Convocation November 2022

Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership and Policy)

• Dr. Victoria Isobel Wood: "What role do universities play in society beyond education and research? Dr. Wood critically examined the relationship between society and UBC's health faculties, departments and schools. Her research highlights the social contract between the university and society and its potential to play an advocacy role toward its improvement."

Doctor of Philosophy (Anthropology)

• Dr. Mengyang Wu: "Dr. Wu's doctoral study focuses on everyday life at Yinxu, the last Shang capital. The research explores the significance and relevance of daily practice, particularly how the actions of individuals were immensely involved in urban processes. It has significant implications for our understanding of the dynamics of urbanization in early China."
• Dr. Morgan Ritchie: "Dr. Ritchie's research provided new archaeological evidence and perspectives for better understanding how the ancestors of the Sts'ailes - Coast Salish lived and related to other people and the land around them, how this changed over time, and how it continues to influence contemporary territoriality and identity."

Doctor of Philosophy (Applied Animal Biology)

• Dr. Michael Warren Brunt: "Dr. Brunt studied the social licence to use animals for scientific purposes and the role of institutional transparency in this process. He identified several opportunities for institutions using animals to engage in activities to increase institutional openness with the public and help renegotiate the social licence to use animals in society."

Doctor of Philosophy (Art History)

• Dr. Camille Sung: "Dr. Sung examined the use of everyday objects and bodily actions in the art of Korea between 1960 and 1980. She demonstrated that the objects and actions as new materials and methods enabled participation of artists and art in the modernization, development, and decolonization of the country in the postwar time."

Doctor of Philosophy (Asian Studies)

• Dr. Zoudan Ma: "Dr. Ma examined a warlord based in a Korean island in the early seventeenth century when China underwent a dynastic transition. His study ably fills in the details of a part of this transition. It helps to break down approaches to history that focus on national binary conflicts without considering other nations and marginal players."

Doctor of Philosophy (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)

• Dr. Lih Jiin Juang: "Dr. Juang uncovered novel mechanisms of blood clotting and developed reagents that modulate clotting to decrease both bleeding and the formation obstructive clots. In the short-term, these reagents are useful as research tool to study blood clotting. In the long-term, these reagents will hopefully be translated into the clinic as therapeutics."
• Dr. John Zhong shi Chen: "Dr. Chen used a high-throughput method to explore 2 Metallo-beta-lactamases enzymes present in the clinics, generating largescale datasets on their resistance behaviors. He gained deeper understanding of MBLs, such as how antibiotic concentrations affect bacteria containing MBLs, and how and why behaviours may differ between MBLs."
• Dr. Enoli Shannon De Silva: "Dr. De Silva studied how the platelet's structural framework, termed the actin cytoskeleton, and the supporting actin-binding proteins, regulate platelet cell death and shape change. Dr. De Silva's findings identify the actin-binding protein filamin A as a critical player in multiple aspects of platelet function."
• Dr. Amy Strilchuk: "Dr. Strilchuk leveraged RNA and lipid nanoparticle technologies to create agents that control the stability of blood clots. She showed that this strategy could help restore hemostasis in models of coagulation disorders, providing the foundation for a new generation of therapeutics to protect people against thrombosis and bleeding."
• Dr. Karlton Irie Scheu: "Dr. Scheu studied how proteins, namely ETS family transcription factors, bind their DNA targets within our cells and thereby turn genes on or off. He identified a molecular mechanism by which some family members regulate a common set of genes. He also showed how the motions of these ETS factors influence their DNA-binding specificity."
• Dr. Jibin Sadasivan: "Dr. Sadasivan investigated how RNA viruses inhibit cellular stress responses during virus infection. He showed that a virally encoded protein modulates the activity of a key host protein to evade the stress response."
• Dr. Bronwyn Jean Lyons: "Dr. Lyons studied the virulence associated Type 3 Secretion System from pathogenic E. coli using structural biology techniques. Her research on this system assists with our understanding of how this vital system functions, in addition to the future development of therapeutics that help neutralize this important toxin delivery system."

Doctor of Philosophy (Bioinformatics)

• Dr. German Novakovskiy: "Dr. Novakovskiy advanced our understanding of genome regulation by improving stem cell differentiation protocols and designing inherently interpretable deep learning methods. His bioinformatics advances will help achieve cell therapies for diabetes patients."
• Dr. Anh-Tien Ton: "Dr. Ton explored the inhibition of challenging drug targets in prostate cancer and COVID-19. He deployed innovative computer-aided drug design methodologies to access a wider range of therapeutic opportunities against the two diseases. His research provides the framework for the development of novel anti-cancer and antiviral drugs."

