Convocation November 2021

Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership and Policy)

• Dr. John Vernon Fleming: "Dr. Fleming's research explored the challenges and strategic opportunities of leadership in post-secondary education under growing neoliberal conditions. He concludes that neoliberal conditions redefine education as a commodified resource in a global marketplace, shifting educational practice away from principles of participatory democracy."

Doctor of Musical Arts (Piano)

• Dr. Edmundo Alejandro Gonzalez Alvarado: "Dr. Gonzalez examined the use of the sostenuto pedal in the piano works of the Italian pianist and composer Ferruccio Busoni. He argues that Busoni expanded the pedalling technique of the piano by finding new ways to sustain and release tones."

Doctor of Philosophy (Anthropology)

• Dr. Ezra Anton Greene: "Inuit interactions with their homelands create unique ways of knowing that guide how people interact with the land and living beings. Dr. Greene examined how Inuit living along the western Hudson Bay coast have formed and passed on land-based knowledge and how people draw on lived experiences and expertise to contribute to governance in Nunavut."

Doctor of Philosophy (Applied Animal Biology)

• Dr. Kathrin Lydia Schirmann: "Using wearable technologies, Dr. Schirmann investigated how the behaviour of dairy cows changes in response to illness. Her work has shown that cows change behaviours in response to illness and her findings are a key step to identifying automated ways of identifying unwell animals when housed in large groups."

Doctor of Philosophy (Asian Studies)

• Dr. Meng Wu: "Dr. Wu studied the representation of time in modern Chinese literature. Her research showed how Chinese writers perceive the self at odds with its time, which becomes the driving force of literary creativity."

Doctor of Philosophy (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)

• Dr. Nisha Chander: "Dr. Chander's dissertation involves the optimization of lipid nanoparticle systems to exhibit improved therapeutic properties like enhanced drug release ability and improved transfection competency in extra-hepatic tissues for both small molecule and nucleic-acid based drugs."
• Dr. Hila Behar: "Dr. Behar elucidated the evolutionary origin and biological role of the plant cell wall enzymes endo-glucanase 16 in two distantly related plant species, spreading earthmoss and poplar. In the process, she also discovered a new group of proteins that are prevalent in green algae. Her work contributes to the understanding of land plant evolution."

Doctor of Philosophy (Biomedical Engineering)

• Dr. Noor Sahar Shaikh: "Dr. Shaikh used upright magnetic resonance imaging to study the effect of standing functional postures, compared to supine, on lumbopelvic muscle and bony geometry synchronously in adult spinal deformity patients. This work informs the way we study and understand this disease, and its future biomechanical modeling, mitigation, and treatment."

Doctor of Philosophy (Botany)

• Dr. Joon Seon Lee: "Dr. Lee's doctoral studies focused on how plants respond to environmental stresses such as drought and heat, and how they resist such stresses by examining changes in the expression of genes in two hybrid crops, canola and sunflower. His research advanced our understanding of the greater resilience of hybrid crops to environmental stresses."
• Dr. Liam James Marshall Coleman: "Dr. Coleman investigated the physiological mechanisms that allow some kelp species to develop progressively narrower and longer photosynthetic blades as water flow increases. His research has improved our understanding of an important biomechanical adaptation to variable flow conditions in a group of ecologically important marine organisms."
• Dr. Thamali Saumya Kariyawasam: "Dr. Kariyawasam explored the gene regulatory networks during the zygote differentiation of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Her research identified developmental mechanisms that play critical roles during the unicellular life cycle transitions and conserved between multicellular animal and plant embryo development."

Doctor of Philosophy (Cell and Developmental Biology)

• Dr. Leo He: "Dr. He studied cell divisions that occur in the mammary gland. This research indicates a new and crucial role for the breast cancer gene, BRCA1, and suggests new ways to detect and possibly treat hereditary breast cancers that arise in young women."
• Dr. Jason William Millington: "Dr. Millington studied sex differences in nutrient-dependent growth using flies as a model. He found that sex-biased changes to insulin signaling in response to nutrients controls male-female differences in growth. As insulin is highly conserved, these results inform our understanding of the sex-biased incidence of metabolic diseases in humans."

Doctor of Philosophy (Chemical and Biological Engineering)

• Dr. Parya Keyvani: "Dr. Parya Keyvani designed and fabricated a diode constructed from cellulose nanocrystal, in conjunction with hydrogels. Her findings contribute to the research to make flexible and biodegradable functional devices."
• Dr. Nikoo Ghahramani: "Dr. Ghahramani studied the rheological properties of a specific type of polymer blends referred to as Thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs). She performed comprehensive research to understand the origin of TPVs' flow instabilities such as melt fracture and wall slip. Her work resulted in clear recommendations to improve the processability of TPVs."
• Dr. Ruixu Wang: "Dr. Wang built a novel reactor system to produce torrefied biomass with a high energy density and a long shelf life. The reactor technology developed is proven to be efficient in biomass thermal treatment and has the potential to be commercialized to promote the utilization of local renewable biomass resources and contribute to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions via displacing fossil fuels."
• Dr. Adel Mohammed Redha: "Dr. Mohammed Redha studied methods to improve the co-firing of coal with biomass to reduce the environmental impact of fossil fuels using computational fluid dynamics. These techniques include unsophisticated modifications of the furnace geometry, particle shrinkage due to densification of biomass, and thermogravimetric analysis of biomass and coal mining waste."
• Dr. Elnaz Mohammadi: "Mining wastewater contains elevated concentration of selenium with toxic effects to aquatic life. Biological treatment is a preferred method for removal of selenium from wastewater. In this research, the rate of selenium removal is studied in a bioreactor. The results provide key information for mining industry toward sustainable mining operations."

Doctor of Philosophy (Chemistry)

