Convocation May 2021

Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership and Policy)

• Dr. Lisa Marie Allen: "Dr. Allen explored the experience of precarious faculty members in British Columbian higher education institutions. Using auto ethnographic methods and an organizational culture theoretical framework, Dr. Allen made recommendations for senior leadership to foster more inclusivity with precarious faculty within higher education organizations."

Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy

• Dr. Cyntha Ye: "Dr. Ye studied the genetic architecture of strabismus, more commonly known as crossed eyes. She identified the likely causal gene in a large family with a history of strabismus, multiple biological pathways, and the involvement of the central nervous system. This research advanced the understanding of strabismus pathology and may improve patient care."
• Dr. Parker Jobin: "Many proteins secreted outside of cells are regulated by enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases. Dr. Jobin's research revealed new extracellular roles for intracellular enzymes and how matrix metalloproteinases modulate these roles, and exposed novel biology by tapping into an unknown well of molecules that react with matrix metalloproteinases."
• Dr. Allen Wen Yu Zhang: "Dr. Zhang studied how cancer cells resist treatment in ovarian cancer, one of the deadliest cancers. He showed that although the immune system helps keep this cancer at bay, some cancer cells evade immune cells and cause patient relapse. His research highlights current challenges for immune-based therapies for this cancer and how to overcome them."
• Dr. Dave Twa: "Dr. Twa characterized the pathobiology and sequelae, or consequences, of chromosomal rearrangements in lymphoid neoplasia, which arise from cancerous lymphoid cells."
• Dr. Adam Rehim Ramzy: "Dr. Ramzy studied the role that the hormone insulin plays in the development of insulin-producing beta-cells. He examined a gene therapy approach to treat diabetes and subsequently developed a new theory on how beta-cells produce mature insulin. This work revises a decades old dogma and provides insight into new treatment avenues for diabetes."
• Dr. Amanda Renee Dancsok: "Dr. Dancsok investigated the immune response to agressive cancers of the bone or soft tissues known as sarcomas. Her findings were used to help design clinical trials for sarcoma patients receiving a new type of cancer treatment called immune therapy, which works by igniting an immune system attack on cancer cells."

Doctor of Musical Arts (Piano)

• Dr. Benjamin Hopkins: "Dr. Hopkins researched historical and structural interactions between politics and classical music. He proposed three foundational ways for classical pianists to integrate political speech and action into their studies and careers, and also commissioned two new piano compositions that each address current political issues."

Doctor of Philosophy (Applied Animal Biology)

• Dr. Katie Mills: "Dr. Mills studied farmer decision-making and the role of their advisors to improve the welfare of dairy cows. The goal of this work is to help farmers better manage their businesses and improve the lives of the animals under their care."
• Dr. Benjamin Lecorps: "Dr. Lecorps investigated the effects of some common stressful and painful procedures on dairy cattle welfare. He found that some procedures likely induce negative mood and that some personality traits (e.g. pessimism) may render calves more vulnerable to stressors. His work shows that more research is needed to improve the welfare of dairy cattle."
• Dr. Yangfan Zhang: "Dr. Zhang coined the Integrated Respiratory Assessment Paradigm for accurate, precise, repeatable and comprehensive respiratory phenotype characterization for individual fish. This high throughput method allows biologists to develop and integrate a metabolic model with a genomic-physiology-ecology axis, leading to a better understanding of evolution."
• Dr. Augusto Mesquita L. Madureira: "Automated activity monitors used on dairy farms help detect periods of sexual receptivity, called estrus, in lactating cows. Dr. Madureira's research demonstrated that estrous expression detected by such monitors was associated with better fertility and reduced pregnancy loss, and can help the efficiency of reproductive management in dairy herds."
• Dr. Thomas Simon Ede: "Dr. Ede examined the potential of place aversion to assess affective pain in dairy calves. Basing the experimental approach on the animal's memory of common painful procedures such as injections and disbudding, calves were shown to display an emotional response to pain."

Doctor of Philosophy (Art History)

• Dr. Judy Jansen: "Dr. Jansen's research analyzes the absence of women's childbirth as a subject for medieval Christian art. Identifying the visual and textual mechanisms utilized to manipulate gender in the figuring of the Virgin and Christ demonstrates that the visual language of female procreation was displaced onto the male body of the crucified Christ."
• Dr. Alice Choi: "Dr. Choi examined the works of modern and contemporary Korean diasporic artists and studied how they were intertwined with the dynamics of the global dispersion of Koreans. Her research accounted for the complexity of these works, and considered the issues that diasporic artists continue to address in the face of globalization and transnationalism."

Doctor of Philosophy (Asian Studies)

• Dr. Minami Orihara: "Dr. Orihara examined the evolution of trust, cooperation, and altruism in early modern Japan. Documenting the transition from covenants with Japanese deities to more secular based contracts, her work tied the role of trust to debates of early modernity."

Doctor of Philosophy (Atmospheric Science)

• Dr. Nadya Moisseeva: "Dr. Moisseeva's work focused on improving our understanding of how wildfire smoke spreads in the atmosphere. She developed a method for estimating how high above the Earth's surface smoke from wildfires will rise. Her findings help improve the accuracy of air quality models and reduce negative smoke impacts for downwind communities."

Doctor of Philosophy (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)

• Dr. Franco Ka Kit Li: "Dr. Li studied the structures of several key enzymes required for the production and degradation of a bacterial cell wall polymer known as wall teichoic acid. His research provided mechanistic understanding of the enzymes' functions and revealed structural features that can guide the development of novel antibacterial therapeutics."
• Dr. Gloria Yang: "Dr. Yang studied how bacterial enzymes have evolved the ability to degrade novel man-made pesticides. She identified the key mutations responsible for the acquirement of the new function, and uncovered how these mutations change protein structure and function. Her research contributes to our understanding of protein evolution."
• Dr. Kazune Tamura: "Dr. Tamura elucidated the molecular mechanisms by which beneficial microbes in our gut utilize complex carbohydrates constituting dietary fibers that we humans cannot digest on our own. His research will inform future therapeutics based on targeted manipulation of gut microbial composition, which influences essentially all aspects of human health."
• Dr. Fabian Antonio Garces: "Dr. Garces showed how disease-causing mutations in the gene of a protein called ABCA4 affects its function and causes Stargardt's disease. His thesis provides invaluable insights into the pathological mechanisms of Stargardt's disease, insights of which could help tailor therapeutic treatments to individuals suffering from this disease."

Doctor of Philosophy (Bioinformatics)

• Dr. Elizabeth Chun: "Dr. Chun studied deadly paediatric cancers called rhabdoid tumours using sophisticated DNA sequencing and computational tools. She revealed diverse molecular characteristics of these cancers and discovered that a subset of tumours had more immune activities than others, thus revealing the potential use of immunotherapy for rhabdoid tumour patients."
• Dr. Shing Hei Zhan: "Dr. Zhan studied the impact of genome doubling on the evolution of organisms. He found that genome doubling frequently coincides with the formation of new species but does not necessarily improve the evolutionary success of eukaryotic organisms. His work has helped to understand the role of genome doubling in shaping the biodiversity on Earth."
• Dr. Sohrab Salehi: "Dr. Salehi developed a statistical framework that characterises and predicts how cancerous tumours evolve over time, with or without treatment at a single-cell level. His research provides insight into therapeutic strategies promoting early intervention, drug combinations and evolution-aware approaches to clinical management of human cancers."
• Dr. Shamsuddin Ahmed Bhuiyan: "There are many who believe that genes commonly code for more than one functional product, through a process called alternative splicing. Dr. Bhuiyan studied the evidence for this claim, and showed that - despite what we learn in our textbooks - alternative splicing is not as common as we thought."

