Defences held in person have locations listed with the date below. Zoom information for virtual exams is not listed; if you are interested in attending one of these defences, please contact the candidate's department or graduate.doctoral@ubc.ca. Zoom links are available one week prior to the defence.
Monday, 7 July 2025 - 9:00am - 506, Frank Forward Building, 6350 Stores Rd
Giovanni Pamparana Manns
Department: Mining Engineering
A Study on Compression Breakage: From Theory to Practice
Monday, 7 July 2025 - 9:00am - Zoom
Christoph Alexander Schilling
Department: Forestry
Community Energy Independence and Sustainability: an Economic, Environmental and Sociopolitical Perspective on Biomass Energy Generation in Canadian Remote Communities
Monday, 7 July 2025 - 12:00pm - 2264, Diamond Health Care Centre, 2775 Laurel St
Ainiah Rushdiana Raquib
Department: Oncology
Investigating the SS18::SSX Oncoprotein and Establishing its Interactors in Synovial Sarcoma Using Antibody-Based Approaches
Monday, 7 July 2025 - 1:00pm - 146, ICICS, 2366 Main Mall
Wonho Bae
Department: Computer Science
Budget-Robust Active Learning
Tuesday, 8 July 2025 - 9:00am - Room 203
Sara Ataii
Department: Civil Engineering
Exploratory Hydromechanical Consequences of Internal Instability in Idealized Gap-Graded Bennett South Moraine Sands
Tuesday, 8 July 2025 - 9:00am - Zoom
Francisco Eslava Saenz
Department: Vancouver School of Economics
Essays on the Economic Development of the Americas
Tuesday, 8 July 2025 - 10:00am - Zoom
Ashley Battaglini
Department: Psychology
Intra- and Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Flexibility
Wednesday, 9 July 2025 - 12:30pm - Room 200
Forest Kobayashi
Department: Mathematics
Optimal Transport Approximation of Measures via Lower-Dimensional Structures: Principal Manifolds and the Average Distance Problem
Thursday, 10 July 2025 - 9:00am - Room 200
Gabriel Currier
Department: Mathematics
Extremal Problems in Combinatorics and Geometry
Thursday, 10 July 2025 - 9:00am - Room 203
Alan Knee
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Searches for Novel Gravitational-Wave Sources with Ground and Space-Based Detectors
Thursday, 10 July 2025 - 9:30am - Zoom
Chun-Yin Huang
Department: Electrical & Computer Engineering
Enhancing Privacy and Efficiency in AI Models through Data-Oriented Learning Strategies
Thursday, 10 July 2025 - 12:30pm - Room 200
Passant Reyad
Department: Civil Engineering
Advancing Intersection Safety with Adaptive Traffic Signal Control in Evolving Connected Autonomous Vehicle Networks
Thursday, 10 July 2025 - 12:30pm - Room 203
Matthew Shannon
Department: Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Advancing Human Trophoblast Biology: Transcriptomic Insights Into Progenitor Cells, Sex-Related Differences, and Human Trophoblast Organoids
Friday, 11 July 2025 - 9:00am - 318, Hennings Bldg, 6224 Agricultural Rd
Joern Bannies
Department: Chemistry
Electronic Structure Manipulation by Distortions in Square-net Materials
Friday, 11 July 2025 - 9:00am - Zoom
Mehmet Saglam
Department: Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education
Investigating Educators' Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes, and Agency in Constructing an Intelligence-Friendly Classroom
Friday, 11 July 2025 - 12:00pm - Zoom
Dacotah-Victoria Splichalova
Department: Resources, Environment and Sustainability
Reimagining the Story Beyond H2O: Advancing a Conceptual and Methodological Framework for the Non-Material Dimensions of Water in Yucatan, Mexico
Friday, 11 July 2025 - 12:30pm - 2916, Centre for Advanced Wood Processing, 2424 Main Mall
Amir Kari
Department: Forestry
Seismic Performance of Wood Light-Frame Buildings Incorporating a New Type of Midply Shear Wall System
Monday, 14 July 2025 - 9:30am - Zoom
Aditi Singh
Department: Vancouver School of Economics
The Long Shadow of Development and Political Transformations: Essays on Social Outcomes in India
Monday, 14 July 2025 - 12:00pm - 167, Iona Bldg, 6000 Iona Dr
Jan Ksawery Rosa
Department: Vancouver School of Economics
Essays in Labor Economics and Deep Learning
Monday, 14 July 2025 - 12:30pm - Room 200
Tuve Mikael Omstedt
Department: Geography
Grounding Money: Capital and Difference in the Federal Reserve System
Tuesday, 15 July 2025 - 9:00am - Zoom
Sepide Sadeghiforoushani
Department: Sauder School of Business
Harnessing Sustainability Mobile Apps for Carbon Reduction: A Multilevel Approach
Tuesday, 15 July 2025 - 9:00am - Zoom
Paula Pinzon Hernandez
Department: Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Bridging the Gap: Closing Knowledge Gaps between Abortion Providers and Decision-Makers in Latin America through Regional Collaboration and Evidence Sharing
Wednesday, 16 July 2025 - 9:00am - Room 200
Nadia Paez
Department: Zoology
Phylogenetic Insights into Community Assembly of Tropical Bromeliad Invertebrates
Wednesday, 16 July 2025 - 10:00am - 350, HR MacMillan Building, 2357 Main Mall
Juan Fercovic Lopez
Department: Agricultural Sciences
Three Essays in Environmental Economics and Energy Transition.