• Dr. Kalindi Dasi Morgan: "Dr. Morgan's work focused on the discovery of bioactive bacterial natural products using chemical and genetic tools. She developed a methodology targeting discovery of piperazic acid-containing natural products utilizing a combination of genome mining and nitrogen-15 nuclear magnetic resonance. This work will be applied to future discovery efforts."
• Dr. Samuel Elliot Griffin: "Dr. Griffin studied the inner workings of metal-catalyzed chemical reactions. While traditional methods utilize precious metals, his work focused on using abundant and inexpensive metals to make industrially relevant compounds. His results inform the chemical community on design strategies for improved catalysts towards newly discovered reactions."
• Dr. Hyungki Kim: "Dr. Kim's research utilized nanoparticles in bioanalysis, including in assays, as sensors and for cellular imaging. For example, Dr. Kim developed new nanoparticle-based probes capable of real-time and simultaneous analysis of 3 distinct enzymes, which will be useful for gaining better understanding of complex biological mechanisms."
• Dr. Zeyu Han: "Dr. Han's doctoral research focused on the study of the reactivities of phosphorus-containing compounds for the purpose of making the related inorganic polymers. He discovered the novel properties of several phosphorus species and investigated the possible mechanisms. His work helped to advance our understanding of the world of phosphorus chemistry."
• Dr. Han Wang: "Dr. Wang used optical tweezers to investigate the mechanical properties of proteins at the single molecular level. His study provided invaluable insights into the protein folding-unfolding mechanisms, and assisted us in understanding a variety of biological processes in the nano scale."
• Dr. Ryan Jansonius: "Dr. Jansonius showed that chemical manufacturing can safer and cleaner using electricity and water to produce chemicals that would otherwise come from fossil fuel sources. His thesis provides strategies to enhance the efficiency and versatility of electrochemical membrane reactors."
• Dr. Christopher Michael Walters: "Dr. Walters developed novel renewable nanomaterials from cellulose, a major component of plants and trees. Taking advantage of the unique structural and mechanical properties of cellulose, Dr. Walters demonstrated these materials could be valuable in packaging, catalytic, and energy storage applications."
• Dr. Jennifer Yuan: "Dr. Yuan studied how organic molecules interacted with light. She synthesized a variety of sulfur-bridged chromophore dimers and examined the effect of oxidation on the photophysical and photochemical properties. She demonstrated how these materials could be used for potential applications in anti-counterfeiting."
• Dr. Luke Melo: "Dr. Melo developed a super-resolution microscope, combining interferometric scattering and Raman microscopies, which he applied to nanoscopic and biological systems. He also developed a non-invasive methodology to diagnose Brugada Syndrome, a precursor of sudden cardiac death, from the analysis of electrocardiograms using a deep neural network."
• Dr. Jia Yi Mo: "Dr. Mo developed a novel radical cyclization for the synthesis of nitrogen heterocycles and new synthetic methods using sulfuryl fluoride and thionyl fluoride. These new processes are more efficient and milder than the existing protocols for the synthesis of organic molecules."
• Dr. Jianxiong Yang: "Dr. Yang explored the extreme limits of chemical bonding in both long and short directions. The molecular systems designed with the new theories can be used as molecular switches, narrow band-gap conducting polymers, and superhigh energy density materials."
• Dr. Paul Jason Foth: "Dr. Foth developed new synthetic methods to incorporate fluorine atoms into organic molecules that are more efficient and practical than existing methods. These strategies access industrially-relevant compounds and will aid in the development of future pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and materials."
• Dr. Maria Cleveland: "Dr. Cleveland studied the natural diversity of the structure and function of fungal enzymes called copper radical oxidases. This research was motivated by the potential applications of these enzymes in biocatalysis for bio-product manufacturing."

Doctor of Philosophy (Civil Engineering)

• Dr. Lisa Tobber: "Dr. Tobber proposed a novel building system to improve the seismic response of tall buildings. She led advanced simulation and large-scale experimental testing programs to study her system. Dr. Tobber is now an Assistant Professor at UBC Okanagan, where she continues her work making buildings safer and more resilient to natural disasters."
• Dr. Hossein Foroozand: "Dr. Foroozand developed novel approaches to better estimate dependencies in sensor networks, which can support reduction and re-evaluation of high-density raingauge and streamflow networks. This, in turn, can optimize efficiency in future efforts to collect valuable information for modeling and support decision-making in water resource management."

Doctor of Philosophy (Computer Science)

• Dr. Nodir Kodirov: "Dr. Kodirov explored offering network bandwidth guarantees as a first class cloud service. He developed efficient algorithms to schedule datacenter network bandwidth, and proposed a methodology for their evaluation in a realistic environment. He also built a prototype, and demonstrated that it is feasible to price bandwidth in a competitive manner."
• Dr. Huang Fang: "Dr. Fang studied first-order optimization algorithms. His work has contributed to a better understanding of first-order methods for structured problems."
• Dr. Michael Oppermann: "Information visualization helps us to explore, analyze and communicate data. Dr. Oppermann studied the use of real-world data in visualization prototyping. He contributed tools, techniques, and guidelines for visualizing indoor spatial data and time-oriented data. He improved recommendations and compact previews for Tableau visualization workbooks."

Doctor of Philosophy (Counselling Psychology)

• Dr. Eleanor Sarah Becker: "Dr. Becker interviewed Indigenous women living in Canada who have done well with career decision-making during a period of sex-based status discrimination. Resulting themes highlight the roles of relationships, personal values, adverse experiences, situational influences, and community in influencing how these women navigate their careers."
• Dr. Liliana Cortes Cabrales: "Dr. Cortes studied the factors that contribute to a successful integration of mental health mobile applications into psychotherapy. Her research contributes to the understanding of how to best use this kind of technology in the counselling field."
• Dr. Katharine Deven Wojcik: "Dr. Wojcik studied how cognitive and affective processes affect trauma-related distress in adults. She found that across populations maladaptive cognitions can worsen negative self-appraisals following traumatic events. This knowledge will help improve clinical interventions for PTSD, depression, and other forms of trauma-related distress."

Doctor of Philosophy (Craniofacial Science)

• Dr. Abiola Adetokunbo Adeniyi: "Dr. Adeniyi explored the views of healthcare providers and pregnant women in British Columbia on integrated prenatal oral care. Her results show the need for a clear referral process for prenatal oral care, oral health funding, and interprofessional collaboration. A model to guide healthcare providers, policymakers, and advocates was produced."

Doctor of Philosophy (Curriculum Studies)

• Dr. Kimberly Ann Baker: "Dr. Baker examined how Dr. Sultan Somjee and the Community Peace Museum Heritage Foundation in Kenya utilize the African Humanist philosophy of Utu to resolve conflict in civil society and the environment. Her findings contribute to understanding the value of teaching Indigenous peace heritage traditions to promote peace in a modern world."
• Dr. Bruce Seyed-Morteza Moghtader: "Dr. Moghtader has undertaken an historical assessment of underlying ideas in human capital theory. By tracing, contextualizing, and examining an economy applied to human life his work offers an opportunity to deliberate on education ethics."
• Dr. Kwesi Yaro: "Dr. Yaro applied Afrocentric worldviews and cultural capital theory to investigate African immigrant parents' support for their children's mathematics learning in Canada. Dr. Yaro's work contributes to knowledge and insights that can guide teachers and other educators towards a more culturally responsive mathematics curriculum and pedagogy."
• Dr. Nicole Yung Sin Lee: "Dr. Lee's a/r/tographic, curricular, and philosophical study develops a four-movement framework for cultivating a relationship with the unknown. She finds equanimity by mapping challenges along the square and moving through thresholds. Each turn layers concept, making, and breath, offering a curriculum for artful, purposeful, and meaningful living."

