Convocation November 2010

Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership and Policy)

• Dr. Bobby Nijjar: "Dr. Nijjar examined workplace alienation experienced by healthcare support service workers and himself during the privatization of services at a care home. He demonstrated that educational initiatives designed to increase support workers' involvement in the care planning process significantly reduced workplace alienation and created new positive workplace identities for those involved."

Doctor of Musical Arts

• Dr. David Bergeron: "Dr. Bergeron has provided a detailed analysis of Quebec composer Claude Vivier's enigmatic composition for solo piano, "Shiraz". His dissertation sheds light on the work's subtleties and contextual references, and offers insights of specific relevance to pianists preparing the very challenging work for performance."
• Dr. Timothy Pickett: "Dr. Pickett created an acoustically-based harmonic theory that overcomes the limitations of traditional tonality and generates the entire harmonic content of a piece of music through one primary principle: the regulation of frequencies through number series. His music also destroys the duality between contemporary classical and jazz composition."
• Dr. Libby Yu: "Dr. Yu examined some passages of Frederic Chopin's fourth Ballade, Op. 52. Through analysis she revealed consistent disruptions of the expected tonal energies of the I-V-I triangle and its juxtaposition with an entirely different axis of motion, through the augmented triad. She then discussed performance implications of this analysis."
• Dr. Alfredo Santa Ana: "Dr. Santa Ana composed a string quartet with 720 different orderings. Each possible rendering of the piece offers an alternative pathway to cover the same musical material. The composition reevaluates the role of form in music as an agent capable of generating new and expressive methods of music making and listening."

Doctor of Philosophy (Animal Science)

• Dr. Kristen Walker: "Dr. Walker assessed pain responses of Steller sea lions to the invasive marking techniques used for conservation research purposes. Her research was the first published on pain in marine mammals. She has developed recommendations for permitting agencies and wildlife researchers to help mitigate pain associated with hot-iron branding and abdominal surgery."

Doctor of Philosophy (Anthropology)

• Dr. Kate Hennessy: "Dr. Hennessy explored the use of new media by museums and anthropologists to create First Nations access to ethnographic collections from their communities. Using participatory methodologies, her research illuminated both the opportunities and tensions associated with the digitization of cultural heritage and the circulation of indigenous cultural property."

Doctor of Philosophy (Asian Studies)

• Dr. Hyuk-Chan Kwon: "Dr. Kwon examined how a traditional Chinese fictional narrative, namely Sanguo yanyi, has become enduringly popular in Korean literary work since its importation in the sixteenth century."

Doctor of Philosophy (Astronomy)

• Dr. Christopher Cameron: "Dr. Cameron collected data with Canada's Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars space telescope to explore physics not reproducible in any lab on Earth. Surface vibrations of the star HR 1217, which has a magnetic field 1000 times stronger than the Sun's, were used to probe seismically the star's hidden interior and test the accuracy of astrophysical models."

Doctor of Philosophy (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)

• Dr. Hyun-Seo Kang: "Dr. Kang used magnetic resonance spectroscopy to determine how two proteins, called ETS and CBP, interact to regulate the expression of the genes encoded within our DNA. This research adds to our understanding of how ETS proteins control both normal and cancerous cellular growth."
• Dr. Ann Wong: "Dr. Wong has developed a model system with yeast for studying the combinatorial effects of two human proteins involved in iron export. She confirmed that the two proteins physically interact and found that they may also be involved in the transport of other essential trace metals in the body."

Doctor of Philosophy (Botany)

• Dr. Jennie McLaren: "Dr. McLaren examined the importance of plant species identity in determining the functioning of grassland ecosystems, in both northern Canada and the Negev Desert in Israel. Because species extinction rates are at unprecedented levels, this research is essential as it allows us to predict the effects of species loss."

Doctor of Philosophy (Business Administration)

• Dr. Oliver Boguth: "Dr. Boguth studied the impact of time-varying uncertainty on asset prices and empirically examined this volatility risk both at an aggregate level as well as for individual assets. Dr Boguth's studies assist us in better understanding the factors driving stock prices."
• Dr. Mikhail Simutin: "Dr. Simutin showed that both corporations and mutual funds that carry unusually large cash balances outperform their peers with low cash holdings. He proposed explanations for this relationship. His research additionally explored cash management practices of these entities and highlighted the importance of access to liquid resources such as cash."
• Dr. Christopher Ryan: "Dr. Ryan explored the nature of competition amongst agents who must make discrete or "bulky" decisions, such as the purchase of large items. His work provides algorithms which characterize optimal decisions. It is hoped these explorations can help policy- and decision-makers when faced with such decisions."
• Dr. Hong Cui: "Dr. Cui found that prior alliances affect current innovation races between firms. Former allies can prohibit a firm?s innovation by blocking its technological routes or benefit it by enhancing its capacity to absorb their spillovers. The net impact depends on the type of alliances and the number of different types of prior allies in competition."
• Dr. David Ralph: "Dr. Ralph examined how software is designed in practice. He showed that the dominant view of software and information systems design in academia fundamentally diverges from observed practice. He then formulated a comprehensive theory of software design. This theory provides a basis for radically reimagining design education, practice and research."
• Dr. Ali Dashti: "Dr. Dashti studied how the design of e-government websites influences citizens? perceptions of feeling trusted by government, and how this ?felt trust? improves users? trust in and adoption of e-government websites. The findings also reveal that felt trust and trust are different both in online and offline environments."

Doctor of Philosophy (Chemical and Biological Engineering)

• Dr. Jos Dur: "Dr. Duran developed a computational model for simulating reactors that use UV radiation for decontaminating water. This computational tool will help design engineers to improve the performance of such reactors, and ultimately, it will contribute to the aim of giving everyone access to safe drinking water."
• Dr. Hans Drouin: "Dr. Drouin developed techniques to better understand and improve the performance of continuous mammalian cell culture processes, called perfusion culture. He was the first to define conditions that improved culture productivity using a growth-associated cell line, and to describe how cells aggregate. These advances contribute to addressing the increasing demand for therapeutic protein products from biotechnology."
• Dr. Min Xu: "Dr. Xu developed a novel reactor used for carbon dioxide separation and investigated the reactor operation and performance through experiments and a mathematical model. This research provides an important method to reduce the carbon dioxide emission."
• Dr. Venkata Tayi: "Dr. Tayi designed a comprehensive mathematical model for retrovirus-mediated gene transfer into mammalian cells. He experimentally investigated the kinetic steps and validated the mathematical model. He subsequently used the model to optimize the experimental system for centrifugation-based delivery of retroviral vectors into mammalian cells."
• Dr. Christos Stamboulides: "Dr. Stamboulides developed solutions to reduce friction on snow and ice. The ultimate goal of his work was to provide an engineering edge to Canadian athletes at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. The materials he developed were implemented by cross-country, biathlon and snowboard teams with great success."