Doctor of Philosophy (Biomedical Engineering)

• Dr. Maryam Mohtajeb: "Dr. Mohtajeb used open MRI to study anterior femoroacetabular impingement, a condition that occurs with subtle bony abnormalities within the hip. She developed and validated a hip model using MRI and motion data and used it to predict impingement during level walking, helping us understand how bony deformities cause hip pain and osteoarthritis."

Doctor of Philosophy (Botany)

• Dr. Samuel Livingston: "Dr. Livingston studied the cell biology of cannabis glandular trichomes, which are tiny structures that produce cannabinoids such as THC and CBD. His work revealed how the trichomes develop, and how the plant cells can produce and store cannabinoids. His work provides a molecular roadmap for cannabis production in a growing Canadian industry."
• Dr. Paul George Kapos: "Dr. Kapos used a mix of genetic and molecular biology techniques to examine the mechanisms of plant immunity. His work determined roles of several novel proteins in the regulation of immune signalling and added to our understanding of how protein degradation helps to modulate defence responses in plants."
• Dr. Varsha Mathur: "Dr. Mathur examined the evolutionary history of apicomplexan parasites, which are a large group of important animal parasites that cause malaria and other diseases. Her research used new single-cell techniques and has altered our fundamental understanding of how these parasites evolved."
• Dr. Kaichi Huang: "Dr. Huang explores the genomic mechanisms of adaptation. He identified structural changes in the chromosomes of dune-adapted sunflowers and revealed the importance of these changes to facilitating ecological divergence. These discoveries advance our understanding of species' adaptation to different environments and the formation of biodiversity."
• Dr. Ana Priscilla Montenegro Alonso: "Dr. Montenegro Alonso studied a specific small protein that is secreted by the smut fungus when it infects barley. She revealed its timing of expression, localization in the plant and the role it plays in weakening the plant defenses. These findings can be used to better understand plant-fungal interactions and to develop resistant crop varieties."
• Dr. Hoda Yaghmaiean: "Dr. Yaghmaiean uncovered a novel group of proteins called receptor-like cytoplasmic kinases, which function downstream of other proteins and have redundant functions of transducing immune signals in the model plant Arabidopsis. These results provide new insights on such proteins as common transducers in different plant immune signalling events."

Doctor of Philosophy (Cell and Developmental Biology)

• Dr. Arlo Cordell Adams: "Dr. Adams showed that preturbing the machinery necessary for moving calcium and lipids between different components of cells in the testis results in the dysregulation of mammalian sperm release. His work has substantially added to the knowledge of sperm release mechanisms and has provided insight into infertility disorders in men."

Doctor of Philosophy (Chemical and Biological Engineering)

• Dr. Jun Sian Lee: "Dr. Lee studied the moisture-related physical qualities of BC softwood pellets. His work suggested best practices for handling wood pellets in wet conditions. Dr. Lee's research also explored ways to minimize moisture adsorption, thus minimizing the degradation of wood pellets during storage and transport."
• Dr. Yanuar Philip Wijaya: "Dr. Wijaya studied a novel and mild approach for synthesis of industrially valuable chemicals from woody biomass using water and electricity. High conversion and efficiency can be obtained using an electrochemical reactor with stirred catalyst slurry. This research advances the impact of electrocatalysis on clean and sustainable energy production."
• Dr. Arman Seyed-Ahmadi: "Dr. Seyed-Ahmadi investigated how particle shape influences the behavior of suspensions, and developed a novel data-driven model for the prediction of forces and torques in particulate flows. His model serves as the first step towards bringing simulations of industrial-scale systems within reach."
• Dr. Seyedmohammadamin Arefi: "Dr. Arefi studied the transport of particles and cells within microfluidic devices that mimic biological systems. This research used computer simulations to help reveal the underlying physics of the phenomena, and its findings may contribute to the design of microfluidic devices that analyze particulate and cell transport through the endothelium."

Doctor of Philosophy (Chemistry)

• Dr. Mahyad Aghigh: "Dr. Aghigh investigated the response of specific excited molecular systems to different time-varying electric fields and showed experimentally that electrons in such systems approach an immobilized state. This research constructs the building blocks of many important future applications in areas such as Quantum Computing, and Astronomy."
• Dr. Linglan Fu: "Dr. Fu focused on the design of protein-based biomaterials at both molecular and macroscopic levels. Her research allows for precise control over the mechanical performance of protein-based hydrogels for a variety of applications, such as soft actuators, cartilage-like biomaterials, and artificial substrates for laboratory cell biology studies."
• Dr. Ethan Richard Sauve: "Dr. Sauvé prepared organic semiconductors with novel optical properties and morphologies for potential application in electronic devices and in encryption. He also developed new luminescent dyes for efficient displays and biological imaging."
• Dr. Thomas Isaac N. Kostelnik: "Dr. Kostelnik studied new radioactive drugs for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. He found a number of compounds that form highly stable bonds with radioactive metals. These studies assist in the development of optimal radiopharmaceuticals for a wide range of diseases."
• Dr. Maxim Epifanov: "Dr. Epifanov developed novel applications of sulfuryl fluoride, a common fumigant produced industrially on a multi-ton scale. The unique chemical properties of sulfuryl fluoride was used to render important transformations in organic synthesis to be more efficient and operationally simpler than existing methods."
• Dr. Elesha Rene Hoffarth: "Dr. Hoffarth explored the catalytic potential of the biosynthetic pathway of an antibiotic called indolmycin for contributions to natural product and antibiotic development. This exploration provided mechanistic insights for rare types of oxygen-dependent enzymes and produced novel derivatives of indolmycin using bacteria."
• Dr. Neha Choudhary: "Dr. Choudhary investigated the coordination chemistry of radiometal ions, which are crucial for developing new metal-based radiopharmaceuticals. She synthesized diverse chelators for small to medium-sized ions and studied the effect of donor groups on ion chelation to deepen the understanding of their potential uses for clinical imaging and therapy."
• Dr. Manish Vashishta: "Dr. Vashishta demonstrated the trapping of polyatomic free radicals using solenoid coils and permanent magnets. This work showed for the first time the possibility of trapping polyatomic radicals, which can now be used to enhance our understanding of fundamental processes."
• Dr. Adrian Mark Maclean: "Dr. Maclean studied the mixing times of organic molecules and water within atmospheric aerosols, and the phase state of these aerosols. This research highlighted that aerosols in Earth's lowest layer of atmosphere, the troposphere, may be solid with long mixing times of organic molecules and water, contrary to typical assumptions in global models."
• Dr. Michael Tran: "Dr. Tran developed a simple, rapid, and inexpensive method for visualizing cancer cells that were labeled with various ultrabright fluorescent particles on a 3-D printed, smartphone-based imaging platform. His research demonstrates potential for applications in point-of-care diagnostic testing and personalized medicine."
• Dr. Rebecca Claire DiPucchio: "Dr. DiPucchio developed catalysts based on the element Tantalum to accelerate carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions. These resultant catalysts used ureate ligands and displayed reactivity that allowed for making new types of drug-inspired products. Her project has inspired a variety of current and future projects in the Schafer lab.""
• Dr. Ziao Huang: "Dr. Huang's research focused on metabolite analysis using capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry. He established reliable methods to identify and quantify small molecules from biological samples and developed a software tool to facilitate metabolomics data processing. His work contributed to the biomarker discovery for biomedical research."
• Dr. Andy Tran: "Dr. Tran studied the microscopic assembly of cellulose nanocrystals derived from sustainable sources. He produced colourful materials ranging from thin films to stretchable elastomers for applications including optical sensors and filters. His findings contribute to the search for and development of sustainable and renewable alternative materials."
• Dr. Christopher Tonge: "Dr. Tonge worked to develop a series of organic semiconductor polymers and small molecules. These materials were then used in the assembly of larger, organized nanomaterials."
• Dr. Alexandra Gaia Verhaven: "Dr. Verhaven studied the surface of DNA biosensors. She examined the relationship between applied electrical voltage and DNA melting. Her findings could contribute to the improved fabrication of future biosensors."