Doctor of Philosophy (Economics)

• Dr. Natasha Kang: "Dr. Kang developed a novel econometric framework for modeling persistent and low-frequency stochastic cycles - a crucial feature of macroeconomic and financial data. The framework is used to study the cyclical properties of macroeconomic and financial time series. The presence of stochastic cycles has important implications on macroeconomic models"
• Dr. Jasmine Hao: "Dr. Hao studied the interaction in a dynamic game and the unobserved heterogeneity issue present in the data. She shows that during the initiation stage of collusion, firms learn to coordinate based on experience. She makes a contribution to the estimation process of panel regression and dynamic discrete choice models with unobserved heterogeneity."
• Dr. Jeffrey Scott Hicks: "Dr. Hicks studied the growth of China's modern tax system and the effects of this system on economic activity. The work demonstrated how enforcement and information frictions shape policy design and the effect on economic behavior. His work improves our understanding of taxation in emerging economies and is relevant to tax policy practitioners."

Doctor of Philosophy (Electrical and Computer Engineering)

• Dr. Amir Hossein Hadi Hosseinabadi: "Dr. Hadi designed a novel six-axis optical force sensor with unparalleled performance compared to commercial sensors. The sensor can be used in a diverse range of mechatronic applications. Dr. Hadi successfully integrated his sensor in a telesurgical system, which can lead to significant efficiency and accuracy improvement in surgical tasks."
• Dr. Arman Zaribafiyan: "Quantum computers are expected to be exponentially faster than conventional computers in completing certain tasks. Dr. Zaribafiyan formulated the concept of hybrid quantum-classical computing and examined how hybrid algorithms can help scale up the applicability of these computers to a wider range of applications, from logistics to drug discovery."
• Dr. Kevin Jin-Huey Voon: "Dr. Voon studied heat transport in carbon nanotube forests. Through computational simulation, he showed how their unique structure and arrangement contributed to highly efficient heating, and how to harness their properties towards optimizing their efficiency and lifetime towards applications such as solar thermal energy."
• Dr. Ahmed Elhamy Mostafa: "Dr. Mostafa developed schemes for supporting massive Internet of Things (IoT) systems in the wireless cellular networks using energy-efficient communication technologies. Those systems consist of a large number of IoT devices that collect data from the environment to enable diverse applications."
• Dr. Melika Shahriari: "Dr. Shahriari developed a control algorithm to maintain a constant electric field in the cavity resonators that accelerate electrons. This controller predicts and corrects field fluctuation due to previous particles in the electron beam. Her research results in improved electron beam quality which can be used for various scientific research topics."
• Dr. Chang Ge: "Dr. Ge studied novel ways to make polymeric micro sensors and actuators. He successfully developed a platform technology to fabricate capacitive microelectromechanical systems using photoresist. His technology is useful to emerging applications such as Internet of things and wearable electronics"
• Dr. Alireza Asoodeh: "Dr. Asoodeh focused on the design and implementation of two key building blocks of 5G phased array systems, namely, power amplifiers (PAs) and phase shifters (PHSs). 5G systems require both highly linear PAs to minimize the overall distortion and efficient PAs to prolong the battery life. PHSs also play the key role in steering the beam into space."
• Dr. Artemij Voskobojnikov: "Dr. Voskobojnikov studied the human challenges that arise in the context of crypto-assets, such as bitcoin or Ether. His research shows that both users and non-users struggle in the ecosystem due to its complex nature. His findings further the understanding of the shortcomings of current software and can be leveraged to enhance the user experience."

Doctor of Philosophy (English)

• Dr. Adrian Lou: "Dr. Lou's work challenges the traditional view that simile is a literal metaphor. Instead, he argues that similes formulate figurative comparisons that metaphors cannot. His study contributes to cognitive linguistics, rhetoric, and multimodal studies by illustrating how the human mind is attuned to thinking and communicating in similative ways."

Doctor of Philosophy (Experimental Medicine)

• Dr. Jay Jae Hee Park: "Dr. Park developed a master protocol for an innovative trial design called for an adaptive platform trial that can answer multiple questions for child linear growth research in sub-Saharan Africa. His research established a way to improve the efficiency and long-term sustainability of clinical trial research for global health."
• Dr. Barbara Nicole Morrison: "Is exercise good for us? Undoubtedly it is, however, Dr. Morrison found that physically active older individuals can have heart disease and should undergo a cardiac assessment if engaging in vigorous exercise. This research increases heart health awareness in older physically active individuals to prevent adverse heart events during exercise."
• Dr. Emad Mohammad Awad: "Dr. Awad examined sex differences in survival from out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Results showed important variations between men and women in OHCA intervention and outcomes. The findings provided evidence to inform current clinical practice and generate an evidence-based approach to treatment of OHCA, which will lead to saving more lives."
• Dr. Shane James Timothy Balthazaar: "Dr. Balthazaar longitudinally examined cardiac alterations of individuals in the months following spinal cord injury. He also investigated the impact of exercise modalities on cardiac adaptations in this population. His work brings to light the cardiac changes after spinal cord injury and can help guide clinical practice and future research."
• Dr. Effimia Christidi: "Some chemotherapy drugs can severely damage the heart, leading to lifelong heart complications. Dr. Christidi generated heart cells from patients' stem cells to identify ways to predict and prevent chemotherapy induced side effects."
• Dr. Amr Elsayed Ammar: "Dr. Ammar looked at the role of leech saliva extract (LSE) in the treatment of prostate cancer (PCa), he also looked at the role of protease activate receptor-1 (PAR-1) in PCa. He found anticancer effects of LSE in advanced stages of PCa, while he did not find an impact of PAR-1 alone on PCa growth. This helps in better treatment of advanced PCa."
• Dr. Bushra Mahmood: "Dr. Mahmood investigated accelerometer based measurement of physical activity (PA) and sedentary time in South Asian adults at high risk for diabetes. This research highlighted low levels of Light and Moderate-to-Vigorous PA and high sedentary time. Socio-cultural influences impacted how PA was conceptualized in a South Asian context, offering valuable insights and recommendations for policy development."
• Dr. Farshad Babaeijandaghi: "Dr. Babaeijandaghi dissected the role of the immune system in muscle regeneration. His work unveiled the therapeutic potential of a new class of immune-modulatory drugs to treat a debilitating genetic muscular disorder called Duchenne muscular dystrophy."
• Dr. Vahitha Shameem Nizamudheen: "Dr. Nizamudheen studied novel therapeutic strategies for two childhood genetic eye diseases, Aniridia syndrome and Usher syndrome 1D, in mouse and 3D tissue models. Drug (Ataluren) and stem cell approaches were used to replace the missing Pax6 and Cdh23 proteins, rescuing the structural abnormalities and improving vision in the mouse models."
• Dr. Colin Andrew Hammond: "Dr. Hammond examined changes in the functional properties of human blood stem cells with advancing age. Among his findings was an aging-associated change in the growth-signal requirements and the amount of time required for blood stem cells to divide."
• Dr. Nastaran Khazamipour: "Dr. Nastaran developed a new type of cancer immunotherapy and a candidate diagnostic tool for solid tumors by using a protein from the malaria parasite that only targets tumor cells. This research has credentialized a cancer-specific glycosaminoglycan modification for utilization as a target in both cancer therapeutic and diagnostic applications."
• Dr. William Rees: "Dr. Rees examined how cell communication is altered in people with inflammatory bowel disease patients. This alteration in communication drives inflammation and exacerbates disease."
• Dr. Abdullah Alhawah Alrashidi: "Mitigating the risk of cardiovascular (CV) events in individuals with spinal cord injury is a vital goal of employing rehabilitation strategies. Dr. Alrashidi investigated the effect of two different exercise modalities on various CV parameters. Active arm exercise improved fitness compared to passive leg exercise in this population."