Doctor of Philosophy (Biomedical Engineering)

• Dr. Sayyedsoroush Nasseri: "Dr. Nasseri has developed new methods to facilitate 3-D microscopy of tumour organoids and make their use more feasible in cancer drug screening. He has also done several proof-of-concept studies using tumour organoids that make the case for using image-based microfluidic screening platforms for finding new cancer drugs."
• Dr. Yuheng Wang: "Dr. Wang developed a series of methods and frameworks for addressing possible problems in clinical diagnosis and treatment of skin cancer so that artificial intelligence can be better applied. The proposed methods will potentially save lives that suffer from skin diseases and reduce healthcare costs."
• Dr. Hongzhi Zhu: "Dr. Zhu advanced the human computer interaction method on ultrasound machines with the help of the gaze tracking technology, and devised automated medical image analysis approaches with deep learning. This research unveils the usefulness and importance of taking human attention factors into system design and machine learning research."

Doctor of Philosophy (Botany)

• Dr. Katy Davis: "Dr. Davis characterized microbial communities residing on marine seaweed and shellfish hosts. She showed the microbial community on a host is dynamic and closely associated with the host biology and surrounding environmental conditions. Her research advances understanding of how the health of marine organisms will be affected by changing oceans."
• Dr. Elizabeth Cooney: "Dr. Cooney produced molecular data for rare and understudied dinoflagellates, substantially expanding data availability for this important group. She identified several new species along the way and revealed new insights about dinoflagellate biology and evolution."
• Dr. Yujun Peng: "Dr. Yujun Peng studied the signaling mechanism of plant hormone--salicylic acid, which plays essential roles in plant immune system. She identified new components in SA signaling pathway. Her findings contribute novel knowledge to the field of plant immunity."
• Dr. Emma George: "Dr. George studied bacterial symbionts of microbial eukaryotes and viruses of symbionts. Her work highlights the complex interactions between viruses and microbes from diverse environments and provides valuable insights into their evolution."

Doctor of Philosophy (Cell and Developmental Biology)

• Dr. Martin Arostegui: "Dr. Arostegui discovered the embryonic origin of a unique cell population responsible for the development of tendon-bone attachment sites and various stromal lineages in the limb. This work represents the foundation for future studies involving the role of this unique cell population in tissue repair and regeneration."
• Dr. Benjamin Geoffrey Keith Vanderkruk: "Dr. Vanderkruk showed how the identity and function of insulin-producing beta cells is enforced by a system of cellular memory centred on methylation of histone H3 lysine 4 proteins. These studies provide novel insight into how beta cell identity is stabilized during the long period of adulthood in mammals and destabilized during diabetes."

Doctor of Philosophy (Chemical and Biological Engineering)

• Dr. Yan Yu: "Dr. Yu investigated the mechanism of hydrothermal pretreatment. She subsequently applied her methods to treat different agricultural residues to produce durable pellets. These practical studies potentially help industries to curtail the dependence on fossil fuels."
• Dr. Eric Lees: "Dr. Lees developed an electrochemical reactor that produces chemical building blocks for fuel and chemical production using carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This reactor traps carbon dioxide as bicarbonate before it is converted into the final product carbon monoxide."
• Dr. Mahyar Mohaghegh Montazeri: "Dr. Montazeri developed a novel chemical-free water disinfection system using new sources of UV radiation. His research included numerical modeling and optimization of water disinfection reactors which led to robust and energy-efficient water treatment systems which are specifically suitable for remote communities."
• Dr. Danika Gayle Wheeler: "A CO2 electrolyzer uses carbon dioxide, water, and electricity to produce carbon-neutral chemicals and fuels. Dr. Wheeler developed an adaptable tool to measure and model the reaction conditions within these electrochemical cells. This work will help empower the more thoughtful design of CO2 electrolyzer cells moving forward."
• Dr. Ryan Jacobson: "Dr. Jacobson's work explores the novel use of a mobile pelletization platform in wildfire mitigation practices. Working across multiple disciplines, his work highlights the increasingly interconnected nature of natural resource work and shows the impacts of these mobile systems on the cost, extent and effectiveness of mitigation practices."