Doctor of Philosophy (Civil Engineering)

• Dr. Shewkar El-Bassiouni Ibrahim: "Dr. Ibrahim demonstrated that mobile automated speed enforcement increases safety by reducing collisions and crime incidence, and identified that changing the number of times an enforcement is visited can change the safety outcome. These novel findings can allow road agencies to maximize safety benefits by strategically deploying limited resources."
• Dr. Suzana Carla Nunes Lins Espindola: "Dr. Espindola studied the main challenges for the construction industry to engage in sustainable development. She presented a list of targets and their contribution to the UN Sustainability Development Goals and a management framework for sustainable development by consolidating proven methods with industry-familiar formatting and innovative content."
• Dr. Achala Nishan Soysa: "Dr. Soysa examined the shear behavior of sand-silt mixtures through an extensive experimental research program. He developed a new laboratory criterion to assess the seismic resistance of soils. His study advances the current state of knowledge and understanding of the strength and stiffness of soils."
• Dr. Bardia Kabiri Far: "Dr. Kabiri Far studied cementitious interfaces and Fiber Reinforced Concrete, or FRC, for repairing deteriorated concrete structures. This study found FRC effective at mitigating pre-loading damage and improving tensile behavior, and proposed semi-empirical models for use by field practitioners and in numerical simulations of composite elements."
• Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Abdelhay Ah Essa: "Dr. Essa developed a new method to evaluate and optimize traffic safety in real-time. His method accurately predicts and significantly reduces traffic conflicts, leading to better safety and mobility performances of signalized intersections. His research will aid in developing smart traffic signal controllers in the era of connected vehicles."
• Dr. Maryam Mahmoodi: "Dr. Mahmoodi studied the engineering of high-rise buildings. She investigated irregularities and discontinuities in concrete shear wall buildings. By understanding the complex nonlinear mechanics, she was able to develop design methods that will assist structural engineers to make high-rise buildings safer in earthquakes."
• Dr. Alexander Mendler: "Dr. Mendler developed a novel reliability-based method to determine the minimum structural damages that can be detected and localized based on ambient structural vibrations. This framework allows engineers to evaluate the performance of existing instrumentation on bridges, and to optimize the sensor placement for earthquake-specific damages"

Doctor of Philosophy (Classics)

• Dr. Justin Scott Dwyer: "Dr. Dwyer examined the lasting impact of the 3rd century BCE playwright Apollodorus of Carystus, whose work survives only in fragments and Latin adaptations. His dissertation reshapes our understanding of comic theatre from Hellenistic Greece and offers crucial insight into the afterlife of Apollodorus in Roman drama."

Doctor of Philosophy (Computer Science)

• Dr. Shu Yang: "Dr. Yang developed recommender systems to unveil binding preferences of experimentally unexplored RNA-binding proteins. He utilized cutting-edge deep learning techniques in the systems to improve the understanding of such proteins and to provide new opportunities to investigate the complex post-transcriptional regulations."
• Dr. Alireza Shafaei: "Many of the artificial-intelligence-powered products that we use daily rely on a family of methods called "deep learning"'. Dr. Shafaei presented solutions that enable a broader and safer application of these techniques. He also introduced a new application of deep learning for automated portrait editing that produces high-quality images."
• Dr. Nasim Zolaktaf: "Dr. Zolaktaf studied ways to improve the prediction of nucleic acid kinetics. This study provides more efficient computational methods for predicting nucleic acid kinetics and improving the underlying kinetic models for nucleic acids. Her contributions will make it easier to design nucleic-acid based devices, such as DNA robots."

Doctor of Philosophy (Curriculum Studies)

• Dr. Matthew James Yanko: "Dr. Yanko created and investigated a novel approach for assessing arts learning experiences. He discovered how the arts can enable educators to illuminate the values and judgments of student creativity, imagination, and meaning-making. Findings show this practice to be inclusive, democratic, and tangible for all learners in a classroom community."
• Dr. LJ Slovin: "With a focus on youth in high school, Dr. Slovin studied the conditions that structure understandings of gender nonconformity. Their work reimagines and deconstructs normative ideas of gender as visible, binary, and knowable."
• Dr. Blake Elizabeth Smith: "In a community of practice, Dr. Smith artistically explored the pedagogical possibilities and ethics of photo-based memory work in the exhibition Against Disappearance: A Photographic Search for Memory. Her work on lexical thinking and visual lifewriting expands understandings of photographic inquiry, highlighting a/r/tography's creative potential."
• Dr. Sandra Ximena Delgado: "Dr. Delgado used narrative inquiry to explore the pedagogical potential of student activism, and how the experience of activism transforms both the role of students and activists. Dr. Delgado studied the context of resistance from economics students to traditional content and pedagogies of introductory economics courses in UK universities."
• Dr. Joslyn Claire Melton: "Dr. Melton studied how developing a sense of wonder in pre-service teachers influenced their ideas about science and science teaching. She found that exposure to wonder-inducing activities shifted the views and values of pre-service teachers towards science both in and out of the classroom and fostered a stronger connection with nature."

Doctor of Philosophy (Economics)

• Dr. Michael Wiebe: "Dr. Wiebe studied whether China's economic growth can be explained by meritocratic promotion, where leaders with higher GDP growth are rewarded with promotion. Focusing on prefecture leaders, he found no evidence for meritocracy, and found that the evidence from the literature is not robust. This research improves our understanding of modern China."
• Dr. Terry Tam: "Dr. Tam studied how the costs of lying, either derived from physiological and moral barriers or fear of being caught lying, affect people's behavior. This research assists policy makers in implementing effective self-reporting mechanisms."
• Dr. Tsenguun Enkhbaatar: "Dr. Enkhbaatar proposed a method that estimates household preference and hidden stock market participation costs from micro-panel data, and used it to analyze how the stock market collapse impacted household consumption. This research is useful for policymakers measuring the impact of financial crises and monetary policy on household consumption."
• Dr. Pablo Antonio Gutierrez Cubillos: "Dr. Gutierrez Cubillos showed that intergenerational mobility of earnings in Chile is non-linear, with very high mobility for the bottom 80 percent and very high persistence for the top. He also developed methodologies to include corporate retained earnings in the measurement of income inequality and applied them to Canada and Chile."
• Dr. Benjamin Andrew Milner: "Dr. Milner studied the importance of education in 19th century Britain, showing the positive effects of publicly provided schools and of child labour legislation on the economic prospects of children. His work demonstrates that targeted public intervention can improve social mobility and insure against economic shocks."

Doctor of Philosophy (Educational Studies)

• Dr. Keith Ebenezer Dormond: "Dr. Dormond studied the understanding and response of counsellors, police and educators to "honour"-related violence and oppression, and found that discourses of othering depict racialized communities as the cause of these acts. He provides insight for collaborative and educational frameworks to challenge the marginalization of racialized peoples."
• Dr. Vicheth Sen: "Dr. Sen studied the linkage between higher education and social mobility of people from rural areas in Cambodia. The study problematizes colonial legacies in educational development, critiques the application of Bourdieu's sociological concepts, and proposes an alternate conceptual model of social practice in Global South postcolonial societies."
• Dr. Kathryn Elizabeth Paterson: "Dr. Paterson explored how educators in Alberta engage with queer, trans, and gender non-conforming diversity in elementary education. Her findings illustrate the limitations of current approaches to change in schools. Her work contributes to a better schooling future for queer and trans students, thereby improving conditions for all students."