Doctor of Philosophy (Food Science)

• Dr. Luyao Ma: "Dr. Ma developed rapid and sensitive methods to detect antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Her work offers novel perspectives to understand how bacteria gain antibiotic resistance in food supply chains."
• Dr. Shaolong Feng: "Dr. Feng developed several novel chemosensors to rapidly and selectively detect different chemical hazards in various food matrices. The chemosensors developed in his study not only simplify food hazards detection process but also present excellent detection sensitivity. His work will contribute to public health as well as agri-food industry."

Doctor of Philosophy (Forestry)

• Dr. Gregory Allen Greene: "Dr. Greene examined the fire histories and developmental processes of dense, dry forests in southeastern BC. He found that Indigenous fires shaped historical fire regimes, and today's dense forests are novel byproducts of European colonization. His study advances forest management that aims to enhance forest resilience to fires and climate change."
• Dr. Stanley Wolf Pokorny: "Dr. Pokorny examined the potential long-term impacts of mountain pine beetles on the Canadian Boreal Forest. He demonstrated that for invading beetles, boreal jack pines are unsuitable hosts compared to native lodgepole pines. This research is important for understanding range dynamics of eruptive insect pests under a warming climate."
• Dr. Adam Wu: "Canada is a world leader in making newsprint, a product that nobody wants anymore. To utilize existing infrastructure, Dr. Wu's PhD work demonstrated the potential of repurposing this technique as a front end for a biorefinery process. This helps reduce the overall carbon emission by producing renewable bioproducts such as biofuel from biomass."
• Dr. Meike Siegner: "Dr. Siegner developed a manager's framework for decision-making to address plural sustainability objectives in the community forest enterprise. She subsequently applied this framework to study trade-offs facing senior staff in six communities throughout British Columbia. This research illuminates the role of organizational behaviour in scaling-up the community forestry model."
• Dr. Yaseen Mottiar: "Dr. Mottiar explored the innate plasticity of lignin formation in plants. Lignin is a phenolic polymer found in plant cell walls that is biologically and industrially important. Discoveries in lignin biochemistry were leveraged to devise new strategies for engineering lignin and ultimately improving the efficiency of industrial biomass utilisation."

Doctor of Philosophy (Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice)

• Dr. Jules Arita Koostachin: "Dr. Koostachin examines how positionality shapes the creative process of Indigenous documentarians, revealing the impacts on core concepts, themes, and forms within their practice of documentary. Her research methodology is rooted in a paradigm that privileges InNiNeWak (Cree) ways of being."

Doctor of Philosophy (Genome Science and Technology)

• Dr. Spence Macdonald: "Dr. Macdonald investigated practical uses for enzymes that carry out carbohydrate metabolism. This work lead to the discovery of 11 new enzymes and developed a suite of new tools that can be used for future enzyme discovery efforts, which can be applied toward making the next-generation of carbohydrate based materials."
• Dr. Haoning Cen: "Dr. Cen studied the effects of insulin levels on insulin receptor expression. He showed that high insulin reduces insulin receptors in muscle, thereby causing insulin resistance. He also identified proteins that control insulin receptor expression and movement within cells. His findings improve our understanding of insulin resistance and diabetes."
• Dr. Veronique Gisele LeBlanc: "Tumours are heterogeneous entities composed of genetically and functionally distinct cell populations. Dr. LeBlanc's work characterized this heterogeneity in brain tumours, shedding light on the biology of these lethal cancers and providing a resource to help guide the appropriate use of brain tumour models crucial to research."

Doctor of Philosophy (Geography)

• Dr. Anya Sophia Leenman: "In our changing climate, floods and landslides are likely to be more frequent in mountainous regions. Dr. Leenman studied how such changes could influence the steep streams on alluvial fans, which are depositional landforms in these areas. Her work shows how the frequency and magnitude of natural hazards on fans may respond to climate change."
• Dr. James Kevin Pierce: "Dr. Pierce investigated how sediment moves through river channels using analytical and numerical modeling. He developed new methodologies to predict the movements of individual particles and overall sediment transport rates. This work informs numerous engineering, ecological restoration, and contaminant mitigation projects involving river channels."

Doctor of Philosophy (Geological Sciences)

• Dr. Jessie Chao: "Petroleum resource development has raised concerns about fugitive natural gas leakage into the environment. Dr. Chao's research advances the understanding of the transport and fate of natural gas in a typical groundwater system of Western Canada. Her findings address the potential environmental impacts of fugitive gas and contribute to environmental practices at sites impacted by gas leakage."
• Dr. Pablo Lacerda Silva: "Dr. Silva studied rocks formed in a sea that existed 240 million years ago in present-day British Columbia and Alberta. His research reconstructs how these rocks were deposited and describes how the minerals and rock properties vary across space, contributing to the understanding of the geologic history and energy resources of western Canada."

Doctor of Philosophy (Geophysics)

• Dr. Johan Gilchrist: "Dr. Gilchrist combined laboratory, field and computer-based methods to characterize explosive volcanic eruptions ranging from small puffs of ash to civilization-ending super eruptions. The culmination of his PhD dissertation is a new classification for eruptions that represents a paradigm shift in the direction of future volcanology research."

Doctor of Philosophy (Germanic Studies)

• Dr. Carolina Franzen: "Dr. Franzen's dissertation added to our conceptual understanding of systemic violence. Asking how Nazi Germany's juridical genocide practically and paradoxically worked, her research showed how aspects of a subjectively civilized and heroic norm/self-education, systemic embraces of subversive acts and some prisoner's survival identity formed part of its functioning."

Doctor of Philosophy (History)

• Dr. Edgar Bolun Liao: "Dr. Liao studied the trans-imperial, colonial, and Cold War origins of the cultural politics of youth in Singapore between the 1940s and 1970s. He showed how imperial ambitions, colonial anxieties, nationalist aspirations, and global Cold War agendas converged to shape state-society relations, age-relations, and state-formation in modern Singapore."