Doctor of Philosophy (Chemistry)

• Dr. Ran Zhang: "Dr. Zhang has revealed the functional mechanisms of several medically important enzymes, including the protein hydrolyzing starch in human bodies. His research has potential impact on the design and optimization of future drugs for treating diabetes and obesity."
• Dr. John Cheng: "Dr. Cheng examined the structure-function relationship of cationic antimicrobial peptides and lipopeptides. These studies help in understanding how these peptides might be developed as novel antibiotics, and as possible solutions to the problem of fast-growing antibiotic resistance."
• Dr. David Leitch: "Dr. Leitch developed a new zirconium-based catalyst system for the efficient addition of nitrogen-hydrogen bonds across carbon-carbon multiple bonds. This "hydroamination" reaction enables the formation of biologically important nitrogen containing molecules without the production of any chemical byproducts."
• Dr. Katherine Woods: "Dr. Woods identified a number of natural products, both known and unknown, from marine and plant sources. Identified compounds have activity relating to the treatment of diabetes, cystic fibrosis, and cancer."
• Dr. Adrian Weber: "Dr. Weber worked toward pushing back boundaries limiting the amount of information obtainable by the interaction of light and matter by using evolutionary computing. The information obtained was in turn used to better understand non-gas matter, known as the condensed phase, and the effect of such phases on individual molecules."
• Dr. David Dietrich: "Dr. Dietrich's thesis focused on the synthesis of modified short proteins similar to the mushroom toxin amanitin. These molecules were tested for their effect on RNA synthesis within living cells. They can be used to improve our understanding of how the production of RNA is inhibited."
• Dr. Peter Frischmann: "Relying on the coordination chemistry of platinum, zinc, and cadmium, Dr. Frischmann discovered a variety of self-assembling nano-architectures including capsules, nanotubes, and liquid crystals. These materials are promising candidates for developing molecular wires, sensors, and catalysts."
• Dr. Louis Luk: "Dr. Luk contributed to our understanding of the biosynthetic pathways of natural products, such as morphine and lysergic acid, by characterizing the enzymes that participate in those pathways. These studies have provided fundamental insights into natural product biosynthesis and generated a wide spectrum of compounds that are potential drug analogs."
• Dr. Jian Jiang: "Dr. Jiang synthesized several Schiff-base macrocycles. All macrocycles can self-assembly to host-guest complexes with cations. Some of complexes can form helical nanotube. One of macrocycle that contains naphthelene moiety can form lyotropic liquid crystals. In addition, a polymer contains Schiff-base component was synthesized and characterized."
• Dr. Li Ma: "Dr. Ma developed an efficient way to generate porous nanomaterials in the solid state to study their potential application in the storage of hydrogen gas. This is one of the leading candidates as an energy carrier of the future due to its high energy content and clean burning nature."
• Dr. Joseph Hui: "Dr. Hui developed a series of inorganic nanofibers through electrostatic interaction and coordination chemistry approaches. Some of these fibers are able to form fluorescent gels. A firm understanding of his research lays the groundwork for future investigations in designing and constructing functional nanofibers for scientific and medical applications."

Doctor of Philosophy (Civil Engineering)

• Dr. Hug Juarez Garc: "Dr. Juarez Garcia's research makes two major contributions to an interdependency simulator (I2Sim) to handle different types of hazards and events that affect dense concentrations of people. With the methodology and I2Sim it will be possible to build up Regional models, Disaster Scenarios, Objective Functions and Emergency Planning."
• Dr. Karim Ismail: "Dr. Karim Ismail worked on road safety analysis, in hope of saving some of the approximately 2500 lives lost yearly on Canadian roads. Dr. Ismail developed a technique for road safety evaluation by automating traffic conflict techniques. Dr. Ismail's work had a special focus on vulnerable road users."
• Dr. Parmashwaree Bahadoorsingh: "Dr. Bahadoorsingh compared the nitrification rates in different wastewater treatment processes. Her research related specific nitrification rates of membrane and conventional treatment processes to various parameters and the bacteria community structure and abundance. The research is significant as it clarifies that the nitrification performance between the two wastewater treatment processes is similar."
• Dr. Navid Zobeiry: "Dr. Zobeiry developed a new methodology to identify damage properties of composite materials using a combined experimental and numerical approach. The proposed methodology is a promising tool for characterizing the behaviour of composite materials in a relatively easy and direct manner."
• Dr. Kazi Fattah: "Dr. Fattah developed control strategies for operating a reactor that can be used to recover phosphorus from wastewater, in the form of struvite, that provides a sustainable source of slow-release fertilizer. The chemical and process control models developed will enable easier, increased yield and higher operational efficiency of the process."
• Dr. Atitep Srikongsri: "Dr. Srikongsri developed a hydromechanical framework to explain the onset of retention incompatibility between soil and a geotextile filter in cyclic flow conditions. The framework is used to examine the inherent margin of safety in recommended design criteria, and thereby enhance confidence in the use of geotextile filters in engineering practice."
• Dr. Mohamed Elesawey: "Dr. Elesawey developed an approach for travel time estimation on urban road networks using limited data collected from part of the network. The aim was to estimate real-time travel times on links that are not covered with sensors using their relationships with nearby links that are covered with sensors."
• Dr. Colleen Chan: "Dr. Chan examined the relationship between hydrodynamic conditions and fouling control in gas-sparged submerged hollow fiber membrane modules. Effective fouling control depended on the type of shear profile imposed on the membrane surface. These findings have implications on the optimal design of membrane systems."

Doctor of Philosophy (Computer Science)

• Dr. Shaofeng Bu: "Dr. Bu's work addresses privacy concerns in data mining. His new methods will allow dataset owners to employ outside data-mining service providers to do useful analysis on a database, without ever having access to the private information the database contains."
• Dr. Christopher Batty: "Dr. Batty developed new techniques to simulate liquids, particularly for use in visual effects where his methods have been used in some of the biggest films of the last few years. His contributions span highly viscous flows, surface tension, splashing, and interactions with objects."
• Dr. Derek Bradley: "Dr. Bradley developed new approaches for generating three-dimensional models from images. His main contribution was to perform passive reconstruction of the shape and motion of deforming surfaces. As a result of this work, 3D models of performing actors can be obtained in a less-invasive way, advancing the technology used in the visual effects industry for films."
• Dr. Hongrae Lee: "Dr. Lee has developed techniques for handling textual data with typographical errors. He studied efficient processing of queries with approximate matching semantics. His research assists database systems in robust processing of real-world textual data."
• Dr. Mark Schmidt: "Dr. Schmidt developed fast new methods for learning the statistical relationships between a large numbers of variables. Such techniques are useful for processing many different kinds of data."
• Dr. David Tompkins: "Dr. Tompkins studied Boolean satisfiability, a fundamental problem in logic that lies at the heart of computer science and artificial intelligence. He advanced the state of the art for solving this problem with Local Search, and developed an advanced software architecture for representing and designing algorithms to solve the problem."

Doctor of Philosophy (Counselling Psychology)

• Dr. Vivian Dzedzora: "Dr. Dzedzora examined what self-sustaining strategies probation officers use in their process of coping with change in the work environment. Her research provided insight into the unique career dynamics of probation officers and elicited helping and hindering categories that represent the strategies officers use in their coping process."
• Dr. Aneesa Shariff: "Dr. Shariff studied the impact of racial discrimination on the relationship between acculturation and psychological health among South Asians. She found that higher discrimination related to higher psychological distress. This study highlights the continuing influence of discrimination on Canadian South Asians' mental health."
• Dr. Michael Sorsdahl: "Dr. Sorsdahl studied the family, social, psychological and physical health factors that affect the re-entry and transition experience of CF military members returning from overseas deployments. Through this study, Dr. Sorsdahl intends to propose changes to the current Canadian military support systems in place for returning military members."
• Dr. Ann Muscat: "Dr. Muscat investigated identity change in elite athletes who experienced a career-ending injury. Her dissertation is the first research in this area; for the international athletes she interviewed, overinvestment in an athlete identity was associated postponement of age-appropriate identity tasks and with difficult retirement transitions."