Wednesday, 16 July 2025 - 12:30pm - Zoom
Danjie Zou
Department: Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education
Investigating the Impact of Hidden Subpopulations on Individual Test Scores Using IRT-based Methods
Thursday, 17 July 2025 - 9:00am - Zoom
Xiaojun Guan
Department: Vancouver School of Economics
Essays in Macro and Development Economics
Thursday, 17 July 2025 - 9:00am - Room 200
Jacob Hutton
Department: Experimental Medicine
Unlocking the Barrier to Survival in Unwitnessed Sudden Unexpected Death Using Sensor Technologies
Thursday, 17 July 2025 - 12:00pm - Zoom
Hamed Nikookar
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Characterizing the Structure of Post-Flame Agglomerated Soot Using Simulations and Experiments
Thursday, 17 July 2025 - 12:30pm - 240, West Mall Annex (WMAX), 1933 West Mall
Madison Lore
Department: Community and Regional Planning
Surfacing Social Norms in Language with Machine Learning to Better Plan for Sustainable Transitions
Thursday, 17 July 2025 - 12:30pm - Room 200
Jens Malmquist
Department: Mathematics
Characterizing Near-Bipartiteness, Harnack Inequalities, and Heat Kernel Estimates
Thursday, 17 July 2025 - 12:30pm - Room 203
Danielle Hanke
Department: Pharmaceutical Sciences
From STAT Proteins to Novel Biological Targets: A Comprehensive Medicinal Chemistry Journey of Chemical Probe Development
Friday, 18 July 2025 - 9:00am - Room 203
Calla Raymond
Department: Zoology
Patterns, Pressures, and Processes: Exploring Biodiversity in Eelgrass Meadows and Coral Reefs
Friday, 18 July 2025 - 9:00am - Room 200
Juhee Oh
Department: Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Linking Nutrient Sensing, Central Carbon Metabolism, and T-Cell Function
Friday, 18 July 2025 - 9:00am - Koerner Conference Room, Brain Research Centre, UBC Hospital, 2211 Wesbrook Mall
Sze Tung Lam
Department: Neuroscience
Clinical and Biological Investigations of Anxiety in Parkinson’s Disease: Insights from Microbiome, Psychometric, and Placebo-controlled Studies
Friday, 18 July 2025 - 12:00pm - Zoom
Steve Commichau
Department: Central, Eastern and North European Studies
The Monster is the Message: the Ghost as Monster and Medium in Early Modern German Protestant Records
Friday, 18 July 2025 - 12:30pm - Room 200
Edward Thoeng
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Depth-resolved Studies of SRF Materials Using High Parallel-Field beta-NMR Spectrometer
Friday, 18 July 2025 - 12:30pm - Room 203
Zahra Poursorkh
Department: Chemistry
Leveraging Machine Learning and Data Analysis for the Study of Complex Materials with Raman Spectroscopy and Image Analysis: A Bridge between Academia and Industry
Monday, 21 July 2025 - 9:00am - Room 200
Davi Monticelli
Department: Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Cannabis Cultivation and Processing Facilities: Linking Emissions and Air Quality to Inform Regulation
Monday, 21 July 2025 - 9:00am - 146, ICICS, 2366 Main Mall
Abner Turkieltaub Melo
Department: Computer Science
Hiring Under Uncertainty and Competition: A Work on Various Extensions of the Secretary Problem
Monday, 21 July 2025 - 12:30pm - Room 200
Rahmi Ugras
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Optimization of Clamping Conditions in Thin-Walled Part Machining
Monday, 21 July 2025 - 12:30pm - Room 203
Graham Butler
Department: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies
Proslavery Representations of Enslaved People and Their Management in the Literature of Ancient Greece, Rome, and the 17th-19th-Century Atlantic: a Comparative Perspective
Monday, 21 July 2025 - 1:00pm - 246, ICICS, 2366 Main Mall
William Mason
Department: Computer Science
Indaleko: The Unified Personal Index
Monday, 21 July 2025 - 1:30pm - Zoom
Erika Balcombe
Department: Anthropology
Making Space: Indigenous Collaborations in the Design Studio, Building Community, and Advancing Reconciliation
Monday, 21 July 2025 - 4:00pm - Room 203
Lucas Polson