Doctor of Philosophy (Human Development, Learning, and Culture)

• Dr. Jenna Katherine Whitehead: "Dr. Whitehead explored early adolescent students' perceptions of their student-teacher relationships in three studies, by developing and validating a new student self-report measure, exploring students' qualitative descriptions of caring teachers, and examining the congruence of student and teachers' perceptions of their relationships."
• Dr. Angela Low: "Dr. Low studied how feeling shame or guilt as a parent impacts their capacity to learn during a parenting program. She found that guilt can be adaptive but shame hijacks learning. Her research showed that shaming parents does not help them learn, and that providing compassionate messages to counter shame led to better learning outcomes for parents."

Doctor of Philosophy (Interdisciplinary Oncology)

• Dr. Erin Anne Marshall: "Dr. Marshall discovered that lung tumours contain bacteria that produce nutrients essential for tumour growth, while the airways harbour bacteria that forewarn cancer development. Her discoveries led to new strategies for early detection and treatment of lung cancer."

Doctor of Philosophy (Interdisciplinary Studies)

• Dr. Sandra Schinnerl: "Dr. Schinnerl examined the nexus between education and immigration and the role of higher education institutions as both migration gatekeepers and community migration hubs. Her work deals with the influence of universities and colleges on immigration policy in Canada and what this means for future international student recruitment."
• Dr. Itai Bavli: "Dr. Bavli examined the historical, ethical, and social aspects of public health errors. He investigated the origins of errors, their consequences for different populations, and efforts by national health institutions to correct them. This research provides insight into the complex process of assessing and responding to mistakes in medicine."
• Dr. Ruth Gibson: "Dr. Gibson's research focused on understanding the impact of geopolitical coercion on vulnerable nations to design more effective international policies that address the points of conflict between nations. She developed a framework for the analysis of geopolitical coercion to minimize humanitarian harm to the most vulnerable peoples of the world."
• Dr. Marjanossadat Ebneshahidi: "Dr. Marjan Ebneshahidi examined how immigrant women experience residential neighbourhoods and what makes a neighbourhood more livable for them in multicultural cities. This research highlights the important role that the social and physical features of a neighbourhood play in shaping immigrant women's perceptions and experiences of neighbourhood livability."

Doctor of Philosophy (Kinesiology)

• Dr. Nana Wu: "Dr. Wu's research focused on movement behaviours and cardiovascular risk factors in individuals living with type 1 diabetes. Her research contributes to a theoretical understanding of movement behaviours for diabetes management. She also provides valuable information to health professionals regarding creating evidence-based guidelines on optimizing movement behaviours among these individuals."

Doctor of Philosophy (Language and Literacy Education)

• Dr. Adam Robert Vincent: "Dr. Vincent explored poetic inquiry and discovered its distinctive functions as method, methodology and tool in research and scholarship. He found that poetic inquiry is rhizomatic, appearing across the disciplines, and that it merges the sensibilities of a poet (with literary concerns) with those of a researcher (with epistemological concerns)."
• Dr. Liam Doherty: "Dr. Doherty examined how four long-term adult learners of Chinese were socialized throughout their language journeys into practices and identities that later informed their roles as online language mentors. This study highlighted the rich and complex resources that these experienced learners created for their peers in a digital environment."
• Dr. Amber Janelle Moore: "Dr. Amber Moore's feminist research examined secondary English teacher candidates' responses to teaching and learning about sexual assault narratives. She found that many future educators were committed to combatting rape culture in the literature classroom, which demonstrates the significance of attending to issues of trauma in literacy learning."
• Dr. Margaret Ruth McKeon: "Dr. McKeon, as a settler person, inquired into her changing spiritual, emotional, physical and mental relationships with land, colonialism and ancestral knowledges. Through story and poetry, this creative and critical work posits that by taking responsibility for our ways of perceiving the world, we can dialogue productively and bring about change."

Doctor of Philosophy (Law)

• Dr. Jennifer Marianne Sankey: "Dr. Sankey studied legal processes developed by Squamish Nation for land use planning and environmental assessment of natural gas projects. Her research finds that in developing policy aimed at reconciliation, Canadian governments will learn much by shifting their focus away from principles of consultation defined by Canadian courts, toward processes for achieving consent established by Indigenous nations."

Doctor of Philosophy (Linguistics)

• Dr. Samuel Kayode Akinbo: "Dr. Akinbo investigates the co-occurrence of vowels in Fungwa, an endangered language spoken in Nigeria. The patterns of vowel co-occurrence are intertwined with a pattern of prefixation showing partial copying. This study suggests that the vowel co-occurrence is conditioned by word size, syllable structure and intrinsic loudness of vowels."

Doctor of Philosophy (Materials Engineering)

• Dr. Kresimir Eduardo Ljubetic: "Dr. Ljubetic studied the thermodynamics and kinetics of gold leaching in ferric chloride media. The dissolution mechanism and its limitations were uncovered using batch leaching and electrochemical techniques. The research would help lay the foundation for development of an alternative technology for gold extraction."
• Dr. Sahand Sarbishei: "Dr. Sarbishei studied sulfur deportment in ferronickel production via Rotary Kiln-Electric Furnace process. He investigated the effect of sulfur content of rotary kiln fuel on the final composition of crude ferronickel. His findings will help the nickel industry to minimize the sulfur impurity in ferronickel and reduce the role of the refinery."
• Dr. Guangnan Zhou: "Dr. Zhou's work presents a comprehensive study of GaN transistors. GaN transistors are used in power applications, helping to convert, manage, and control electric power. It provides high power efficiency and low system costs. Dr. Zhou demonstrated a new failure mechanism analysis method and three different methods to enhance the device performances."

Doctor of Philosophy (Mathematics)