Doctor of Philosophy (Electrical and Computer Engineering)

• Dr. Jake Retallick: "Dr. Retallick developed methods for understanding the dynamics of charges in large arrangements of field-coupled quantum dots. These methods were used to assess the feasibility of a nanoscale computational architecture which uses silicon dangling bonds. His work will aid future development of nanostructures for compact, low-power computation."
• Dr. Abdullah Al-Digs: "Dr. Al-Digs developed analytical models and algorithmic methods for operational monitoring and control tasks that ensure reliable and efficient operation of electric power systems. His research will enable real-time detection of disturbances, offer computationally efficient dynamic contingency analysis, and optimize power system asset utilization."
• Dr. Reza Ramezan: "Dr. Ramezan studied approaches to decentralize communication networks using blockchain. Dr. Ramezan introduced a new approach in designing communication protocols, named software-defined protocols. These studies assist us to connect billions of devices in emerging communication networks."
• Dr. Abdelmalik Aljalai: "Dr. Aljalai developed novel signaling schemes to improve the performance of 5G cellular networks and beyond. He invented the Dual Pilot Scheme and its extended version to enhance the estimation of communication channels. His research improves Quality-of-Service by advancing telecommunication systems through practical and economic engineering solutions."
• Dr. Yongwei Wang: "Dr. Wang examined the security and privacy issues of artificial intelligence, or AI, for digital media. He studied four typical AI models from three dominant computer vision tasks, and designed novel algorithms to expose their threats individually. The findings provide insights for developing more secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence."
• Dr. Hamed Valipour: "Charging electric vehicles produce unwanted heat loss. Dr. Valipour investigated different approaches to limit generated losses in chargers and power converters in these vehicles and solar panels. He proposed flexible architecture to increase efficiency by re-configuring itself and providing smart and optimized performance at each operating point."
• Dr. Amir Hossein Abdi: "Dr. Abdi introduced novel machine learning methods for clinical diagnosis and planning of jaw reconstructive surgeries and cardiovascular interventions. His designs and ideas enable clinicians in decision making via AI-generated insights from echocardiograms, multimodality information fusion, generative modelling, and object tracking."

Doctor of Philosophy (English)

• Dr. Pavlina Pajot: "Dr. Pajot studied Edith Wharton's authorship through her magazine publications and their subsequent book revisions, and examined the literary strategies Wharton employed to navigate American literature in the early 20th century. These strategies allowed Wharton to cater to various audiences and to become a commercially-successful and serious author."
• Dr. Janey Dodd: "Dr. Dodd studied American poets theater. Using archival research and theory, her work argues that poets theater has been used as a tool for both building and preserving community through reperformance. These findings broaden our understanding of the intersection of poetry and performance and lends new insight into several important poetic movements."

Doctor of Philosophy (Experimental Medicine)

• Dr. Shawna Lynn Abel: "People with multiple sclerosis can experience cognitive impairment that severely impacts their lives. Dr. Abel's work showed that multiple sclerosis-related cognitive impairment involves the damage of myelin, a protective coating on nerve fibers in the brain. These findings will help test new myelin therapies for this disease."
• Dr. Jon Frew: "Dr. Frew studied a new approach for treating a genetic form of frontotemporal dementia. He created a unique repository of dementia patient-derived stem cell lines that will contribute to the study of neurodegeneration for years to come. His research provides support for continued development and preclinical testing of next generation therapeutics."
• Dr. Henry Lu: "Dr. Lu studied the genetic and molecular causes underlying a group of immune disorders called the CBM-opathies. His research improves our understanding of these diseases and informs the diagnosis and treatment of future related patients. Throughout his PhD, he helped genetically diagnose 11 children, which transformed their management and care."
• Dr. Tony Lok Heng Chu: "Dr. Chu showed that a cell division protein called Aurora kinase A modifies the cellular cytoskeleton to enable cell invasiveness and breast cancer metastases, and that high levels of this protein predicted survival rates for patients with aggressive breast cancers. These findings have therapeutic and prognostic value for breast cancer metastasis."
• Dr. Harpreet Kaur Chhina: "Dr. Chhina developed a new questionnaire to measure the impact of leg deformities on the quality of life of children. To develop this questionnaire, she interviewed children, parents, doctors, and healthcare workers from six different countries. This questionnaire will be used to measure the impact of treatments on improving quality of life."
• Dr. Ninadh Malrina D'Costa: "Dr. D'Costa demonstrated that some kidney cancer patients can be treated with a drug used in brain tumor therapy for improved response. She also developed a way to group patients and guide the practice of personalized medicine in clinics. Her research may help improve survival and therapy outcomes in kidney cancer patients."
• Dr. Jens Vent-Schmidt: "Inflammatory Bowel Disease is incurable and affects 1 in 140 Canadians. Dr. Vent-Schmidt found a new mechanism for how inflammation-stopping cells work and genetically changed these cells for potential disease therapy. His surveyed patients showed willingness to try this therapy, highlighting the need to include patients early and throughout research."
• Dr. Jessica Rebecca Marie Morrice: "Dr. Morrice investigated how toxins and risk genes may cause the motor neuron degeneration underlying ALS, a neurodegenerative disease. She identified regulatory elements of gene expression enhancers as novel ALS risk factors. This research provides insight into ALS causal factors which may translate to future therapeutic interventions."
• Dr. Patrick Coulombe: "Dr. Coulombe studied endothelial cell signaling in the development of the lung and blood system. His research demonstrated the participation of various cell types and identified pivotal factors in the formation of these organs. His work furthers our understanding of developmental processes, providing insights for therapies and regenerative medicine."
• Dr. Daniel Joseph Harbeson: "Dr. Harbeson identified a series of pathways that appear to dictate survival in neonatal sepsis, a condition wherein the blood of newborn babies becomes infected. Using these findings, he developed a new treatment for neonatal sepsis that is extremely effective in mice and represents a promising new therapeutic moving forward."

Doctor of Philosophy (Forestry)

• Dr. Katie McMahen: "Dr. McMahen studied methods for reclaiming forest ecosystems after mining. She showed that application of fresh forest soil, proximity to undisturbed forest, and planting of specific native plant species can promote recovery of beneficial soil microbes and improve plant establishment. Her research contributes to improving reclamation best practices."
• Dr. Sohrab Rahimi: "Dr. Rahimi worked on different approaches for predicting moisture in a batch of kiln-dried timber. He provided a predictive model and proposed a closed formula to estimate moisture variation after kiln-drying. His research is a forward step to reduce over-dried and under-dried timbers and, therefore, render them more value-added products."

Doctor of Philosophy (Genome Science and Technology)

• Dr. Phuong Ha Nguyen: "Dr. Nguyen investigated the characteristics of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells, which are believed to play a significant role in maintaining and regulating blood stem cells. Deletion of the Hic1 gene was found to expand these cells and further increase the number of blood stem cells, findings that offer great promise to stem cell therapy."