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Advancing Quantitative SPECT with Open-Source Image Reconstruction, Uncertainty Estimation, and Image Generation Optimization
Tuesday, 22 July 2025 - 9:00am - Zoom
Liam Wesley Gilson
Department: Forestry
Robust Models for Forest Growth and Yield Predictions under Climate Change
Tuesday, 22 July 2025 - 11:00am - 202, ICICS, 2366 Main Mall
Seyed Ali Tabatabaee
Department: Computer Science
Optimization with Explorable Uncertainty
Tuesday, 22 July 2025 - 12:30pm - 107, Aquatic Ecosystems Research Lab, 2202 Main Mall
Bassam Javed
Department: Resources, Environment and Sustainability
Policy Insights to Scale Up Diffusion of Electric Vehicles: Examples from Canada and China
Tuesday, 22 July 2025 - 1:00pm - Zoom
Teresa Maynes
Department: Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education
Career Development in Recovery from Problematic Substance Use: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Hope-Action Theory Group Program
Tuesday, 22 July 2025 - 1:00pm - Room 200
Shovon Biswas
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Zero-Energy Modes in Quantum Field Theories
Tuesday, 22 July 2025 - 1:30pm - 229, Geography Building, 1984 West Mall
Jenna Loesberg
Department: Geography
Effects of Reproductive Trade-offs, Conspecific Density, and Invasive Species on Oak Savanna Wildflower Populations under Climate Change
Tuesday, 22 July 2025 - 4:00pm - Zoom
Saattvic Saattvic
Department: Sauder School of Business
Essays in Antitrust and Education
Wednesday, 23 July 2025 - 9:00am - Zoom
Saiful Alam
Department: Population and Public Health
HPV-Based Cervical Cancer Screening among Women ≥ 50 years
Wednesday, 23 July 2025 - 9:00am - Room 200
Adrienne Kinman
Department: Neuroscience
Visualizing and Manipulating Cell-Type-Specific Spatial and Non-Spatial Memory in the Subiculum
Wednesday, 23 July 2025 - 9:00am - Room 203
Ryoga Hojo
Department: Chemistry
Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence: From Rational Design to Applications in Photocatalysis
Wednesday, 23 July 2025 - 10:00am - 4202, Douglas Kenny Building, 2136 West Mall
Dennis Gerlofs
Department: Neuroscience
The Dual Function of Social Gaze
Wednesday, 23 July 2025 - 1:00pm - 223, Geography Building, 1984 West Mall
David Puhl
Department: Geography
Landscape Control on Channel Adjustment in Response to Flooding
Wednesday, 23 July 2025 - 4:00pm - Room 203
Jason Winikoff
Department: Music
The Sounds of Makishi: Luvale Spirit Manifestation, Music, and Timbre in Zambia
Thursday, 24 July 2025 - 10:00am - 5104, Earth Sciences Building, 2207 Main Mall
Catriona Breasley
Department: Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Lithium Aluminosilicate Formation and Textural Origins in Evolved Pegmatites: Insights from the Tanco Pegmatite, Manitoba and Prof Pegmatite, British Columbia
Thursday, 24 July 2025 - 11:00am - 224, Biodiversity Research Centre, 2212 Main Mall
Dylan Moxley
Department: Botany
Contributing to the Molecular Toolbox for Domesticated Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)
Thursday, 24 July 2025 - 12:00pm - Zoom
Ajibola Fabusuyi
Department: Central, Eastern and North European Studies
Sankofa and Black German Autobiographical Nonfiction and Filmmaking
Thursday, 24 July 2025 - 12:30pm - Room 200
Kathryn Crowter
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Searching for Millisecond and Slow Pulsars with CHIME
Thursday, 24 July 2025 - 2:00pm - Koerner Conference Room, Brain Research Centre, UBC Hospital, 2211 Wesbrook Mall
Graeme Betts
Department: Neuroscience
Central Cholinergic System and Muscarinic Subtype M4: Probabilistic Decision-Making Deficits by Inherent Impulsivity
Thursday, 24 July 2025 - 4:30pm - 773, Robert H.N. Ho Building, 2635 Laurel St
Luke MacLean
Department: Biomedical Engineering
The Design and Validation of Ultrasound-Augmented Self-Localizing Tools for Dynamic and Adjustable Registration and Navigation in Spinal Surgery