• Dr. Xinyu Cheng: "In this dissertation, Dr. Cheng studied analytical and numerical methods of partial differential equations. Dr. Cheng studied the Allen-Cahn dynamics, the Oxygen depletion model and the stationary surface quasi-geostrophic equation. These models can be applied to material sciences, biology and geography."
• Dr. Jieliang Hong: "Dr. Hong studied super-Brownian motion, a mathematical model for an evolving population undergoing random migration and reproduction. His research provided insight into the occupation density of the population and the interface between the infected and susceptible individuals in an epidemic."
• Dr. Sarafa Adewale Iyaniwura: "Dr. Iyaniwura developed novel mathematical techniques for calculating the time it takes for a Brownian particle to reach a target location and he analyzed mathematical models of intracellular communication between biological cells owing to a diffusion field. The models and analysis are relevant to studying microbial communication."
• Dr. Sanna Katariina Tyrvainen: "Dr. Tyrvainen examined stability and robustness in Machine learning. They collected a novel image dataset that includes new information about the images, and trained neural networks that were more immune to errors and malicious attacks. The findings yield insights for developing more secure Machine Learning applications."
• Dr. Joshua Mark Scurll: "Dr. Scurll developed new computational methods to analyze clustering in spatial and high-dimensional data from experiments in cell biology. His methods can advance our understanding of protein clustering on/in cells and of biological heterogeneity among cancer cells. He also conducted experiments to investigate heterogeneity among lymphoma B cells."
• Dr. Niny Johanna Arcila Maya: "Dr. Arcila-Maya explored questions about a mathematical structure called a topological Azumaya algebra, an important object of study in topology. Her work provides conditions for a topological Azumaya algebra to be broken down into smaller topological Azumaya algebras. Her research makes progress on the decomposition problem for this structure."
• Dr. Nina Morishige: "Dr. Morishige studied enumerative geometry, which classifies spaces by counting geometric solutions. She developed a method to compute invariants associated to a type of Calabi-Yau threefold. These flat 6 dimension spaces are fundamental in string theory as the hidden directions of space-time, and a central focus of research in mathematics."
• Dr. Aaron Berk: "Dr. Berk analyzed sensitivity of LASSO programs, which are well-known algorithms at the interface of convex optimization and probability. This sensitivity analysis builds on important tools from high-dimensional probability theory, and informs the practitioner's selection of the right computational tool."
• Dr. Han Hong: "Dr. Hong studied the Morse index estimate of constant mean curvature surfaces. He found that the analytic index is bounded by the topological information of the surface. This discovery will aid in the understanding of stability theory of surfaces in Riemannian geometry."
• Dr. Chen-Chih Lai: "Dr. Lai investigated the Green tensor of incompressible flows in the half space and examined existence theorems of fluid-related models such as plasma, polymetric liquid, and swimming bacteria. His research provides insights on boundary behavior of fluid flows and gives a deeper understanding of complex fluids."

Doctor of Philosophy (Mechanical Engineering)

• Dr. Masoud Malakoutian: "Dr. Malakoutian examined biomechanical properties of paraspinal muscles in spinal deformity patients. He found large variations in those properties with dramatic influences on spinal loading predicted by a musculoskeletal model. His research shed more light on potential causes of spinal diseases and can help in development of better treatments"
• Dr. Jeremy Rochussen: "Dr. Rochussen studied direct-injection gaseous fuel combustion in heavy-duty engines using high-speed imaging inside the combustion chamber. He identified how in-cylinder phenomena impact efficiency and pollutant emissions. This work guides the development of future high-efficiency and low-pollutant engine technology using renewable gaseous fuels."
• Dr. Michael Karpinski-Leydier: "Dr. Karpinski-Leydier designed and developed a rapid machine learning modeling method for studying new automotive energy technologies. These techniques allow for new more environmentally friendly energy conversion technologies to be developed and released to the public more quickly and at a reduced cost."
• Dr. Zhihao Wang: "Dr. Wang developed non-equilibrium and non-equilibrium multilayer models to evaluate the thermal performance of liquefied natural gas storage tanks under dynamic conditions with minimum computation time. Also, the models successfully predict the thermal stratification and rollover phenomena in the cryogenic liquid storage tanks."
• Dr. Naresh Kumar Maroju: "Dr. Naresh Maroju studied the fundamental mechanics of machining amorphous metal alloys known as bulk metallic glasses (BMG). He developed physical models to predict chip formation, stress and temperature in the machining processes. The research results can guide the process planning in order to enhance the machining performance for BMG materials."

Doctor of Philosophy (Medical Genetics)

• Dr. Nicole Gladish: "Dr. Gladish studied how epigenetics could be involved in the relationship between health disparities and adversity, such as abuse and low socioeconomic status throughout life. She found that several measures of life-long adversity associate with DNA methylation providing insight into the molecular pathways potentially linking adversity and health."
• Dr. Giulia Francesca Del Gobbo: "Dr. Del Gobbo investigated genetic variation in the placenta to identify contributors to fetal growth restriction, finding that both large chromosomal changes and smaller genetic imbalances are associated with poor fetal growth. This work improves our understanding of how genetic variation may impact placental function and alter fetal growth."

Doctor of Philosophy (Microbiology and Immunology)

• Dr. Corrie Belanger: "Dr. Belanger studied antibiotic susceptibility of the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. She identified altered susceptibility and genetic requirements in conditions relevant to human infection. Her research advanced our understanding of antibiotic resistance and advocates for more appropriate antibiotic testing conditions."
• Dr. Abdalla Abdussamad Sheikh: "Dr. Sheikh studied lung viral infections caused by influenza and how the cytokine IL-7 contributes to immunity against it. His work identified new roles for IL-7 in enhancing the function of immune cells in response to lung influenza infection. His findings provide insights into development of clinical interventions in lung inflammation."
• Dr. Angela Lin: "Dr. Lin studied how Campylobacter jejuni helical cell shape is generated by enzyme actions. She found the shape-determining enzymes digest sites in the cell wall structure. This knowledge adds mechanistic insight on bacterial morphology maintenance, and provides a platform to design drugs targeting the helical cell shape necessary for infection."
• Dr. Maunish Praful Barvalia: "Dr. Barvalia has characterized the immune system using high dimensional single cell systems immunology techniques. He has discovered marked heterogeneity in myeloid cells and identified discrete immune perturbation states in Lyn kinase deficiency and colorectal cancer. His research can further guide the development of novel immunotherapies."

Doctor of Philosophy (Mining Engineering)

• Dr. Craig Matthew Rice: "Dr. Rice explored risk and decision analysis in mining capital projects, showing how an adaptive approach to risk response can improve risk management outcomes. This research demonstrates that flexible and adaptive approaches can be used to manage risks characterized by high uncertainty in mining project development."
• Dr. Andrew Thomas Gillis: "On average, the mining industry has been generating low shareholder returns for over 50 years. Dr. Gillis found that mining company returns are driven by the accuracy of financial forecasts at the planning stage of mining projects. He identified methods to improve project forecasts and generate higher long-term shareholder returns."

Doctor of Philosophy (Neuroscience)

• Dr. Tristan Hynes: "Dr. Hynes probed the role of dopamine at the intersection of addiction and decision making. His work led to the discovery that dopamine mediates addiction-relevant behaviours in way that is dependent on biological sex. This work emphasizes the necessary consideration of sex in the pursuit of pharmacotherapies to treat addiction."

Doctor of Philosophy (Nursing)

• Dr. Catherine Margaret Haney: "Dr. Haney studied Canadian abortion nursing from 1960-1999. Her analysis of previously untold stories of Registered Nurses revealed their key contributions to developing and providing safe abortion services amid significant legal, clinical and cultural challenges. Her study adds new insight into abortion, women's health, and nursing history."