Doctor of Philosophy (Geography)

• Dr. Emily Sohanna Acheson: "Dr. Acheson worked with the BC Centre for Disease Control to examine how climatic and land use changes affected a fungus called Cryptococcus gattii, which caused a deadly fungal outbreak on Vancouver Island in 1999. She discovered that deforestation events on the island were likely a major contributor to the outbreak."
• Dr. Elliott Callan Child: "Dr. Child examined how modern US military interrogation systems work. Much more than an interpersonal encounter in a dark room, this research showed that US intelligence agencies frequently model interrogation similar to a vast bureaucratic machine that efficiently processes as many sources and as much information as possible."
• Dr. Vanessa Luna Banta: "Dr. Banta examined the geographies of returning Overseas Filipino Workers and the Philippines' migrant reintegration policy, which she argues is a strategy aimed to transform migrant workers into self-reliant entrepreneurs and investors. She illuminated the need for critical interventions in return migrant policymaking and grassroots organizing."
• Dr. Nina Ebner: "Dr. Ebner examined the impacts of ongoing economic restructuring on development processes and experiences of workers in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands."
• Dr. Bronwyn Bragg: "Dr. Bragg explored the lifeworlds of Syrian refugee families living in a mini-enclave in Canada. She explored the work that refugee mothers do to support their families in Canada, and the profound challenges they face and overcome. Her work argues that refugee stories should be the foundation on which policy decisions about refugees are made."

Doctor of Philosophy (Germanic Studies)

• Dr. Dorothee Leesing: "Dr. Leesing's thesis examined how high-rises were portrayed in diverse media in Germany from 1945 to 2020. Her findings showed how the high-rise changed the definition of 'home' while also becoming a tool for cultural forgetting and institutional surveillance. This work stresses the importance of architecture and media in a time of cultural shifts."

Doctor of Philosophy (History)

• Dr. Meghan Elizabeth Longstaffe: "Dr. Longstaffe studied the history (1960s-1980s) of marginalized women in Downtown Eastside Vancouver. She offers a new view of gendered and racialized poverty, homelessness, and violence, and the efforts of diverse women to resolve these issues. Her work shows that marginalized women were the most effective at finding solutions to their problems."
• Dr. Morgan William Rocks: "Dr. Rocks traced Chinese involvement in transnational anarchist networks with anarchists in Europe and the Americas. He revealed that anarchism and anarchist practice offered sympathetic Chinese means to imagine and act to build worlds beyond the pathways of nation, state, colony, empire, and Marxist-Leninist or Fascist internationalism."

Doctor of Philosophy (Interdisciplinary Oncology)

• Dr. Davide Tortora: "Dr. Tortora focused on PPAR-gamma, a protein involved in the biology of bladder cancer. Through gene editing technology, Dr. Tortora identified molecules regulating PPAR-gamma expression and clarified its effects in tumor development, thus potentially opening new possibilities for bladder cancer treatment."

Doctor of Philosophy (Interdisciplinary Studies)

• Dr. Janet Currie: "Dr. Currie examined the patient, clinician, socio-cultural and policy factors that have contributed to an increase in the off-label prescribing of domperidone to treat low breastmilk supply in BC. The research identifies approaches that can be used to improve the overall safety, effectiveness and transparency of off-label prescribing."
• Dr. Lindsay Cole: "Dr. Cole explored the transformative potential of public sector innovation labs in catalyzing change on complex social and environmental challenges. She worked with co-researchers from Canada and Europe, and developed theory and frameworks to strengthen the research and practices of public sector and social innovation labs."
• Dr. Heather Elizabeth Lebrun: "Utilizing an Indigenous Determinants of Health framework, Dr. Lebrun collaborated with Kanaka Maoli women leaders on Kaua'i on issues of food sovereignty, land tenure, and health. This research is being used to garner grants to establish a Food Sovereignty project on Hawaiian Homelands."
• Dr. Lora Zosia Moon: "Dr. Moon used comics as a theoretical and formal intervention to explore perspectival shifts between science and literature in early 20th-century Britain. Her format-bending research revealed how works by Arthur Eddington, James Jeans, Olaf Stapledon, and Virginia Woolf moved beyond singular, Earth-centered, and human-centered perspectives."
• Dr. Maya Elisha Lefkowich: "Dr. Lefkowich designed and piloted methods for community-based digital storytelling. Using personal reflections, she illustrated how filmmakers and academics normalize, conceal, and defend racism and colonialism as best practices. To disrupt this pattern, she offered story strategies that encourage greater accountability, creativity, and bravery."

Doctor of Philosophy (Kinesiology)

• Dr. Martin Zaback: "Dr. Zaback studied how emotional factors influence balance control. He demonstrated that while there are many changes to balance control when individuals stand in dangerous situations, only some of these depend on the level of fear experienced. His findings may assist in the development of therapies to minimize fall-risk."
• Dr. Negin Alivia Riazi: "Dr. Riazi examined social-ecological factors that influence the independent mobility of children in Canada. Her research highlighted the role of multi-level and multi-sectoral factors such as child age, social cohesion, and the built environment on independent mobility and provided focus for future initiatives promoting childhood independent mobility."

Doctor of Philosophy (Language and Literacy Education)

• Dr. Ava Becker: "Dr. Becker examined how two Chilean-Canadian heritage language learners were socialized to remember their difficult cultural heritage at home and at their Spanish bilingual elementary school. This study sheds light on the sophisticated navigation of uneven cultural terrain by children in heritage language education contexts generations after exile."
• Dr. Bonnie Lynn Nish: "Using Poetic Inquiry and Life Writing, Dr. Nish examined how personal stories expand our understanding of Mild Traumatic Brian Injury and the profound effects of this invisible injury on an individual and those in relationship to them. Through this process she demonstrated how critical a person's identity was for recovery and finding resiliency."

Doctor of Philosophy (Law)

• Dr. Millicent Frances Nickason: "Dr. Nickason examines Canada's efforts to give effect to First Nations' rights of self-determination and self-government. She demonstrates that cultural differences, in the ways First Nations and settler societies conceive of legitimacy, have undermined our capacity to negotiate new arrangements to give effect to these rights."
• Dr. Godwin Eli Kwadzo Dzah: "Dr. Dzah studied how Africa influences and is influenced by the concept of sustainable development. He argued that ethics and customary and Indigenous norms can revitalise the legal dimensions of this concept. He proposed ecological law as a new way to theorise and implement sustainable development and to reorganise links between society and nature."

Doctor of Philosophy (Linguistics)

• Dr. Erin A. Guntly: "Dr. Guntly demonstrated that paradoxical responses in discourse such as 'Yeah, that's wrong.' select different components in a speaker's utterance. Experimental results and natural examples show that paradoxical responses can target speaker beliefs or the question under discussion, in addition to the central claim of the utterance."

Doctor of Philosophy (Materials Engineering)

• Dr. Cheng Chen: "Dr. Chen studied the processing-microstructure-property relationships of thermoset composite materials that are toughened by particulate interlayer. His discovery of a new mechanism for how processing conditions affect the microstructure and properties of these materials contributes to fundamental materials science and has industrial applications."