Doctor of Philosophy (Craniofacial Science)

• Dr. Ameneh Eslami: "Dr. Eslami researched the molecule alpha-V beta-6, a receptor that is expressed in some cells in a wound. It interacts with another molecule, transforming growth factor-beta, which plays several important roles during wound healing. Such an interaction may potentially determine whether a wound heals normally or produces scars."

Doctor of Philosophy (Cross-Faculty Inquiry in Education)

• Dr. L.A. Pearl Hunt: "Dr. Hunt's research explores how music can advance progressive social change by helping individuals and collectives negotiate issues of sociocultural difference. Combining performing arts, cultural studies and theorizing of ethnography, this interdisciplinary set of essays point to the significant role that music can play in addressing peace, representation and social justice."
• Dr. Mark Daley: "Dr. Daley argued that presumptions of the historical moral order in Western schooling effectively disjoin and diminish the voice and vocation of learners. In this theoretical work, "Prophetic speech" is counter-posed as a means for learners to access moral sources more innately one's own to recover transcendent possibility in education."

Doctor of Philosophy (Curriculum Studies)

• Dr. Lionel Lacroix: "Dr. LaCroix examined the roles of language, gestures, and material artifacts in mathematical thinking and learning within workplace training. His findings further the understanding of social process and communication involved in mathematics learning in a wide variety of contexts."
• Dr. Lindsay Mitchell: "Dr. Mitchell's dissertation explores the meaning of an education across a continuum of life experiences, from the earliest days of formal schooling to a life-long career as a Blues musician, illustrating the complex interplay between teaching and learning that arises in both intended and incidental contexts."

Doctor of Philosophy (Economics)

• Dr. Kim J. Lehrer: "Dr. Lehrer examined the education and labour market decisions of Internally Displaced People in Northern Uganda. She found that men living in older Internally Displaced People?s camps are less likely to work due to gender-specific social norms. In addition, Dr. Lehrer assessed the impact of two food-for-education programs on schooling outcomes."
• Dr. Sebnem Ucar: "Dr. Ucar studied three topics in Industrial Organization. First, she developed a model of long-term contracts as barriers to entry with differentiated products. Second, she provided a theoretical justification for why consumers react to image advertising. Third, she found empirically that deceptive advertising is counter-cyclical. Each essay offers policy recommendations."
• Dr. Yao Tang: "Dr. Tang's dissertation studies the responses of Canadian manufacturing industries to the recent rise in the value of the Canadian dollar and the comparison of modern macroeconomic models' ability to capture data patterns."
• Dr. Ken Jackson: "Dr. Jackson studied the effects of ethnic diversity on public good provision. He finds that local and regional diversity are associated with reduced access to piped drinking water and electricity respectively, in Sub-Saharan Africa. Critical for future policy design, this effect is not due to discrimination against local minority groups."
• Dr. Laura Turner: "Dr. Turner studied the way in which families respond to health shocks and retirement incentives. Her research suggests that cooperation among household members can mitigate the economic effects of bad health outcomes and that the resulting gains are very sensitive to the degree of family cohesion."

Doctor of Philosophy (Educational Studies)

• Dr. Simon Blakesley: "Dr. Blakesley conducted an analysis of how non-Indigenous Yukon school principals define and enact educational leadership in remote Indigenous communities. Their role-perception as leaders and the complex policy contexts affecting their practice was examined. This research sheds light on the cross-cultural tensions of educational leadership in the Canadian North."

Doctor of Philosophy (Electrical and Computer Engineering)

• Dr. Qiang Tang: "Dr. Tang developed methods that provide universal multimedia access irrespective of the telecommunications, entertainment or broadcasting standards employed. His research provides efficient solutions that enable people using different digital phones, computers or digital television sets to share and display videos transmitted over the Internet or traditional wireline, wireless or cable systems."
• Dr. George Abadir: "Dr. Abadir elucidated the interaction mechanisms between carbon nanotubes and amino acids through molecular dynamics and ab initio simulations, and showed that semi-metallic tubes can be used to selectively detect charged biomolecules. He also established rules for the choice of basis sets used in carbon-nanotube simulations."
• Dr. Matthias von dem Knesebeck: "Dr. von dem Knesebeck developed fast and highly-efficient motion estimation methods for encoding digital video on mobile devices. His research facilitates low power consumption while delivering high compression efficiency for digital video encoding."
• Dr. Mahsa Talebpourazad: "Dr. Pourazad developed algorithms for compression of multiview video streams and conversion of standard video streams to three-dimensional format for 3DTV applications. The results of this study facilitate the introduction of 3D-broadcasting system."
• Dr. Ali Nezampour Meymandi: "Dr. Nezampour analyzed and designed wireless communication systems that are robust to non-Gaussian noise and interference. The results of his research pave the way for more reliable wireless devices."
• Dr. Sohaib Majzoub: "Dr. Majzoub developed novel techniques to reduce power consumption in state-of-the-art Multiprocesser-System-on-Chip. His work is part of an effort to provide portable and tablet computers a longer battery lifetime when executing advanced video, image and audio processing applications."
• Dr. Borna Noureddin: "Dr. Noureddin studied the effects of eye movements and blinks on EEG measurement, and developed new and useful methods for removing such artifacts without the need for electrodes attached to the face. The research has helped pave the way for real-time, usable EEG-based human interfaces such as a brain computer interface."
• Dr. Denis Tran: "Dr. Tran defined a protocol for performing ultrasound-guided epidural needle insertion and developed methods to improve the image quality of lumbar ultrasound images and automatic segmentation of features in the ultrasound images. These techniques have been successfully tested in two clinical trials at BC Women's Hospital and Health Centre."
• Dr. Jeffrey Mueller: "Dr. Mueller developed two novel techniques for improving the timing performance of synchronous circuits. He proposed a simple yet effective implementation of these methods that is applicable to the majority of integrated circuits in production today."
• Dr. Ilker Hacihaliloglu: "Dr. Hacihaliloglu developed state of the art algorithms in order to use three dimensional ultrasound imaging in orthopaedic surgery applications to detect fractures. He subsequently applied his method in clinical trials on patients with wrist and pelvis fractures."
• Dr. Victor F. Sanchez Silva: "Dr. Sanchez developed several novel methods for efficient storage, transmission and on-demand access of multidimensional medical images. His contributions enhance the provision of health care, by integrating multimedia signal processing techniques into the management of medical imaging data for tele-medicine applications."
• Dr. Tina Shoa Hassani Lashidani: "Dr. Shoa investigated an artificial muscle actuator device and characterized and modeled its physical properties. She studied the feasibility of using this device for guiding a catheter through arteries."
• Dr. Xu Wen: "Dr. Wen developed a potential solution for ultrasound-based dose computation for a type of radiation treatment of prostate cancer. He helped build a functional prototype imaging system that makes it possible to test the proposed method in the lab or clinically."
• Dr. Rayan Saab: "Dr. Saab's work focused on compressed sensing - a new signal acquisition technique. He proposed and mathematically analyzed algorithms for the digitization of measurements acquired by this technique and algorithms for subsequently recovering the signal. Dr. Saab showed that the proposed approaches outperform the current state of the art methods"
• Dr. Hui Chen: "Dr. Chen designed a new network protocol for the next generation wireless communication system. He also proposed scheduling algorithms and optimization methods to better support the multimedia transportation in wireless communication systems. His work improved the quality of service for mobile multimedia applications."
• Dr. Dipanjan Sengupta: "Dr. Sengupta developed a new low power methodology that would reduce the power consumption and hence increase the battery life of future generation chips used in hand held devices such as cell phones, PDAs and laptops. His work would enhance the drive towards "green" system-on-chip design."