Doctor of Philosophy (Oceanography)

• Dr. Robert William Izett: "Dr. Izett developed new tools for estimating rates of marine net community production, an important metric for describing the ocean's role in the global carbon cycle. This work significantly enhances the community's capacity to assess how variability in marine biological productivity will respond to ongoing climate change."
• Dr. Lian Elizabeth Kwong: "Dr. Kwong develops, tests, and implements a new technique for estimating zooplankton secondary production in the northeast Pacific. Her research highlights the importance of alternative hypotheses between zooplankton and higher trophic levels in ecosystem and fisheries models."

Doctor of Philosophy (Oceans & Fisheries)

• Dr. Abdulrahman Ben Hasan: "Dr. Ben Hasan showed that complex fisheries problems can be addressed with simple management interventions and that the public benefits from fishery resources are limited. These studies contribute toward alleviating overfishing and highlight the need for policies that consider redistributing a share of the fishing industry gains to the public purse."

Doctor of Philosophy (Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)

• Dr. Farhia Kabeer: "Dr. Kabeer studied the evolutionary history of triple negative breast cancer which is the deadliest of all sub types. Her research used new single-cell sequencing techniques and has altered our fundamental understanding of how cancer subpopulations evolve to create drug resistance under chemotherapies."

Doctor of Philosophy (Pharmaceutical Sciences)

• Dr. Zeynab Nosrati: "Dr. Nosrati developed a novel drug delivery system that targets and treats rheumatoid arthritis. Her work resulted in concentrating toxic drugs in inflamed joints more effectively with less side effects, reducing inflammation more strongly and for longer periods of time. Patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis will benefit from her findings."
• Dr. Shahrzad Salmasi: "Dr. Salmasi measured medication taking in atrial fibrillation patients in BC. She revealed that patients exhibit distinct patterns of medication taking over time. Study findings can inform the design of interventions to improve medication taking, and ultimately avoid preventable strokes and deaths in patients with atrial fibrillation."
• Dr. Jennifer Irene Brown: "Dr. Brown examined how protein arginine methyltransferases interact with their binding partners and identified a process by which these enzymes contribute to stress in yeast cells. Since yeast and human cells are highly similar, these results provide new knowledge of the importance and impact of this family of enzymes on biological pathways."

Doctor of Philosophy (Philosophy)

• Dr. Nathan Robert Cockram: "Dr. Cockram's research explored the relationship between epistemic contextualism - roughly, the view that the word 'knows' is context-sensitive - and testimony as a source of knowledge. He argued that adopting a contextualist view of testimonial knowledge can help us solve outstanding puzzles in the epistemology of testimony."

Doctor of Philosophy (Physics)

• Dr. Vincent Wai Sum Wong: "Dr. Wong searched for exotic particles beyond the Standard Model of particle physics with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The searches helped constrain new physics scenarios, including leptoquarks and hidden strong dynamics. He also contributed to the upgrade of a tracking system of the detector, allowing efficient recording of collision data."
• Dr. Maryam Shirmohammad: "Dr. Maryam Shirmohammad conducted research on development of novel methods of Raman spectroscopy. She made a discovery in enhancement of intensity of the acquired Raman signals. This can revolutionize the practice of cancer screening/diagnosis through analysis of VOC biomarkers of breath."
• Dr. Derek Jun Fujimoto: "Glass-forming materials are solid upon cooling but remain disordered on a molecular scale. Dr. Fujimoto has examined the near-surface molecular motion of two such glass-formers: a polymer and an ionic liquid. His characterization of these dynamics contributes to an understanding of the fundamental physics governing these materials."
• Dr. Martin Herbert Dehn: "Dr. Dehn used short-lived elementary particles called muons to study the magnetic and electronic properties of transition-metal compounds. His studies demonstrated that bound states comprised of a positive muon and an electron exist in magnetic materials, and explored the implications of this discovery for the study of magnetism with muons."
• Dr. Alex Mackenzie Phillip May: "Dr. May studied quantum gravity, which is the theory describing black holes and the big bang. He made contributions in understanding the role of quantum entanglement in the emergence of space and time from a quantum mechanical description."
• Dr. Étienne Lantagne-Hurtubise: "Certain phases of matter admit an intriguing connection to gravity, providing a fruitful way to study exotic objects such as black holes and wormholes. Dr. Lantagne-Hurtubise studied toy models of such holographic quantum matter, discovering new phenomena and developing connections to physical platforms where they may be experimentally probed."
• Dr. Marta Zonno: "Dr. Zonno studied the physical properties of quantum materials, such as superconductors and rare-earth compounds, by employing laser excitations and chemical substitution. Her results testify to the importance of electron-electron interactions in dictating the behavior of these materials, which may play a vital role in future technologies."
• Dr. Amy Qu: "Dr. Qu explored methods of modifying graphene on a silicon carbide substrate using adsorbed and intercalated atoms. Using a variety of surface characterization techniques, she studied the electronic properties of the resulting materials. This research helps us understand how graphene could eventually be used in everyday electronics."

Doctor of Philosophy (Planning)

• Dr. Eric Douglas: "Dr. Douglas surveyed over 900 residents in the Greater Vancouver Regional District and conducted 15 in-depth interviews to try to find out. Read his thesis at greatneighbourhood.ca and learn how high-quality public space might improve residents' sense of community in high-density neighbourhoods."
• Dr. Lili Shulman: "Built form, health, housing, and demographic indicators are explored in Dr. Shulman's research. While results point to gentrification, they do not indicate displacement of low-income households. Findings are particularly important to policymakers and planners in facilitating a discussion about accessibility and social inequality."

Doctor of Philosophy (Political Science)

• Dr. Samuel Thomas Reed: "Dr. Reed asked, how do U.S. citizens compare to U.S. policymakers and scientific experts on nuclear weapons policy debates since 1985? He found that U.S. citizens are more capable at contributing to nuclear debates than generally recognized, but they are limited by a failure to appeal consistently to the best available information."
• Dr. Katherine Ann Walker: "Dr. Walker studied the wholistic Cree political ethics that arises from an understanding of the land as okâwimâwaskiy or 'mother earth.' She argues that what okâwimâwaskiy teaches us is how regenerative political systems can be co-created through a wholistic compassionate, conscious care for all life."
• Dr. Alexandre Bernard Rivard: "Dr. Rivard examined both how separatist political parties emerge and what makes them successful. He demonstrated that these parties have become increasingly successful in the contemporary era and pose a considerable problem for the management of state affairs."