Doctor of Philosophy (Mathematics)

• Dr. Ching Wong: "Dr. Wong studied the maximum possible number of certain mathematical objects when specific restrictions are imposed. Her investigation assists the community in understanding a number of important mathematical problems in extremal combinatorics, a field of study focused on the limits of finite objects."
• Dr. Frederic Paquin-Lefebvre: "Dr. Paquin-Lefebvre became an expert in dynamical systems theory during his PhD. He analyzed the pattern-forming dynamics of novel mathematical models motivated by the compartmentalization of cellular proteins. His thesis contains the first systematic derivation of amplitude equations near a variety of spatio-temporal instabilities in such models."
• Dr. Kateryna Melnykova: "Big data requires algorithms to be efficient in time and working memory. Dr. Melnykova's research provides performance guarantees of such algorithms for sparse recovery. Her analysis on the impact of mapping linear measurements onto reconstruction error using a process called quantization bridges a gap in the literature between theory and practice."
• Dr. Daniel Gomez: "Dr. Gomez studied the structure and dynamics of localized patterns in cellular biology using several new mathematical models, some patterns of which have applications to bulk-membrane processes. The analysis of such patterns provides insights on the phenomena being modeled and contributes to our general understanding of pattern formation."
• Dr. Li Wang: "Dr. Wang studied mathematical solutions of nonlinear differential equations that model chiral magnetic skyrmions. She provided a rigorous mathematical proof of the existence of skyrmions within the co-rotational symmetric class, and also examined their spectral and dynamical stability. This research contributes to the mathematics of chiral magnetism."
• Dr. Tongou Yang: "Dr. Yang researched fractals and decoupling in Euclidean harmonic analysis. Dr. Yang studied the size and geometric figures contained in fractals, or geometric objects possessing some self-similarity but highly rugged and oscillatory in nature. The decomposition of waves and their size properties in the physical space were studied using decoupling."

Doctor of Philosophy (Mechanical Engineering)

• Dr. Juuso Heikkinen: "Dr. Heikkinen developed a laser-based method for remotely tracking microscopic motions of objects and structures. His technique can measure motions much less than the diameter of a human hair at distances of several tens of meters. His method has great potential for safely assessing the integrity of structures located in hazardous environments."
• Dr. Ali Cherom Kheirabadi: "Dr. Cherom Kheirabadi's research involved developing mathematical models and control algorithms that allow offshore wind turbines to influence aerodynamic patterns and extract more energy from the wind. These methods raise wind farm efficiencies by 20%, thus making clean energy technology more competitive against fossil fuel-based sources."
• Dr. Pooyan Kheirkhah: "Harmful soot emissions from combustion engines are sensitive to conditions inside the cylinder. Dr. Kheirkhah developed a fast-response method for characterizing the cycle-resolved variation of soot concentration and correlated this with combustion energy, demonstrating the possibility of mitigating emissions by controlling combustion variability."
• Dr. Stefanie De Graaf : "Dr. De Graaf developed a computer code that models turbulent combustion to provide reliable predictions of pollutant emissions at a low computational cost. The new tool simulated jet flames in three different configurations, demonstrating its flexibility and potential usefulness for the aerospace industry."
• Dr. Jihoon Lim: "Dr. Lim developed Selective Catalytic Reduction Controllers for diesel engines using gain-scheduling and preview control techniques to minimize nitrogen oxides and ammonia. He conducted simulation tests using experimentally obtained data, and demonstrated improved control performance under model parameter uncertainty and sensor noise."

Doctor of Philosophy (Medical Genetics)

• Dr. Ido Refaeli: "Dr. Refaeli showed that the podocalyxin gene is crucial for developing and maintaining the filtration barrier in the kidney. His dissertation advanced the hypothesis that gene-dosage is key to regulating the resilience of renal filtration cells to environmental stress, and contributed novel tools to study renal disease and test novel therapies."
• Dr. Diana Canals Hernaez: "Dr. Canals Hernaez examined the therapeutic potential of targeting podocalyxin, a protein present in aggressive cancers. She found that this protein displays a unique modification on tumors and developed an antibody-based drug that can kill cancer cells while sparing normal tissue. This research highlights a new and promising target for cancer therapy."
• Dr. Josh Brown: "Dr. Brown used budding yeast as a model to investigate the cellular response to DNA damage, which is highly conserved between yeast and humans. He revised a recently proposed model of the cellular response to DNA damage and discovered that a scaffolding protein called Rtt107 cooperates with different protein partners to prevent mutations."

Doctor of Philosophy (Microbiology and Immunology)

• Dr. Linda Catherine Horianopoulos: "Dr. Horianopoulos characterized the roles of heat shock proteins in the disease-causing fungus Cryptococcus neoformans, focusing on the family of co-chaperone proteins containing the J domain. She identified proteins that allow this fungus to grow at human body temperature and adapt to the human host environment in order to establish infection."
• Dr. Kelsey Elizabeth Huus: "The human intestine contains trillions of microbes. Dr. Huus studied how these intestinal bacteria respond to malnutrition, a serious global health issue. She found that malnourished gut bacteria change their metabolism and interact differently with the immune system. Understanding these differences may help to improve treatments for malnutrition."
• Dr. Sandra Judith Pena Diaz: "Dr. Pena studied the bacteria that causes tuberculosis and how it interacts with the human host cell, the macrophage, during infection. Her research resulted in the discovery of a group of compounds that help the macrophage eliminate the tuberculosis bacteria. These compounds could potentially be developed into a novel therapy for tuberculosis."
• Dr. Katelyn Dawn Janzen: "Dr. Janzen systematically studied the establishment of a replicative niche by Salmonella bacteria within host cells. Her findings set a new paradigm for future Salmonella research and demonstrated the necessity of a wholistic view of Salmonella-host interactions to illuminate the poorly understood Salmonella replicative niche."

Doctor of Philosophy (Mining Engineering)

• Dr. Fisher Wang: "Dr. Wang studied the technology of high pressure grinding rolls for improved energy efficiency in the mining industry. He developed models for sizing, circuit design and process simulation of this technology. His findings promote this technology and enable its evaluation with greater confidence and significantly lower sample and testing requirements."
• Dr. Amit Kumar: "Dr. Kumar analyzed the non-metal fraction from the waste of printed circuit boards and the electronic waste recycling industry and showed the economic and environmental benefits of reprocessing. He proposed potentially cost-effective physical processing solutions to recycle non-metal fractions that would otherwise be landfilled or incinerated."

Doctor of Philosophy (Neuroscience)

• Dr. Cameron Lee Woodard: "Dr. Woodard developed two automated systems for assessing the behaviour of laboratory mice within their home-cage, allowing these animals to be tested in a high-throughput and low-stress manner. These systems were used to study mice carrying the genetic mutation that causes Huntington's disease, a fatal neurodegenerative disorder."
• Dr. Troy Allen McDiarmid: "Dr. McDiarmid investigated the function of genes and functional impact of genetic variants implicated in Autism Spectrum Disorder. By developing gene editing methods to insert variants into an animal model and quantifying the effects on brain and behavior using machine vision, Dr. McDiarmid identified deficits in habituation as a common impairment."

Doctor of Philosophy (Nursing)

• Dr. Mariko Liette Sakamoto: "Dr. Sakamoto examined the experiences and perceptions of older adults with dementia and hospitalized for long periods of time. Her work used first-hand patient accounts, and revealed that more can be done to actively involve them in their hospital care. She also revealed that nurses can do more to ensure the health and wellbeing of these patients."
• Dr. Charlene Esteban Ronquillo: "Dr. Ronquillo examined how Implementation Leadership Characteristics influenced nurses' use of mobile health technologies in clinical practice, and found that stronger implementation leadership among first-level leaders had a larger impact on younger nurses and nurses with diploma and bachelors degrees compared to nurses with graduate degrees."
• Dr. Priscilla Gail Taipale: "Dr. Taipale studied patient recovery from minimally-invasive thoracic aortic surgery. Her findings showed that patients had a high level of chronicity resulting in vulnerability, uncertainty and significant complications, and underscored the need to further develop supports that address physical and emotional aspects of patient-centered recovery."
• Dr. Christine Hui-Kuan Ou: "Dr. Ou examined the associations between maternal-infant sleep quality and maternal anger and depression. She also advanced a grounded theory about how mothers develop and manage anger in the first two years after childbirth."