Friday, 25 July 2025 - 9:00am - Room 200
Don Shafer
Department: Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice
Sticks and Stones, Roots & Bones; Exploring the Power of Words in a Polarized World
Friday, 25 July 2025 - 9:00am - Zoom
Ellen Boyd
Department: Population and Public Health
More than Just Emerging: Salmonella Dublin in British Columbia Dairy Cattle
Monday, 28 July 2025 - 10:30am - 969, Henry Angus Building, 2053 Main Mall
Dongliang Lu
Department: Sauder School of Business
Essays in Corporate Governance and Financial Institutions
Monday, 28 July 2025 - 12:30pm - D317, Chemistry Bldg, 2036 Main Mall
Qingyuan Bian
Department: Chemistry
Engineering Protein-Based Functional Materials
Monday, 28 July 2025 - 12:30pm - 203, Mathematics Bldg, 1984 Mathematics Rd
Katharine Faulkner
Department: Mathematics
Mathematical Models for a Mechanistic Understanding of Type 2 Diabetes Development
Monday, 28 July 2025 - 1:00pm - Zoom
Yupei Ma
Department: Vancouver School of Economics
Essays in Applied Microeconomics
Monday, 28 July 2025 - 1:30pm - 1330, Life Sciences Institute, 2350 Health Sciences Mall
John Kim
Department: Cell & Developmental Biology
Consequences and Repair of Mitochondrial Protein Import Defects in Mammals
Monday, 28 July 2025 - 1:30pm - Dorothy Lam Boardroom, BC Cancer Research Institute, 675 West 10th Avenue
MONA ORANGI
Department: Oncology
The Role of Innate Lymphoid Cells in Steatohepatitis and Liver Fibrosis
Tuesday, 29 July 2025 - 9:00am - Room 203
Baohui Jia
Department: Civil Engineering
Membrane Ageing in Drinking Water Treatment: Assessing the Impact of Natural Organic Matter Foulants and Hypochlorite Interactions
Tuesday, 29 July 2025 - 12:30pm - Room 200
Xia Sun
Department: Forestry
Synthesis and Applications of Dialcohol Nanocellulose
Tuesday, 29 July 2025 - 1:00pm - Zoom
Kate Wahl
Department: Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Advancing Knowledge Translation in the Context of Abortion Policy and Practice in Canada
Tuesday, 29 July 2025 - 1:00pm - X836, ICICS, 2366 Main Mall
Shih Han Chou
Department: Computer Science
Vision and Language: Representation Learning, Commonsense Reasoning, and Consistency
Tuesday, 29 July 2025 - 4:00pm - 2071, Civil and Mechanical Engineering, 6250 Applied Science Lane
Xinglong Huang
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Development and Applications of Light Field Microscopy Systems for On-Chip 3D Characterization of Dynamic Samples in Microfluidic Platforms
Wednesday, 30 July 2025 - 9:00am - D213, Chemistry Bldg, 2036 Main Mall
Paul Heine
Department: Chemistry
The Atmospheric Fate of Volatile Organic Selenium Measured by Online Proton-Transfer-Reaction Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry
Wednesday, 30 July 2025 - 9:00am - Zoom
Shayan Jannati
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Quantitative Analysis of Cell Mechanics with a Focus on Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs)
Wednesday, 30 July 2025 - 10:00am - Zoom
Eva Crowson
Department: Educational Studies
The British Empire's Ruins in Higher Education
Wednesday, 30 July 2025 - 12:30pm - Room 203
Robert Shilton
Department: Civil Engineering
Sprayable Geopolymer for Underground Wastewater Infrastructure
Wednesday, 30 July 2025 - 1:00pm - 2101, Douglas T. Kenny Building, 2136 West Mall
Matthew Billet
Department: Psychology
Antecedents and Outcomes of Spiritual Connections to Nature
Wednesday, 30 July 2025 - 3:00pm - 3113, BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, 950 West 28th Avenue
Junran Yan
Department: Cell & Developmental Biology
Eukaryotic Elongation Factor 2 EFK-1/eEF2K Promotes Starvation Resistance in Caenorhabditis elegans
Thursday, 31 July 2025 - 9:00am - Room 200
Ka-Ming Tong
Department: Chemistry
Photophysics of Rhenium(I) and Platinum (II) Complexes with Sulfur-Bridged of Flexible Lewis Pair Ligands
Thursday, 31 July 2025 - 12:30pm - 1312, Life Sciences Institute, 2350 Health Sciences Mall