Doctor of Philosophy (English)

• Dr. Stephen Ney: "Dr. Ney inserted the texts from an early Anglican mission to Yorubaland into Nigerian literary history. By showing how nineteenth-century evangelistic writings as well as twentieth-century novels and plays participate in some of the same cultural transformations, he helps us to understand how Christianity became part of African history."
• Dr. Bettina Stumm: "Dr. Stumm examines the nature and role of ethical responsibility in witnessing the lives and stories of vulnerable subjects. She reveals how the philosophical ethics of Emmanuel Levinas and Paul Ricoeur can be brought to bear on one's relational practices with others in the process of narrating their lives."
• Dr. Sarah Banting: "Dr. Banting investigated the local and not-so-local audiences addressed by fiction and theatre set in Vancouver. Her research demonstrated a new method for studying how novels, short stories, and plays set up relationships between people and places near and far."
• Dr. Kathryn Grafton: "Dr. Grafton examined the agency of readers of Canadian literature in public programs held in libraries, on the radio, and online. Criticism of these contemporary programs often assumes that participants simply read what, when, and how they are told; however, she found that readers play a vital role in evaluating literature and producing literary canons."
• Dr. Katherine Calloway: "Dr. Calloway studied the interaction between faith and reason during the so-called "Scientific Revolution" in England in the seventeenth century. Considering scientific demonstrations of the Christian religion, she argued that this "modern" trend actually carries on a practice older than Christianity itself, whose central theological problems remain unchanged."
• Dr. Shurli Makmillen: "Dr. Makmillen uses rhetorical theory to understand texts arising from the contact between Indigenous peoples and settler societies in Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand. She shows how variously situated readers interpret and are persuaded by the language of treaties, legal judgments and other texts, and how this affects Indigenous claims to land and other rights."

Doctor of Philosophy (Experimental Medicine)

• Dr. Juan Avina-Zubieta: "Dr. Avina studied the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. He found that arthritis patients had greater risk of dying from CVD than the general population, and that use of glucocorticoids was associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction but not with stroke."
• Dr. Linda Chang: "Dr. Chang studied the role of a protein called Notch in the development and maintenance of blood vessels. She found that Notch activation ensures vessel integrity through its involvement in the formation of the muscular wall of embryonic arteries from precursor cells and the increased survival of adult cells lining the blood vessel."
• Dr. Joseph Anthony: "Dr. Anthony analyzed the global changes in protein concentrations in human cancer cells as these cells were undergoing programmed cell death, discovering previously unidentified alterations in the levels of some proteins. Since the aim of all cancer treatment is to induce cancer cells to die preferentially, this work has the potential to lead to new therapeutic approaches to cancer treatment."
• Dr. Jennifer Davis: "Dr. Davis's doctoral studies contributed to a better understanding of how best to prevent falls in a cost-effective manner. She found that twice weekly resistance training significantly improved health related quality of life while reducing health care costs compared with balance and toning classes among older adults at risk of falls."

Doctor of Philosophy (Forestry)

• Dr. Kenneth Fairhurst: "Dr. Fairhurst developed a computerized approach for assessing and controlling the risks of damaging scenic resources. His cumulative illumination technique maps the incidence angles from each viewpoint to each land plane, allowing planners and managers to more easily, reliably, and economically meet public expectations for the scenic landscape."
• Dr. Toktam Sajedi: "Dr. Sajedi studied the effects of excessive soil moisture on processes involved with carbon and nitrogen mineralization, plant species distribution and forest productivity. In her research, she also assessed the impact of clearcutting and drainage on site productivity and soil carbon storage as potential management strategies in wet forest ecosystems."
• Dr. Jasmine Wang: "Dr. Wang developed a damage accumulation model to assess the structural performance of wood composites made with Mountain-Pine-Beetle-killed wood. This research helps to determine if the mechanical properties of these products allow their use as beams, headers and columns in commercial and residential housing."
• Dr. Denise Brooks: "Dr. Brooks developed new methods for linking microbial community structure to soil functions in forests. Dr. Brooks developed novel techniques to visualize fine-scale soil enzyme activity in forests and identify the species of symbiotic fungi and bacteria associated with enzyme activity, and how these change as forests age."
• Dr. Kimberly Hruska: "Dr. Hruska examined factors that influenced spawning success in Pacific salmon. She found that the physiological condition at the start of spawning affected how long salmon lived on spawning grounds and how many eggs were fertilized. She concluded that ocean and river migration conditions likely play pivotal roles in spawning physiological condition."
• Dr. Victoria Maloney: "Dr. Maloney showed how the gene Korrigan is important for the intricate ultra-structure of the secondary cell-walls in poplar and spruce trees. She subsequently revealed that Korrigan is functionally conserved between gymnosperms and angiosperms, thereby increasing what is known in regards to cell-wall synthesis in plants."
• Dr. Kristina Cockle: "Dr. Cockle studied how the production and loss of tree cavities influences how cavity-nesting bird communities are organized. She showed that maintaining a diverse tropical bird community will require changing forestry practices to conserve large old living trees where natural decay processes create deep cavities used over multiple years."
• Dr. Judi Krzyzanowski: "Dr. Krzyzanowski examined the cumulative impacts of air pollution in British Columbia's Treaty 8 traditional territory. Air pollution levels were found capable of impacting forests, freshwater ecosystems and forest dependent communities. Community-based monitoring and comprehensive emission's reporting were recommended to minimise and manage the impacts of air pollution in northeast BC."
• Dr. (William) Scott DiGuistini: "Dr. DiGuistini developed methods and coordinated genome sequencing and analysis for the Mountain Pine Beetle-fungus Grosmannia clavigera. This research has potential to support development of new approaches for managing MPB outbreaks and highlights the possibilities for usng new sequencing technologies for studying non-model biological systems."
• Dr. Pavlos Alexiadis: "Dr. Alexiadis studied environmental concern and behaviour of house occupants in Canada. He created a theoretical model that summarises the principal factors that guide environmental housing behaviour. This research enhances understanding of environmental behaviour and can assist in minimising housing impacts on the natural environment."
• Dr. Klemens Rosin: "Dr. Rosin developed, evaluated, and applied hydrologic models that make spatially-distributed predictions of how land-use change affects streamflow. The models may be used to predict effects of the mountain pine beetle infestation on peak flows in watersheds of British Columbia."
• Dr. Mohamed Ismail: "Dr. Ismail investigated the level of population structure of black cottonwood in British Columbia. He found three main groups of populations classified as north, interior, and south, with high level of gene flow. In comparison with other poplar species, Ismail found low level of nucleotide diversity. These results will assist in designing association genetics studies for economically important traits."
• Dr. David Fell: "Dr. Fell studied the health effects of natural materials on occupants of the built indoor environment. He found that the application of wood surfaces in buildings decreased stress responses."

Doctor of Philosophy (Geography)

• Dr. Sarah Roberts: "Dr. Roberts used numerical and outdoor physical scale modeling techniques to investigate the three-dimensional surface representation in measurement campaigns of the urban surface energy balance. The resulting measurement protocol can be adopted in future studies to guide the optimal siting of radiation and turbulence flux sensors"
• Dr. Caleb Johnston: "Dr. Johnston studied the politics of citizenship in the city of Ahmedabad, India. His work contributes to understanding the urban poor's negotiation of constitutional rights within the changing relationship between the Indian state and everyday life."
• Dr. Colette Wabnitz: "Dr. Wabnitz built ecological models to understand the role of green turtles in Pacific reef and Caribbean seagrass ecosystems, and developed new methods to map underwater habitats using satellite data. Her findings highlight sea turtles? importance to ecosystem resilience and the current lack of habitat data to meet international conservation targets."