Doctor of Philosophy (Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)

• Dr. Chris Wang: "Finding and understanding new ways to target cancer is crucial for developing successful treatment strategies. Dr. Wang's research focused on optimizing a new anti-cancer therapy based on a malaria protein that targets unique glycan modifications on cancer. His work provided knowledge that will aid the design of novel drug conjugates."
• Dr. Natalie Firmino: "Dr. Firmino discovered that during the immune response to cancers, a low oxygen environment develops among B cells that helps fine-tune the B cell immune response. She associated characteristics of the B cell response with overall survival in breast cancer patients. This work may help develop new biomarkers of immune responses in cancer patients."
• Dr. Derek Wong: "Dr. Wong studied the molecular interactions involved in the function of CIC, a gene important for suppressing cancer development and progression. He discovered a mechanism that cancers utilize to destabilize CIC, findings of which have implications for drug development and improving treatment options for patients."

Doctor of Philosophy (Pharmaceutical Sciences)

• Dr. Sunny Yang: "Dr. Yang studied a special four-stranded nucleic acid structure, called the G-quadruplex, through developing new tools and methods. His collection of works provide evidence for the biological relevance and existence of these structures in living human cells."

Doctor of Philosophy (Physics)

• Dr. Brandon Stuart: "Dr. Stuart investigated the nanoscale electronic properties of a number of novel quantum materials. He completed the first ever scanning tunneling microscopy measurements of the drumhead surface state in a topological semi-metal."
• Dr. Meiling Deng: "Dr. Deng designed the wide-bandwidth, cloverleaf-shaped antenna array for the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME). She helped calibrate the experiment by simulating its beam response, and conducted a wide-band survey of the north celestial cap to better understand our galaxy and cosmic signals."
• Dr. Marcus Andrew Sonier: "Dr. Sonier examined the improvement of radiation therapy accuracy for cancer patients by adapting for patient-specific systematic soft tissue deformations in the planning and delivery of prostate, lung, and head and neck treatment plans."
• Dr. Giacomo Gallina: "Silicon PhotoMultiplier technology is a new attempt to create ideal solid-state photon detectors. Dr. Gallina studied different characteristics of Silicon PhotoMultipliers and optimized them for the next generation of double beta decay and dark matter experiments. This research helps probe the boundaries of the standard model of particle physics."
• Dr. Kyle Patrick Wamer: "Dr. Wamer studied novel forms of quantum magnetism that correspond to physical systems with a larger number of symmetries. He classified the phases of matter of these systems and deepened our understanding of a large family of theoretical models, whose applicability spans from material science to mathematical physics."
• Dr. Andrew Kyle Henderson Robertson: "Some advanced cancers can be treated with the radioactive isotope called actinium-225, yet current actinium supplies are limited and rely on decades-old material from nuclear weapons. Dr. Robertson used TRIUMF's particle accelerator to develop alternative actinium production methods that could support widespread use of actinium-based therapies."
• Dr. Yang Lan: "Dr. Lan developed an ion trap to separate and identify atoms through their mass and light emission. His research contributes to understanding whether one of the most mysterious fundamental subatomic particles known as neutrinos behave as their own anti-particles."
• Dr. Oleg Kabernik: "Dr. Kabernik developed a framework for utilizing the mathematical structures of operator algebras in quantum mechanics. This framework simplifies the analysis of dynamics in quantum systems and has been applied to problems in quantum computing."
• Dr. Hanwen Liu: "Dr. Liu developed an advanced magnetic resonance imaging technique called myelin water imaging to quantify the content of myelin, an insulating layer around nerves of the human brain and spinal cord. His work largely improved the clinical feasibility of using myelin water imaging to assess myelin damage in various neurological diseases and injuries."
• Dr. Elham E Khoda: "Dr. Khoda searched for new heavy particles that decay into pairs of electrons or top quarks and their respective antiparticles by analyzing proton-proton collisions using the ATLAS detector and placed strong constraints on new physics scenarios. He also developed part of a new algorithm to efficiently reconstruct close-by charged particle tracks."

Doctor of Philosophy (Planning)

• Dr. Binay Adhikari: "Dr. Adhikari examined the synergy between pedestrian design features and neighbourhood walkability to explain physical activity in children, teens, and older adults. His findings can be used to design cities with better pedestrian environments by retrofitting existing urban infrastructure and harnessing neighbourhood walkability for health benefits."

Doctor of Philosophy (Political Science)

• Dr. Alexander Vincent Hemingway: "Starting from the observation that working-class people are massively underrepresented in legislatures almost everywhere, Dr. Hemingway's research showed that the class backgrounds of politicians shape their attitudes and the policies they enact in office, particularly relating to inequality and economic issues."
• Dr. Zarai Jezabel Toledo Orozco: "Dr. Toledo Orozco studied the expanding informal governance systems of small-scale and artisanal gold miners in the Andes. Through cross-country comparison of miners' capacity to avoid and revert different state regulatory strategies, she illuminated the collective power of informal groups and the politics of enforcement in developing nations."

Doctor of Philosophy (Population and Public Health)

• Dr. Derek Ouyang: "Dr. Ouyang showed how the number of participants needed in a clinical trial can be reduced by making use of information from outside the trial, by changing how people are assigned to the treatment groups, and by improving the way the data are analyzed."
• Dr. Alina Roanne McKay: "Dr. McKay explored housing, building, and neighbourhood influences on the experience of "home" for long-term tenants of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Her research highlighted housing and service needs of people with housing, and showed the benefits of a supportive service environment where tenants can feel in control of their lives."
• Dr. Ashleigh Rich: "Dr. Rich's research identified important gaps in the state of the knowledge of chronic disease multimorbidity for transgender people, demonstrated feasibility of innovative methods to identify transgender samples in administrative data, and provided epidemiologic evidence of multimorbidity disparity for transgender people living with HIV."
• Dr. Molly Sweeney Magee: "Dr. Sweeney Magee researched health behaviours associated with risk and survivorship in colorectal cancer. She identified population groups needing support to make changes to these behaviours, and strategies to best provide this support. Her work will inform future behaviour change intervention design at all stages of the cancer control continuum."
• Dr. Graham Shaw: "Knowledge about inequities and social determinants of health points to opportunities for evidence-informed action across a range of contexts. Dr. Shaw's research offered a model to identify context-specific barriers to action such as lack of infrastructure, capacity, or political will and provided a menu of approaches to address these challenges."
• Dr. Stephanie Louise Lake: "Dr. Lake studied the therapeutic and harm reduction applications of cannabis among marginalized people who use illicit drugs in Vancouver. Through demonstrating that cannabis has clinical potential for managing pain and opioid use disorder in this population, her work provided key data to inform future clinical experimentation involving cannabis."

Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology)

• Dr. Silvain Sili Dang: "Dr. Dang studied how cultural factors influence sexuality among young Chinese and Euro-Caucasian women and men. His work showed that cultural and ethnic differences primarily impact sexual inhibition among men, and sexual excitation among women. His research will inform treatments for sexual difficulties in ethnically diverse populations."
• Dr. Cathy Zhang: "Dr. Zhang's research explained why the current method used in psychological research for handling missing data may distort the results regarding the fit of statistical models. She also developed two alternative methods that can correctly estimate the model fit. Her research contributes to the statistical methods used in psychological research."
• Dr. Pavel Kozik: "Dr. Kozik examined the relationship between exercise and cognition. His research found that performance on laboratory measures of cognition was predicted by the degree to which individuals were cognitively engaged during exercise. These results suggest that actively using one's mind during exercise may offer greater benefits than exercise alone."
• Dr. Siba Ghrear: "Dr. Ghrear examined the curse of knowledge bias in children's estimates of what others know. She found that this bias is not specific to Western culture, but appears to be universal in humans. She found that younger children are more affected by the bias compared to older children, and identified contexts where the bias does not occur."
• Dr. Victoria Izabela Michalowski: "Dr. Michalowski found that fluctuating emotions are linked with both concurrent and longitudinal health in older couples. Her findings illuminate everyday emotional dynamics that shape interconnected aging trajectories in spouses."
• Dr. Jordan Campbell Brace: "Dr. Brace proposed and developed novel methods for evaluating and quantifying systematic bias in psychometric questionnaires. These methods can be used ensure the validity of between-group and cross-cultural comparisons of psychometric survey scores."
• Dr. Carolyn Elizabeth Baer: "Dr. Baer investigated the development of our sensitivity to confidence, the subjective signal that tells us when we are right. She found that children's confidence combines multiple sources of information to create broadly-usable assessments of truth. Her work informs our understanding of the core cognitive properties of the mind and of learning."

Doctor of Philosophy (Rehabilitation Sciences)

• Dr. Laura Yvonne Bulk: "Belonging is an essential human need. Through relationship and research, Dr. Bulk elucidated how belonging develops in places of learning, teaching, and working; deepened understanding of being blind and belonging; expanded upon how communities can co-create belonging; and highlighted scholarly teaching through research-based theatre."
• Dr. Sara Izadi-Najafabadi: "Dr. Izadi-Najafabadi's doctoral study focused on understanding brain changes following rehabilitation in children with developmental coordination disorder. Her results showed that rehabilitation is effective for improving motor performance and induces changes in brain regions underlying self-regulation, emotion regulation, and attention regulation."
• Dr. Kamaldeep Kaur Gill: "Dr. Gill determined that children developmental coordination disorder have smaller cerebellar volume compared to typically-developing children, and that rehabilitation can increase the size of this brain structure and improve motor function. Results may influence clinical care and improve outcomes for the 450,000 Canadian children with this disorder"
• Dr. Michael Prescott: "Dr. Prescott studied how people with disabilities navigate their communities. He found barriers in the pedestrian environment that negatively affected their ability to get around, which made it challenging to reach destinations. His research identifies policy and practice changes needed to improve their access to outdoor urban spaces."
• Dr. Riley Louie: "Dr. Louie studied the walking recovery process after stroke. He specifically examined the use of robotic exoskeleton technology for clinical stroke rehabilitation. His research informs physical therapy practice and offers guidance on selecting appropriate patients with stroke and treatment parameters for this novel therapeutic technology."

Doctor of Philosophy (School and Applied Child Psychology)

• Dr. Robyn Elizabeth McClure: "Dr. McClure investigated the effect of empathy on how elementary students defend others who are bullied by their peers, exploring different facets of empathy and a range of possible responses to bullying they witness. The study highlighted the need to focus on the more complex facets of empathy when trying to positively influence social change."

Doctor of Philosophy (Sociology)

• Dr. Nicole Solanges Malette: "Dr. Malette's work investigated how post-secondary environments impact undergraduate student mental health stigma, service use and the likelihood for experiencing mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety. Findings from this work highlighted the importance of examining social influences on student wellbeing.."
• Dr. Zachary Matthew Hyde: "Since the early 2000s, private condominium developers have taken on new roles as builders of low-income housing in Canada. Dr. Hyde examined the causes and consequences of these policy arrangements in Toronto and Vancouver, concluding that current density agreements have led to trade-offs that do not meet public needs for affordable housing."

Doctor of Philosophy (Statistics)

• Dr. Joe Watson: "Poor data collection protocols can severely bias statistical methods. Dr. Watson developed elementary space-time statistical methodologies for detecting and mitigating sampling bias. He applied his work to tackle issues in the fields of public health and endangered species conservation."
• Dr. Gilberto Alexi Rodriguez Arelis: "Nowadays, there is a growing concern over the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change. Dr. Rodriguez-Arelis' research has used statistical computer experiments to simulate complex natural phenomena and engineering processes. These tools have improved the prediction accuracy of different systemic responses such as hurricane hazards."

Doctor of Philosophy (Teaching English as a Second Language)

• Dr. Melanie Mun Wai Wong: "Dr. Wong explored inquiry-based learning experiences of Grade 6 English Language Learners in a technology-enhanced classroom. Her results indicated that students were engaged in innovative learning tasks which encouraged them to move their competencies, such as effective internet use, and knowledge, such as grandparent stories, into the classroom."
• Dr. Michelle Gilman: "Dr. Gilman explored the impact of a family literacy program on women with immigrant and refugee backgrounds. This study concluded that a three-way model of family literacy has the potential for highly positive outcomes in both social and academic domains."

Doctor of Philosophy (Zoology)

• Dr. Benjamin William Nelson: "Dr. Nelson showed that predation by marine mammals may have a significant impact on the survival of young salmon in the Salish Sea. He then evaluated several management actions that could promote the recovery of salmon, which is critical information for various stakeholders in Canada and the United States."
• Dr. James Marchant: "Dr. Marchant demonstrated the respective roles of the calcium and membrane clocks in cardiac pacemaking of the zebrafish, and determined important genetic distinctions in pacemaking function between mammals and zebrafish."
• Dr. Tayler Clarke: "Dr. Clarke studied the impacts of ocean warming and deoxygenation on marine fish. Her findings particularly help understand how climate change will impact fisheries in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean."
• Dr. Juliano Emmanuel Palacios Abrantes: "Climate change is shifting the distribution of marine fish species that cross international borders. Dr. Palacios Abrantes's research identified the impacts of climate change-induced shifts on transboundary fish stocks distributions and their management, thereby informing international fisheries governance to prepare and respond to climate change."
• Dr. Luis Camacho: "Dr. Camacho showed that predation rates and the strength of mutualistic associations decrease with elevation in the New World tropics. His research teased apart possible mechanisms behind these patterns, which are likely ultimately linked between elevation and changes in temperature and productivity."
• Dr. Gil Jorge Barros Henriques: "Dr. Henriques used mathematical models to study the evolution of cooperative behaviour in nature. He explored how cooperation between organisms affected their ability to adapt to changing environments. His research showed that cooperation can be maintained by interactions between groups of organisms, and that it can promote species diversification."
• Dr. Adrienne Louise Contasti: "Dr. Contasti is a statistical ecologist who developed tools to assess biodiversity in human-modified areas. Her work identified strategies to protect mammals and enhance plant regeneration in a rainforest reserve and its surrounding mixed-farmland in Indonesia. She showed that ecosystems can be managed to support biodiversity and human livelihoods."
• Dr. Marcelo Andres Mora: "Dr. Mora studied how DNA is taken up from the environment by two bacteria that are characterized as Gram-negative based on the characteristics of their cellular walls. His analysis was able to predict DNA uptake and explain several factors that influence this process."
• Dr. Remi Matthey-Doret: "Dr. Matthey-Doret worked on methods to detect adaptation and showed that deleterious mutations are unlikely to produce signals that can be confounded with beneficial mutations. He also demonstrated that plasticity can evolve in a constant environment. Finally, he created a high performance and flexible software for population genetic simulations."
• Dr. Phillip Robert Morrison: "Dr. Morrison examined how temperature affects the binding of oxygen by haemoglobin in warm-bodied fishes such as opah, swordfish, and common thresher shark. He found that the haemoglobin of these fish have lower sensitivity to temperature than most animals. This comparative study contributes to understanding the convergent evolution of haemoglobin."