Among the most critical elements of any doctoral exam, from the perspective of those who coordinate these complexities, is the search for a strong Chair. Yet this search serves as a perennial challenge to the Doctoral Examinations team. We consider ourselves very lucky indeed if we issue fewer than 10 invitations before confirming 1 chair for an upcoming exam. It is not at all unusual in some disciplines to invite 30 or more chairs before some gracious faculty member agrees to help us out.
If you would like to contribute your time and wisdom to UBC’s doctoral exams:
- Please have a look at the list of upcoming exams below and if one interests you, please send us an email to graduate.doctoral@ubc.ca
- Or send us an email detailing the areas that interest you and days/times that you might be generally available and we'll contact you as new exams are scheduled. Again, send an email to graduate.doctoral@ubc.ca
Please bear in mind that the chair cannot be affiliated with the candidate’s graduate program, or a member of the supervisor's department..
Friday, September 4, 2026 1:30 PM - Zoom
Mohammad Shojaeifard
(Mechanical Engineering)
Mechanics of Friction-Mediated Puncture in Soft Solids
Supervisor(s): Professor Mattia Bacca
Tuesday, September 8, 2026 10:00 AM - 311, Brimacombe Bldg, 2355 East Mall
Michael Hemsworth
(Physics and Astronomy)
Stability and Coherence of Ultraviolet Resonant Dispersive Wave Emission in Gas-Filled Anti-Resonant Hollow-Core Fibers
Supervisor(s): Professor David J Jones
Thursday, September 10, 2026 11:00 AM - 5018, Biodiversity Research Centre, 2212 Main Mall
Jenna Melanson
(Zoology)
Navigating the Risk-Reward Landscape: Bumblebee Movement, Resource Use, and Health in Agroecosystems
Supervisor(s): Professor Claire Kremen
Monday, September 14, 2026 9:00 AM - 3335, Pharmaceutical Sciences Building, 2405 Wesbrook Mall
Vanessa Chan
(Pharmaceutical Sciences)
Targeted Delivery of Toll-Like Receptor 7/8 Agonists for the Enhancement of Cancer Immunotherapy
Supervisor(s): Professor Shyh-dar Li
Monday, September 14, 2026 12:30 PM - Room 203
Chen Yuan
(Electrical & Computer Engineering)
Circuit Techniques for High-Speed Wireline Links
Supervisor(s): Professor Sudip Shekhar
Tuesday, September 15, 2026 12:00 PM - 1330, Life Sciences Institute, 2350 Health Sciences Mall
Alexandria Shaw
(Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
Copilot said: Molecular Basis of Phosphatidylinositol 4-Kinase Alpha (PI4KA) Regulation by Regulatory Protein Partners and Post-Translational Modifications
Supervisor(s): Professor Calvin Yip, Professor John E. Burke
Tuesday, September 15, 2026 12:30 PM - Room 200
Eri Tanaka
(Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)
Investigating Metabolic Regulation of CD8+ T Cell Function to Enhance T Cell-Based Adoptive Cellular Therapy
Supervisor(s): Professor Ramon Klein Geltink
Wednesday, September 16, 2026 9:00 AM - 254, Vancouver Prostate Centre (Jack Bell Research Centre), 2660 Oak Street
Mingchen Shi
(Oncology)
Chromatin Remodeling and Transcriptional Control of Treatment-Induced Lineage Plasticity in Advanced Prostate Cancer
Supervisor(s): Professor Yuzhuo Wang
Wednesday, September 16, 2026 9:00 AM - Room 200
Qi Yan
(Electrical & Computer Engineering)
Generative Modeling of Topological and Spatiotemporal Data
Supervisor(s): Professor Renjie Liao, Professor Lele Wang
Wednesday, September 16, 2026 12:30 PM - Room 203
Neftali Hernandez Martinez
(Forestry & Environmental Stewardship)
Readiness and Resistance: Institutional Adaptation of REDD+ and Climate Smart Agriculture in Indigenous Communities of Oaxaca, Mexico
Supervisor(s): Professor John L Innes
Tuesday, September 22, 2026 12:30 PM - Room 200
Wancheng Gao
(Forestry & Environmental Stewardship)
Strength and Reliability Analyses of Glulam Beam-Column Moment Resisting Connections
Supervisor(s): Professor Frank Lam
Friday, September 25, 2026 12:30 PM - Zoom
Chunping Huang
(Asian Studies)
Chineseness as Becoming: Cosmopolitan Identity in Non-Cinema and Assemblage
Supervisor(s): Mila Zuo, Professor Derek Gladwin
Thursday, October 8, 2026 9:00 AM - Zoom
Lara Aysal
(Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate Program)
Artists in Relation: From Artmaking to Worldmaking in the Climate Crisis
Supervisor(s): Professor Derek Gladwin, Professor Tom Scholte