Doctor of Philosophy (Geological Sciences)

• Dr. Elspeth Barnes: "Dr. Barnes studied the emplacement mechanisms and trace-element geochemical signatures of a swarm of lithium-rich, highly evolved magmatic dikes in the Northwest Territories. She also developed a method for lithium isotopic analysis of these rocks. Her thesis provides a cohesive assessment of pegmatite magma geochemical evolution."
• Dr. Bram van Straaten: "Dr. van Straaten studied the geology of ancient diamond-bearing volcanic rocks at the Victor Mine in Northern Ontario, and provided models for how these volcanic systems erupted. The research highlights the similarities between common present-day volcanoes and diamond-bearing volcanic rocks, and will aid the ongoing worldwide search for diamond mines."

Doctor of Philosophy (Human Nutrition)

• Dr. Gail Hammond: "Dr. Hammond's research engaged lay women and dietitians in a collaborative participatory process to develop nutrition education resources. The research identified multiple benefits and specific challenges in applying community-based participatory processes to professional dietetic practice-based activities."

Doctor of Philosophy (Interdisciplinary Studies)

• Dr. Linda Turner: "Dr. Turner developed a way to evaluate the usefulness of measuring electrical resistance at the skin surface to facilitate measurement of outcomes from energy-based healing of pain. An ohmmeter detected activity at acupuncture points and could differentiate between pain and no pain groups. This protocol may be seen as a bridge between Western and Chinese Medicine."
• Dr. Zena Sharman: "Dr. Sharman studied the recruitment and retention of Community Health Workers in small cities, towns, and rural communities on Vancouver Island. Her research was informed by a commitment to fostering the design of health human resources policies that include the perspectives of marginalized workers."

Doctor of Philosophy (Language and Literacy Education)

• Dr. Mia Perry: "Dr. Perry worked within and between the fields of theatre and education. By researching professional theatre practice and a secondary school drama program, Dr Perry investigated the connections and crevices between today's theatre practices and drama in education, proposing new possibilities for arts education research and practice."

Doctor of Philosophy (Law)

• Dr. Ireh Iyioha: "Dr. Iyioha introduces a theory of Integrated Governance for health systems to address disparities between health governance regimes and consumer healthcare behaviour. She proposes that Integrated governance, which incorporates non-conventional human and material resources into health systems management, can create a functional health system for reducing inequity in healthcare delivery."
• Dr. Chao Wang: "Dr. Wang's thesis explores whether the western tradition of transparency and rule of law, which are rooted in the value of liberal democracy, can be adapted to local norms of governance in China. He found that the country's public contract law and its implementation may be partially improved to achieve the goal of good governance without fundamental changes to the country's political and judicial system."
• Dr. Mosope Fagbongbe: "Dr. Fagbongbe studied women's engagement with the African regional human rights regime using a feminist Third World Approach to International Law analysis. She demonstrated the significance of adopting an interdependent and contextual understanding to the women's rights to invigorate the rights protected. Dr. Fagbongbe also emphasizes the role of stakeholders to achieve the objectives of the regime."
• Dr. Richard Frimpong Oppong: "Dr. Oppong challenges the view that effective economic integration in Africa is hindered by purely socio-economic, political and infrastructural problems. He argues that radical reforms to community and national laws are needed to bring about the economic integration agenda that is essential for Africa's long-term economic growth."

Doctor of Philosophy (Library, Archival and Information Studies)

• Dr. Chia-Ning Chiang: "Dr. Chiang employed mixed methods to study annotations in an online environment. Her study explores online annotation functionalities, reasons for annotating and sharing annotations, as well as impacts on reading and writing online. The research has implications for system design."
• Dr. Saad Alzahrani: "Dr. Alzahrani examined the involvement of editorial boards of scholarly journals in liberalizing access policies to journal content. He found that, while generally positive about open access, editors were not active proponents for change. His findings help explain the editors' role in the dramatically changing landscape of scholarly publishing."

Doctor of Philosophy (Linguistics)

• Dr. Mario Ch: "Dr. Chávez PeĂłn investigated the speech sounds of QuiavinĂ­ Zapotec, an indigenous language of Mexico. He examined prominence, tone, and voice quality, within phonetic and formal linguistic theoretical approaches. His research sheds light on the relation between phonetics and the sound structure of words."

Doctor of Philosophy (Materials Engineering)

• Dr. David Waldbillig: "Dr. Waldbillig's research focuses on making clean energy affordable. He developed a novel manufacturing process to fabricate high-performing solid oxide fuel cell electrolyte layers rapidly and inexpensively. He subsequently used this process to produce working fuel cells with optimized electrolyte layers and then characterized their properties."

Doctor of Philosophy (Mathematics)

• Dr. Ramon Zarate Saiz: "Dr. Zarate developed mathematical tools and methods that allow for the variational treatment of inverse and homogenization problems in certain types of partial differential equations. Such problems play an important role in modern science and engineering."
• Dr. Amir Moradifam: "Dr. Moradifam worked in the area of partial differential equations. He developed a general framework for Hardy and Hardy-Rellich inequalities. Dr Moradifam obtained various results for fourth order nonlinear elliptic eigenvalue problems."
• Dr. Craig Cowan: "Dr. Cowan worked on various second and fourth order elliptic equations with real world applications. For instance, he studied the mathematics of micro-electro-mechanical systems, which combine electronics with miniature-size mechanical devices. Many of his results extend theory known for the Second Order case to the Fourth Order case."
• Dr. Terry Soo: "Dr. Soo studied equivariant factors of point processes. A Poisson process is a random scattering of points that can be used to model many diverse phenomenon. Dr. Soo provided a rule for thinning a Poisson process, where given a Poisson process one can generate another of lower intensity without any additional randomization."
• Dr. Erez Louidor: "Dr. Louidor studied various mathematical models of digital storage systems, with a view to rigorously estimating and computing the maximum amount of information they can hold. His research gives a better understanding of the line between what can and cannot be achieved, when designing such a system."
• Dr. Alan Lindsay: "Dr. Lindsay developed novel techniques for the analysis of a class of partial differential equations known as eigenvalue problems. The application of these new methods facilitated the resolution of several problems in the fields of Micro Engineering and Mathematical Ecology, one of which had been outstanding for over 20 years."
• Dr. Jesse Goodman: "Dr. Goodman studied the internal and external structure of invasion percolation, a mathematical model for the injection of fluid in a random medium. This research helps us understand how a random process can deterministically find the phase transition between two different kinds of behaviour."

Doctor of Philosophy (Mechanical Engineering)

• Dr. Khaled Al Athel: "Dr. Al-Athel developed new equations and implemented them in an in-house computer code to analyze and simulate metal forming and metal cutting applications. The new code overcomes most of the drawbacks and difficulties associated with commercial codes dealing with this type of analysis."
• Dr. Ramin Khorasany: "Dr. Khorasany studied the linear and nonlinear vibrations of spinning disks. He developed a new computational method to show the large deformations improve the stability characteristics of disks spinning at very high speeds. He also conducted an extensive amount of experiments to validate his numerical results."
• Dr. Muhammad Tahir Khan: "Dr. Khan developed a framework to satisfactorily address the challenges in a cooperative multi-robot system. Inspired by the human immune system, the multi-robot system consists of a team of autonomous and heterogeneous mobile robots which cooperate with each other to achieve a global goal while resolving conflicts and accommodating failures in the robots."
• Dr. Ed Chan: "Dr. Chan examined the enabling mechanisms for optimizing lean, spark-ignition for natural gas engines. His research demonstrated stable ultra-lean combustion using a novel spark-ignition strategy."