Kevin Jeffers
Department: Medical Genetics
Characterization of the Yeast VPS13 VAB Domain in Regard to its Regulation of PxP Adaptor Recruitment and VPS13 Function
Thursday, 31 July 2025 - 12:30pm - Room 200
Natalie Westwood
Department: Zoology
Exploring the Intricacies of Systems: From Treeholes to Teaching
Thursday, 31 July 2025 - 12:30pm - 1617, Forest Sciences Centre, 2424 Main Mall
Ramon Melser
Department: Forestry
Enhanced Assessment of Boreal Vegetation Productivity Using Integrated Satellite-Derived Datasets and Analysis Approaches
Thursday, 31 July 2025 - 1:00pm - E404, Shaughnessy Bldg, BC Women's Hospital, 4500 Oak st
Yasser Sabr
Department: Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Severe Maternal Morbidity and Maternal Mortality Associated with Pre-existing Medical Conditions in Pregnancy
Thursday, 31 July 2025 - 3:00pm - Zoom
Daniel Jaramillo Calderon
Department: Vancouver School of Economics
Essays on the Economics of Crime and Conflict
Friday, 1 August 2025 - 9:00am - Room 200
Samantha Myers
Department: Rehabilitation Sciences
Understanding Who Engages and Why it Matters: Predictors and Outcomes of Exercise Adherence in Real-World and Remote Cancer Exercise Programs
Tuesday, 5 August 2025 - 10:00am - Zoom
Kanageswari Singara Veloo
Department: Chemical and Biological Engineering
Minimal Thermal Treatment of Cellulosic Biomass to Produce Torrefied Pellets
Tuesday, 5 August 2025 - 11:00am - 3200, Biological Sciences Building, 6270 University Blvd
Siobhan Schenk
Department: Botany
The Bacterial Community of Sugar Kelp (Saccharina Latissima) in Cultivation and under Salinity Stress
Tuesday, 5 August 2025 - 12:30pm - Room 200
Evan Muise
Department: Forestry
Assessing Forest Ecological Integrity and Protected Area Effectiveness in British Columbia with Satellite Remote Sensing
Tuesday, 5 August 2025 - 4:00pm - Room 203
Zihuan Wang
Department: Electrical & Computer Engineering
Machine Learning Enabled Integrated Sensing and Communication for Next Generation Wireless Networks
Wednesday, 6 August 2025 - 9:00am - Zoom
Brian Watson
Department: Information
Expanding the Margins in the History of Sexuality & Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums & Special Collections (GLAM)
Thursday, 7 August 2025 - 1:00pm - 12th Floor Seminar Room, BC Cancer Research Centre, 675 W 10th Ave
Faeze Keshavarz Rahaghi
Department: Bioinformatics
Application of Machine Learning and Language Models in Health and Biological Sciences
Wednesday, 13 August 2025 - 9:00am - Room 200
William Primrose
Department: Chemistry
Development of Glassy Organic Dots for Biological Imaging
Wednesday, 13 August 2025 - 11:00am - Zoom
Mikayla Pachkowski
Department: Psychology
Coping with Suicidal Ideation: A Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Examination
Monday, 18 August 2025 - 9:00am - Room 200
LEI LI
Department: Chemical and Biological Engineering
Simulation of Hydrogel Mechanics in Biomicrofluidic Applications
Monday, 18 August 2025 - 9:00am - Zoom
Justin Turner
Department: Rehabilitation Sciences
Garden of Resilience: Individual, Clinician, and Indigenous Community Stories of Disruption and Adaptation during the 21st Century
Wednesday, 20 August 2025 - 3:30pm - Zoom
Maram Sakr
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Democratizing Robot Learning: Teaching by Demonstration with Everyday Users in Mind
Thursday, 21 August 2025 - 2:00pm - 240, West Mall Annex (WMAX), 1933 West Mall
Keisha Maloney
Department: Community and Regional Planning
Rehearsals for Transformation: Learning the Craft of Planning
Monday, 25 August 2025 - 9:00am - Room 200
Jennifer Nagtegaal
Department: French, Hispanic and Italian Studies
Expanded Comics: Multimediality, Performance, and Extra Multimodality under Post-Postmodernism
Friday, 5 September 2025 - 1:00pm - Zoom
Xinyuan Zhang
Department: Sauder School of Business
Learning and Decision-Making in Complex Information Environments