more active than normal cells.

Look closely at what happens inside a cancer cell has given rise to many exciting experiments.

Ayla’s greatest influence has been her undergraduate lecturer, Dr Ahadi, who passionately demonstrated for Ayla and her peers how genes could define different aspects of cellular processes and functions.

Flinders congratulates Ayla on her 3MT win and looks forward to her future endeavours in science.