How can collaborative doctoral research support the public good? The doctoral students of the 2026/27 PSI cohort reimagine traditional academic research with action-oriented and interdisciplinary scholarship exploring Indigeneity, healthcare, climate change, music, anti-racism, and many other issues.
Since its inception in 2015, UBC’s Public Scholars Initiative (PSI) has been supporting UBC doctoral students whose research extends beyond traditional approaches to address complex challenges facing the public. Now in its 12th year, the PSI has supported more than 400 exceptional PhD students in nearly every discipline and faculty.
Themes of scholarly research from this year's cohort include collaborations on Indigenous languages, music, restoration of Traditional Knowledges, anti-racism education, healthcare, climate change, land and wildlife management, among others.
These scholars have worked in collaboration with, and to the benefit of, an extraordinary range of partners across the globe – from Indigenous communities, to hospitals, to K-12 schools, to government agencies, to cultural institutions, to private industry, and many more.
Thirty-three doctoral students from the Vancouver campus join the program this year, alongside four new Public Scholars from the Okanagan campus.
Congratulations to the 2026/27 cohort of Public Scholars! Learn more about their innovative research in their profiles below.
UBC Vancouver
name | program | Faculty |
| Angela Marcela Barrera Bello | Forestry (PhD) | Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Stewardship |
| Lucas Barros de Rosa | Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD) | Faculty of Science |
| Carol Tatiana Chamorro Vargas | Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD) | Faculty of Science |
| Kim Correa | Library, Archival and Information Studies (PhD) | Faculty of Arts |
| Karen Davies | Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD) | Faculty of Medicine |
| Diego Delic | Economics (PhD) | Faculty of Arts |
| Avneet Dhillon | Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD) | Faculty of Medicine |
| Trishala Dutta | English (PhD) | Faculty of Arts |
| Bianca Gonzalez | Forestry (PhD) | Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Stewardship |
| Nejat Hassen | Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD) | Faculty of Medicine |
| Audrey Irvine-Broque | Geography (PhD) | Faculty of Arts |
| Ashleigh Janis | Curriculum Studies (PhD) | Faculty of Education |
| Bronte Johnston | Population and Public Health (PhD) | Faculty of Medicine |
| Francis Kato | Social Work (PhD) | Faculty of Arts |
| Jessica Key | Nursing (PhD) | Faculty of Applied Science |
| Hayley Lawrence | Population and Public Health (PhD) | Faculty of Medicine |
| Nathalie Lozano-Neira | Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice (PhD) | Faculty of Arts |
| Estraven Lupino-Smith | Geography (PhD) | Faculty of Arts |
| Shiho Ogura | Music, Emphasis Ethnomusicology (PhD) | Faculty of Arts |
| Aaní Perkins | Linguistics (PhD) | Faculty of Arts |
| Dharani Persaud | Library, Archival and Information Studies (PhD) | Faculty of Arts |
| Hok Yau (Tim) Pit | Asian Studies (PhD) | Faculty of Arts |
| Letitia Pokiak | Educational Leadership and Policy (EdD) | Faculty of Education |
| Samara Polwatta Lekamlage | Oceans and Fisheries (PhD) | Faculty of Science |
| Brittany Pousett | Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD) | Faculty of Medicine |
| Anjana Rajendran | Neuroscience (PhD) | Faculty of Medicine |
| Haopu (Lily) Ren | Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD) | Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Interdisciplinary Studies |
| Rishika Selvakumar | Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD) | Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Interdisciplinary Studies |
| Sherryl Sewepagaham | Music, Emphasis Ethnomusicology (PhD) | Faculty of Arts |
| Mahfida Tahniat | Educational Studies (PhD) | Faculty of Education |
| Oi Yee (Joey) Wong | Nursing (PhD) | Faculty of Applied Science |
| Bing Yan | Anthropology (PhD) | Faculty of Arts |
UBC Okanagan
Scholars include Hoda Pourpirali; Mohammad Reza Khodoomi; Jacqueline Tams and Celine Balay.
About the PSI
The PSI was launched in 2015 to support UBC doctoral students whose research extended beyond traditional/academic disciplinary approaches. Recognized at the Reimagining the PhD Symposium 2017 as ‘revolutionary' and praised in the UBC Strategic Plan as "a key component" of UBC's Public Relevance strategy, the PSI has also received multiple awards for its promotion of excellence and exceptional service to students. Over 400 scholars have been accepted into the program during the past decade, leading to collaborations with almost 200 different partners in more than 40 different countries. To learn more about how the PSI program reimagines the PhD, visit their website.
Learn more about the Public Scholars Initiative.