Aaron Harvey, a PhD candidate from FABI’s Hans Merensky Chair in Avocado Research, placed second nationally in the recent 2025 Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, held at the University of the Free State on 24 October. This competition challenges doctoral candidates to present their research in just three minutes, using language accessible to a non-specialist audience. Aaron impressed judges with his presentation on how avocado trees naturally fight a root rot disease, a major threat to global avocado production.

Aaron qualified to compete in the national competition after being the runner-up at the University of Pretoria’s institutional Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition on 29 September.

He says that he entered the competition to challenge himself, and it feels incredible to be recognised, but it also feels amazing to highlight the outstanding research that UP does.

Well done, Aaron. You do FABI proud!