Doctor of Philosophy (Medical Genetics)

• Dr. Michael Long: "Dr. Long altered the binding specificity of a protein from the measles virus in order to create a receptor that specifically enhances the fusion of circulating blood cells with damaged skeletal muscle fibers. This technique may facilitate the development of an improved cell therapy strategy for patients suffering from muscular dystrophy."
• Dr. Sura Alwan: "Dr. Alwan's research in the area of birth defects epidemiology showed that maternal use of some common antidepressants in early pregnancy may increase the risk for certain birth defects in the infant. Her work also demonstrated that restricted fetal growth in the first trimester of pregnancy may adversely affect subsequent pregnancy outcome."
• Dr. Marco Gallo: "Dr. Gallo identified new roles for a metabolic gene in maintaining the structure of mitochondria and controlling programmed cell death, insulin secretion and germline stem cell proliferation. His studies produced new insight into how some mitochondrial proteins are able to integrate metabolic and cell survival signals with implications for the treatment of metabolic diseases."
• Dr. Pavle Vrljicak: "Dr. Vrljicak examined how formation of the heart is regulated in the mouse embryo. He identified a set of genes critical for proper development of the heart valves. This research will assist us in the prevention and treatment of heart defects present at birth."
• Dr. Mahmoud Pouladi: "Dr. Pouladi's evaluated a number of pharmacological compounds as therapies for Huntington disease, a devastating and fatal inherited disorder that remains without a cure. Dr. Pouladi's preclinical studies identified one compound with potential benefits, and international efforts are currently underway to evaluate this compound in Huntington's disease patients."

Doctor of Philosophy (Microbiology and Immunology)

• Dr. Paul Jaschke: "Dr. Jaschke discovered a new way that bacteria can make chlorophyll. This pathway produces an unusual form of chlorophyll that binds to zinc instead of magnesium. The knowledge gained during this work has enabled deeper understanding of several fundamental aspects of photosynthesis."
• Dr. Kristen Kindrachuk: "Dr. Kindrachuk investigated antibiotic resistance in the Cystic Fibrosis pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. She identified over 100 genes capable of affecting aminoglycoside resistance in this organism. Her work highlights the complexity of drug-bacterial interactions, a concept that is becoming increasingly important in pharmaceutical development."
• Dr. Kathy (Wan-Kei) Tse: "Dr. Tse studied the cellular mechanisms that regulate the function and development of B cells, which produce antibodies to fight infections. She showed that certain proteins are key regulators of trafficking and cell signaling. Her work contributes to our understanding of B cell cancers and inflammatory diseases."
• Dr. Jason Grigg: "Dr. Grigg defined molecular mechanisms by which the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus acquires growth-limiting iron from its host. This work defined molecular mechanisms that provide potential avenues for the development of new therapeutics."
• Dr. Stephanie Condotta: "Dr. Condotta studied the functional characteristics of a protein from the West Nile virus. West Nile virus causes a potentially fatal infection and is of great public health concern globally. Dr Condotta's work defined a novel molecular mechanism for regulation of this protein that will provide new targets for the development of antivirals."
• Dr. Michael T. Chow: "Dr. Chow examined the immunoregulatory potential of a specific subset of immune system T-cells that exhibit characteristics of both non-specific and specific defense mechanisms. By harnessing the unique properties of these T cells, Dr. Chow's work uncovered a novel vaccine design strategy that can strengthen the immune response against microbial infections and cancer cells."
• Dr. Nina Maeshima: "Dr. Maeshima characterized the interaction of the protein CD44 with its carbohydrate ligand hyaluronan during an immune response. CD44 is expressed on the surface of immune cells and hyaluronan is found in the tissues surrounding cells. This work showed that this interaction occurs on proliferating T cells and regulates immune cell migration."

Doctor of Philosophy (Mining Engineering)

• Dr. Rodolfo de Sousa: "Dr. Sousa demonstrated solutions for artisanal and small-scale gold mines, which have helped in improving gold recovery rates, preventing and mitigating impacts associated with the use of mercury and cyanide. His research was based on a Brazilian case study and shed light on strategies for dissemination of best practices in the sector worldwide."
• Dr. Patricio Vel: "Dr. Velasquez' research reveals and quantifies mercury discharges after gold processing. The active participation of artisanal miners has led to the strengthening of their knowledge and awareness about mercury contamination. An important bonus of this research is the recommended set of policy options to mitigate environmental contamination in Southern Ecuador"

Doctor of Philosophy (Neuroscience)

• Dr. Julie Robillard: "Dr. Robillard studied the impact of aging on a cellular model for learning and memory in the brain. She found that oral supplementation with an antioxidant can restore some of the plasticity deficits observed in aged animals. Her research gives new insights into healthy aging."
• Dr. Andrea Titterness: "Dr. Titterness studied the effects of prenatal ethanol exposure on hippocampal function in adolescent rodents. She discovered that prenatal ethanol exposure does not uniformly impair hippocampal cell communication in males and females. Her work highlights the need to consider sex differences when designing treatment strategies for fetal alcohol syndrome."
• Dr. Vilte Barakauskas: "Dr. Barakauskas measured several presynaptic proteins in brain samples, developing and validating new methods to do so. Some of these proteins were altered in distinct regions of the striatum in post-mortem brain samples of subjects with schizophrenia. These findings implicate these proteins in brain dysfunction in patients."
• Dr. Xuefeng Liu: "Dr. Liu studied the growth of neurons in the developing brain. Using techniques to label and genetically modify individual neurons he showed that their growth and maturation is regulated by the same molecular pathway regulating memory maintenance as in the adult brain. His work illuminates a mechanism underlying developmental plasticity and provides new insights on origins of developmental neurological disorders."
• Dr. Jonathan Epp: "Dr. Epp examined the impact of spatial learning on the generation of neurons in the adult mammalian brain. He demonstrated that spatial learning influences the survival and integration of new neurons in the hippocampus. These studies help shed light on the function of adult neurogenesis and have clarified numerous conflicting studies."
• Dr. Ning Zhou: "Dr. Zhou studied the cellular mechanisms underlying spreading depression, the propagating depolarization that underlies the aura of migraine. She discovered that a novel form of regenerative glutamate-release generates spreading depression independent of classical synaptic transmission. This research provides insight into migraine pathophysiology and potential new therapeutic targets."
• Dr. Paul Adams: "Dr. Adams explored how human mutations that cause migraine headaches alter the function of proteins in the brain. The work has provided greater understanding of how communication between neurons is disrupted during migraine."

Doctor of Philosophy (Occupational and Environmental Hygiene)

• Dr. Elaina MacIntyre: "Dr. MacIntyre examined the relationship between exposure to ambient air pollution and middle ear infections in young children in British Columbia. Her research identified transportation and residential woodburning pollutants as important risk factors for this disease."

Doctor of Philosophy (Oceanography)

• Dr. Alyssa Shiel: "Dr. Shiel evaluated cadmium and zinc isotopes as novel tools to trace metal pollution in coastal environments. These tools were used to identify a primarily natural source of cadmium in B.C. oysters."