Doctor of Philosophy (Population and Public Health)

• Dr. Elizabeth Sarah Wilcox: "Dr. Wilcox studied HealthWISE, a tool created by UN agencies to improve the occupational health of health workers using local resources. Focusing on its use in 7 hospitals in Africa, she concluded that strengthening international organizations to better support and facilitate the sustainable implementation of such interventions would be beneficial."
• Dr. Christopher Andrew Basham: "Dr. Basham studied tuberculosis (TB) survivor health, including post-TB mortality, airway disease, cardiovascular disease, and depression. These studies contributed to our understanding of the long-term health outcomes of TB survivors, and the need for person-centred models of TB care."
• Dr. Rebecca Kathleen Metcalfe: "Dr. Metcalfe explored how patients make decisions about management of high blood pressure during pregnancy, and developed tools to support patients and clinicians to make decisions that align with patient values. This work highlighted the importance of patient values in interpreting and applying medical evidence to individual treatment decisions."
• Dr. Katrin Julia Kaal: "Dr. Kaal examined the care people who survived cancer early in life receive in the BC healthcare system. She found that survivors comparatively receive more care and that coordinating care between different doctors matters in terms of the number of doctor visits and cost of care. This work benefits the growing population of young cancer survivors."
• Dr. Anita Minh: "Dr. Minh examined how young people from Canada, the Netherlands, and the United States differ in their experiences of mental health, education, and work. These comparative studies illuminate the influence that social welfare, education, and labour market systems have on individual mental health and well-being across the life course."

Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology)

• Dr. Cara Rae Dunkley: "Dr. Dunkley's research examined sexual function in relation to eating disorder symptoms. Higher levels of disordered eating were associated with more sexual problems, and this relationship was partially explained by psychological traits, indicating that shared etiological factors that may underlie both sexual concerns and disordered eating."
• Dr. Ru Qi Yu: "Dr. Yu examined what people would predict when jointly seeing two predictive cues. He found that people made conjunctive predictions that represented the overlap of the outcomes predicted by the cues. The results contribute to the understanding of human predictions and are helpful to those who design signage and labelling for the general public."
• Dr. Boaz Yehuda Saffer: "Dr. Saffer's research found that thoughts of suicide emerge due to people experiencing psychological pain and hopelessness, and that suicide attempts are far more likely to occur when a person has knowledge and access to lethal means. His research provides important treatment implications for helping people with suicidal thoughts and behaviours."
• Dr. Brianne Glazier: "Dr. Glazier's research examined how socially anxious individuals remember positive events. Her studies found a recall bias in social anxiety disorder and examined the role of post-event processing. This research can inform future attempts to help socially anxious individuals benefit from positive experiences."
• Dr. Jennifer Jiwon Na: "Dr. Na's study compared the efficacy of loving-kindness meditation, a novel intervention for reducing stigma of bipolar disorder, to an education-contact intervention. Results provide insight into the process of mental illness stigma reduction, by highlighting key intervention components, such as increase in knowledge and positivity toward others."
• Dr. Cindel Jennifer Melina White: "Dr. White investigated the psychological causes and consequences of belief in karma and belief in God. She studied how diverse supernatural justice beliefs can be produced by the combination of intuitive cognitive tendencies and cultural factors, and she documented how these beliefs shape social cognition, moral psychology, and prosocial behaviour."

Doctor of Philosophy (Rehabilitation Sciences)

• Dr. Flora Yi Lun To-Miles: "Dr. To-Miles studied how activities are related to health among people with and without inflammatory arthritis, and how activities and health have changed during COVID-19. Her research provokes further study on the resiliency of the arthritis population and contributes to the fields of arthritis, occupational science, and occupational therapy."
• Dr. Jennifer Catherine Leese: "Dr. Leese developed understanding of ethical issues experienced by people with arthritis when using wearable technology in their everyday self-management with a health professional. This research contributes new insight to help develop and implement physical activity programs involving wearable technology in ways that are ethically aware."

Doctor of Philosophy (Resources, Environment and Sustainability)

• Dr. . Sandeep: "Dr. Sandeep's dissertation showed considerations of just energy transition for fossil fuel workers and their communities. This knowledge will aid in a more holistic understanding of the implications of fossil fuel industry declines on communities, by incorporating spatial, temporal, and justice aspects of transition."

Doctor of Philosophy (School and Applied Child Psychology)

• Dr. Matthew Lee: "Dr. Lee studied teacher responses to student peer victimization. By way of a social experiment, he found that teachers respond differently to bullying victims with emotional and behavioural problems. His research highlights teacher sensitivity to student mental health differences, and the need for further teacher-focused mental health initiatives."
• Dr. Angelina Sookjung Lee: "Dr. Lee examined the meaning and the experience of a sense of belonging with participant researchers from a local refugee community in Vancouver, BC. She proposes a framework for designing and implementing programs and services that facilitate successful refugee settlement by means of addressing the fundamental human need to belong."

Doctor of Philosophy (Sociology)

• Dr. Kaitlyn Michelle Jaffe: "Dr. Jaffe examined the experiences of research participants in a clinical trial for opioid use disorder. Her research illustrated how social and structural factors can shape the production of biomedical knowledge and identified strategies for improving the effective and ethical conduct of research with marginalized populations."

Doctor of Philosophy (Zoology)

• Dr. Ken Adam Thompson: "Dr. Thompson's dissertation research made progress toward understanding how hybridization between species drives the origin of species. His studies illustrated the critical role of ecology in mediating this process and identified new ways to study natural selection acting on hybrids in field studies."
• Dr. Kelsey Nicole Gil: "Dr. Gil discovered novel anatomical structures in baleen whales that protect the nasal cavities from pressure damage and the respiratory tract from water and food incursion. She proposed a mechanism for how these whales can swallow huge volumes of food through a surprisingly small esophagus, contributing to the evolution of their enormous size."
• Dr. Tanvi Vaidyanathan: "Dr. Vaidyanathan examined whether bans on capture and trade of threatened species helped with their conservation, using the case of India's seahorses. Her work illuminates the failures of bans in managing catch and trade of incidentally caught marine fishes and have implications for other countries considering bans as measures to manage wildlife."
• Dr. Kyle Murray Gillespie: "Thriving oceans require abundant and biodiverse marine invertebrate communities. Dr. Gillespie examined how marine conservation can be tuned to support data-limited invertebrate species. He found that well-designed marine reserves combined with size limits for fisheries can support invertebrate conservation and contribute to human protein needs."

Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration (Strategy & Business Economics)

• Dr. Chenying Yang: "Dr. Yang studied the production location and sourcing decisions of multinational firms. By quantifying firms' responses to environmental, trade and competition policy changes, she examined how the interactions between firms and governments affect social welfare. This research illuminates the role of multinational firms in policy design."

Doctor of Philosophy in Music (Emphasis Ethnomusicology)

• Dr. Julia Theresa Ulehla: "Dr. Ulehla's research concerns "living songs" from Slovácko, a rural region at the border of the Czech and Slovak Republics. Building upon familial musical lineages marked by rupture and continuity, she explores the life of song and its participation in an ethics of relation, enacted through emergent networks of human and more-than-human others."