Doctor of Philosophy (Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)

• Dr. Ian Wilson: "Dr. Wilson studied the DNA of lung cancer cells to identify new genes associated with familial risk, drug response, and survival. His research involved the use of novel techniques and yielded results that are significant not only to the research community, but to lung-cancer patients as well."
• Dr. I-Fang (Erica) Lee: "Dr. Lee investigated how natural killer cells prevent type 1 diabetes. Her works showed that this subset of cells is important for the immune system to suppress the development of autoimmunity. She further demonstrated that these cells can be manipulated into activity, inducing a protective mechanism that prevents onset of type 1 diabetes."
• Dr. Zhen Liu: "Dr. Liu studied the function of a newly identified inflammatory gene and showed how it promotes cell survival during viral infection as well as under cell stress conditions. The finding may improve our understanding of virus-host interaction and the pathogenesis of viral myocarditis."
• Dr. Jessica Kalra: "Dr. Kalra suggests that by evaluating multiple endpoints to assess the therapeutic effects of targeted drugs in vitro and in vivo, we can better predict their performance in clinical trials. These studies showed that molecular targeting strategies involving a protein called Integrin Linked Kinase could be beneficial in the treatment of breast cancers."
• Dr. Meredith Hutton: "Dr. Hutton examined the role of inflammation in diabetes. Her research provides new insight into how a specific part of the immune system that recognizes infections and causes inflammation may play a role in the development of diabetes and in the rejection of transplanted organs."
• Dr. Leslie Chin: "Dr. Chin studied the mechanical properties of airway smooth muscle in health and disease, and the mechanisms underlying smooth-muscle contraction, an area that has been poorly understood. His research provides insight into the cause of asthma by demonstrating that asthmatic airway smooth muscle has altered mechanics."
• Dr. Agnieszka Klimek: "Dr. Klimek investigated the association between defective hormone production in insulin-producing beta-cells of the pancreas and dysfunction of these cells when transplanted into patients with type 1 diabetes. Her research led to the discovery of two potential biomarkers of beta-cell function which may be used to predict the onset of islet transplant failure."
• Dr. Ivy Tsui: "Dr. Tsui examined the genetic changes during the development of oral cancer. She identified biomarkers predictive of progression risks in oral precancerous lesions, and elucidated the molecular mechanisms that are associated with progression to cancer. The research contributes to the understanding of the natural history of oral cancer development."
• Dr. Rajagopal Chari: "Dr. Chari's work improves our ability to detect lung cancer. He developed an integrative, multi-pronged approach that identifies key features, specific to lung cancer, that existing methods miss."

Doctor of Philosophy (Pharmaceutical Sciences)

• Dr. Na Guo: "Dr. Guo measured quality of life and treatment preferences among tuberculosis patients, which showed the impact of tuberculosis and its treatment from the patient?s perspective. This research could help inform the patient-centered health care management by understanding patients? personal preferences and values toward disease and treatment."
• Dr. Onkar Bains: "Dr. Bains demonstrated that genetic variations in human reductase enzymes significantly decrease the metabolism of the highly used anti-cancer drugs, doxorubicin and daunorubicin. His findings may lead to the establishment of biomarkers, which would prevent life-threatening side-effects in cancer patients undergoing treatment with these drugs."

Doctor of Philosophy (Pharmacology and Therapeutics)

• Dr. Marco Antonio Isidro Perez Garcia: "Dr. Perez systematically reviewed randomized trials of anti-hypertensive drugs that were administered shortly after an acute cardiovascular event. He found a previously unrecognized mortality reduction associated with nitrate administration after acute myocardial infarction. His research emphasizes the value of checking all-cause mortality the timing of drug administrations."
• Dr. Harley Syyong: "Dr. Syyong showed that intracellular calcium oscillations dynamically control regional blood flow in the brains of the young and healthy. He discovered that loss of these calcium oscillations and their compensation by slower enzyme-based signaling is associated with vascular disease and possibly aging, thus explaining loss of function."

Doctor of Philosophy (Philosophy)

• Dr. Brian David Laetz: "Dr. Laetz's doctoral research explored the potential for understanding aesthetic experience by using ideas from biology. He rejected the widely held rule that biological categories must be used to frame our aesthetic encounters with nature. At the time of his untimely death, he was working on evolutionary explanations of artistic creativity."
• Dr. Nola Semczyszyn: "Dr. Semczyszyn developed a philosophical account of medical imaging technologies. Drawing on current medical practice and theories of pictorial representation she reconciles imaging as making visual representations of invisible properties with imaging as a way of seeing the body."

Doctor of Philosophy (Physics)

• Dr. Jake Bobowski: "Dr. Bobowski developed and used custom microwave techniques to study the low-temperature electrodynamics of complex superconductors. The high-precision measurements made using these techniques furthered our understanding of the microscopic behaviour of these materials."
• Dr. Jianyang He: "Dr. He explored the theoretical connections between string theory and condensed matter systems. His results improve our understanding of superconductivity, Fermi liquids, and other exotic low-temperature phenomena."
• Dr. Maxime Brodeur: "Dr. Brodeur performed the first direct mass measurement of very exotic helium isotopes featuring a nuclear halo to a precision of 10 parts per billion using the TITAN Penning trap at TRIUMF. The results were compared to ab-initio nuclear theory and indicated the need for 3-nucleon interaction."

Doctor of Philosophy (Planning)

• Dr. Sheng Zhong: "Dr. Sheng Zhong examined how the obsolescent industrial spaces in the inner city of Shanghai had been transformed into new spaces of cultural production and consumption. This research illuminates the processes as well as the roles of the state in China's breakneck pace of urban change."

Doctor of Philosophy (Plant Science)

• Dr. Cristina Machial: "Dr. Machial investigated the comparative toxicity of selected plant essential oils to four agricultural insect pests, and assessed the effects of the most toxic oil, patchouli oil, on the detoxicative abilities of these insects. Development of reduced risk plant essential oil-based pesticides is warranted despite technical and practical challenges."

Doctor of Philosophy (Political Science)

• Dr. Katherine Boothe: "Dr. Boothe's research asks why Canada is the only advanced welfare state that lacks nation-wide pharmaceutical insurance, despite its universal hospital and medical programs. She finds that the key is incrementalism, as approaching policy development in stages makes it less likely that a full range of services will be adopted."
• Dr. Laura Montanaro: "Dr. Montanaro developed a non-electoral theory of democratic representation. Her theory provides criteria by which to judge the legitimacy of unelected actors, such as Bono and Oxfam, who claim to represent marginalized peoples. Dr. Montanaro's theory helps us to think about democratic representation beyond its electoral forms."
• Dr. Nevin Aiken: "Dr. Aiken examined the causal relationship between identity, transitional justice, and post-conflict reconciliation in the deeply divided societies of South Africa and Northern Ireland. This research promises to help inform 'best practices' for future justice interventions to be used in post-conflict peacebuilding efforts."
• Dr. Nicholas Dragojlovic: "Dr. Dragojlovic investigated the way in which the United States? and the U.S. President's global image impacts their ability to persuade foreign publics to support their preferred policies. This research helps us to understand how countries and other global political actors can use soft power to achieve their policy objectives."

Doctor of Philosophy (Population and Public Health)

• Dr. Mary De Vera: "Using population-based health data from BC Ministry of Health, Dr. De Vera conducted pharmacoepidemiologic studies of statins in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis. Applying state-of-the-art methods, she demonstrated statins cardioprotective effects in preventing heart attacks. She also showed that discontinuation of statins adversely affected clinical and mortality outcomes."

Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology)

• Dr. Jason Chin: "Dr. Chin discovered a novel social psychological phenomenon - that individuals feeling particularly uncertain about themselves are more inclined towards greater acts of goodwill."
• Dr. Kirsten Dalrymple: "Dr. Dalrymple examined how the human brain creates an individual?s representation of the visual world by studying patients with brain injury who can only see one object at a time. Her work supports the theory that the perception of space is imperative to visually defining the objects that we see."
• Dr. Ho Henny Yeung: "Dr. Yeung showed that making articulatory movements with one's lips, tongue, and jaw influences the perception of speech in adults, as well as in 4-month-old infants. This work shows that speech production is closely related to speech perception from early in development, even before infants begin producing clear speech themselves."
• Dr. Janet Mah: "Dr. Mah examined cultural differences in mothers? attitudes towards parenting techniques for managing child behavior problems. She found that both Chinese-immigrant and Euro-Canadian mothers respect and intend to use behavioural techniques, but differ in their views towards punishment. This research informs strategies for promoting culturally sensitive and effective psychological interventions."
• Dr. Azim Shariff: "Dr. Shariff's dissertation focused on the evolutionary adaptiveness and social effects of emotion expressions, with a particular focus on the self-conscious emotions of pride and shame. His primary area of research, however, empirically addressed the relationship between religion and moral behaviour, with an eye towards uncovering the evolutionary and cultural origins of religious institutions."
• Dr. Teresa Marin: "Dr. Marin examined the effects of stressful life experiences on endocrine and immune activity in young people. She found that the impact of stressful events is accentuated in a subgroup of youth with chronic interpersonal difficulties. Interventions aimed at helping youth manage stress could have health implications later in life."
• Dr. Margaret Hanson: "Dr. Hanson studied the effects of childhood environment on biological responses to stress in adulthood. She found that individuals from more difficult childhood environments had greater biological responses to daily stressors, including greater cortisol secretion and sleep disturbances. Over time, these increased stress responses may make them more susceptible to disease."
• Dr. Ekin Blackwell: "Dr. Blackwell examined the link between various emotional styles and biological health in young women. She found that negative emotions predicted less optimal metabolic symptoms, whereas positive emotions were unrelated to these outcomes. This research suggests that interventions aimed at decreasing negative affect may reduce future risk for disease."

Doctor of Philosophy (Rehabilitation Sciences)

• Dr. Allan Kozlowski: "Dr. Kozlowski examined aspects of promoting change in the practice of evaluating outcomes in physical therapy. He identified gaps in regulation and practice, and proposed a framework for practice. This research demonstrates the complexity of promoting change in healthcare and the importance of understanding stakeholders and environmental contexts."
• Dr. Marc Roig Pull: "Dr. Roig investigated risk factors, incidence and impact of falls on quality of life in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). He found that risk factors and incidence of falls increased in people with COPD. More importantly, falls appear to have a negative impact on some domains of quality of life. The results of this study emphasize the importance of preventing falls."

Doctor of Philosophy (Reproductive and Developmental Sciences)

• Dr. Feng-Tao Shi: "Dr. Shi investigated the effects and mechanisms of growth differentiation factor 9 on activin-regulated inhibin and progesterone production in ovarian granulosa cells. These novel studies help us to understand the roles of these growth factors in the development of the ovarian follicles during the menstrual cycle."
• Dr. Agata Minor: "Dr. Minor showed that changes in DNA methylation are associated with male factor infertility. Knowledge of these changes may be useful for infertility treatment and for predicting pregnancy outcome. The insight gained may prove useful for genetic counseling of couples evaluating infertility treatment options."
• Dr. York Ng: "Dr. Ng's doctoral research provides a mechanistic understanding of defects in human placentation. The molecules that Dr. Ng identified in his studies could also serve as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for pregnancy disorders such as miscarriage, intrauterine growth restriction and preeclampsia (hypertension during pregnancy)."

Doctor of Philosophy (Resource Management and Environmental Studies)

• Dr. Jack Teng: "Dr. Teng examined the environmental and social determinants of tick-borne zoonoses. His work demonstrated how an interdisciplinary approach can help better understand complex health problems."
• Dr. Anton Pitts: "Dr. Pitts studied ethical and social issues underlying the management of non-consumptive wildlife viewing tourism. He found that the linkage among management goals, scientific research and regulations are often unclear. This lack of clarity could be addressed by incorporating a wider variety of values into the management process."
• Dr. Sonja Klinsky: "Dr. Klinsky explored arguments about justice in international climate-change policy debates, how the public grapples with these issues, and the justice dilemmas that sub-national climate policies currently present. She argued that recognition of the importance and complexity of justice in climate-change policy is useful for designing effective and desirable policies."
• Dr. Glen Spencer Hearns: "Dr. Hearns studied how Increasing demand, pollution and climate change converge to place water resources in a precarious position. While more than half the world depends on transboundary water sources, there are few functional governance systems for international rivers. Dr. Hearn's thesis directly addresses the need to cooperatively utilize water resources between states, based on major case-studies in Asia, Africa and the Americas."

Doctor of Philosophy (School Psychology)

• Dr. Carla Merkel: "Dr. LeHouillier examined mothers? experiences with their child?s psychoeducational assessment. The findings from this study expand previous work in the area of maternal involvement and satisfaction with the psychoeducational assessment process and have implications for how psychologists and educators can improve best practice in their assessment and intervention efforts."

Doctor of Philosophy (Social Work)

• Dr. Janet Douglas: "Dr. Douglas examined the health and safety of children who live in marijuana grow operations. Her findings showed no significant difference in the health of these children as compared to others in the population, thereby challenging prevailing assumptions and related practices. Her work will inform child welfare practice in these unique and complex circumstances."

Doctor of Philosophy (Sociology)

• Dr. Joanna Robinson: "Dr. Robinson examined how communities organize against water privatization. Through a qualitative comparative study, she identified the importance of linking local and global issues for movement outcomes. Her research demonstrates that successful social movements are those that are connected globally and rooted in local communities. They are not necessarily transnational."
• Dr. Justin Page: "Dr. Page examined the politics of wilderness conservation leading to the identification and establishment of the Great Bear Rainforest in British Colubmia. Using Actor Network Theory, he explored the scientific, cultural, economic and political practices articulating an alternative to structured conflict among environmentalists, forest companies and First Nations."

Doctor of Philosophy (Special Education)

• Dr. Brenda Fossett: "Dr. Fossett examined the effectiveness of a staff-training program in behavior assessment and intervention for deaf children with additional disabilities. Following training, a Deaf staff implemented the procedures with a deaf child with multiple disabilities and his family. Improvements in child behavior and participation suggest an avenue for supporting this unique population."
• Dr. Pamela Richardson: "Dr. Richardson articulated an arts-based approach to researching an individual's gifts and talents. In this way she showed how one's inner-gifts are expressed through one's emotional and relational contexts. Her work challenges objective and technical ways of understanding inner-gifts within the field of education."

Doctor of Philosophy (Zoology)

• Dr. Andrew Gaudet: "Dr. Gaudet explored a potential therapy for peripheral nerve injury in rodents. He found that the molecule galectin-1 is crucial for development of connections in the spinal cord, and that the protein may impact nerve repair by recruiting immune cells. These results suggest that galectin-1 could benefit humans after peripheral nerve or spinal cord injury."
• Dr. Rowan Barrett: "Dr. Barrett investigated the genetics of adaptation to new environments using a combination of field experiments with threespine stickleback fish and theoretical models of population genetics. He demonstrated that ecological mechanisms play an important role in the origin and maintenance of biological diversity in new environments."
• Dr. Jodie Rummer: "Dr. Rummer discovered a novel mechanism in which oxygen delivery to muscle can be greatly increased in fish, well beyond that of other vertebrates. Muscle oxygenation may represent the first step in the most successful adaptive radiation event among vertebrates, that of the fishes."