Doctor of Philosophy (Chemistry)

• Dr. Benjamin Patrick MacLeod: "Dr. MacLeod helped lead a team of scientists and engineers that built the world's first self-driving laboratory for optimizing thin-film materials. This autonomous robotic laboratory accelerates the development of new and improved materials for clean energy applications."
• Dr. Alexander Mathias Polgar: "Dr. Polgar studied systems of light-sensitive molecules that are used in various green technologies. His work elaborated novel methods for improving the performance of these systems. The findings can improve our ability to turn energy into light, or light into energy."
• Dr. Don Michael Mayder: "Dr. Mayder examined the influence of molecular rigidity on the enhancement of photostability for light-emitting organic materials. By incorporating these materials into synthetic polymers, they were applied as nanoscale in vitro biological imaging probes."
• Dr. Brendan Patrick Moore: "Dr. Moore investigated the chemistry of chiral molecules which, like human hands, have non-identical mirror images. He identified a number of new light-initiated reaction pathways in these molecules. These studies contribute to the astrochemistry of biomolecules, and reveal why certain mirror images of biomolecules are favoured in life on earth."
• Dr. Shaoxuan Ren: "Dr. Ren challenged the accepted dogma that molecular catalysts are not capable of converting carbon dioxide to useful chemicals at commercial scales. His research reveals a new approach to designing catalysts and prompts the solar fuels communities to study molecular catalysts in a flow regime, thereby opening an entirely new area of chemistry."
• Dr. Hassan Baalbaki: "Carbon dioxide concentration has increased significantly in the environment contributing to global climate changes. Dr. Baalbaki designed efficient methods that convert carbon dioxide to plastics and other valuable chemicals. His research has advanced our understanding of CO2 capture and utilization processes that will address environmental threats"
• Dr. Lily Southcott: "Dr. Southcott designed new compounds that bind radiometals with high affinity and stability which can have applications as diagnostic imaging agents or therapeutics in cancer treatment. She developed an array of compounds which were tested with relevant medical isotopes and help progress the next generation of radiopharmaceuticals."
• Dr. Fraser Glynn Lintel Parlane: "Harder, better, faster, stronger-autonomous robots can plan and execute chemistry experiments faster than Dr. Parlane. That's why he built an AI-powered robot to do his solar cell research for him. As we speak, his robot is discovering the green materials of tomorrow."
• Dr. Tianyu Duan: "Dr. Duan engineered a series of dynamic protein-based hydrogels which can change their physical,chemical,or mechanical properties in response to external stimuli. Such stimuli-responsive properties will allow people to regulate the mechanical performance of, or store information in, these protein-based hydrogels for desired biomedical applications."
• Dr. Aoxue Huang: "Dr. Huang studied how the transition from traditional chemistry to green chemistry can be accomplished through an in-situ hydrogen supply reactor. She engineered catalysts with finely-tuned structures for hydrogenation reactions. These reactions can be used in crucial industries such as pharmaceuticals, plastics, disinfection, and fuels."
• Dr. Nathan Richard Paisley: "Dr. Paisley prepared organic semiconductor polymers with deep red or near-infrared emission for applications as biological imaging agents. He also developed a method for the formation of semiconductor polymers from simple starting materials."
• Dr. Hyuk Joon Jung: "The core of Dr. Jung's doctoral research is to pioneer the novel reactivities of neutral and cationic indium compounds. He developed a series of indium compounds, and these were investigated for the formation of functionalized polymers. His studies can help to design catalysts and synthesize advanced polymers."
• Dr. Kristof Altus: "Dr. Altus studied the mechanism of carbon-hydrogen and carbon-halogen bond cleavage by platinum catalysts. His work resulted in the discovery of a new mechanisms that had previously been overlooked. Furthermore, his research provides new insights for the development novel catalysts for the upscaling hydrocarbon fuels."
• Dr. Luke Alexander Wharton: "Dr. Wharton studied metal-based radioactive drugs for the diagnosis and therapy of cancer. His work led to the development of several radiopharmaceuticals which achieved effective imaging of tumours. His research deepens our understanding of viable approaches to drug design and has implications for the further advancement of cancer treatments."
• Dr. Cayo Lee: "Dr. Lee focused on the development and investigation of new methodologies for the syntheses of fluorinated motifs using fluorinated gases in efficient one-pot processes. The invention of these methods to easily access high-value organofluorine compounds has significant impact on pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and materials industry."
• Dr. Xing Tong: "Dr. Tong studied the nature of weak interactions using computational and spectroscopic methods. The research showed a better picture of weak interactions and their significance in petroleum-coke modification and pharmaceutical drug synthesis. This allows for a more appropriate utilization of such interactions in chemistry and biology."
• Dr. Hao Zhou: "Dr. Zhou's research focused on the understanding and development of iridium catalysed water oxidation system. This research contributes to our understanding of catalyst design for water oxidation reactions, and will have implications for the realization of artificial photosynthesis."

Doctor of Philosophy (Civil Engineering)

• Dr. Jiankang Yang: "Dr. Yang studied how heat and mass move vertically in stratified flow environments. He conducted both laboratory experiments and numerical simulations to study the dynamics of this movement. His research improves our ability to model global climate change."
• Dr. Mohammed Farooq: "Dr. Farooq developed a system of sensors connected via the Internet of Things to detect flood damage at the bridges. His research would help prevent a catastrophic collapse of bridges, thereby saving lives and resources, and is a major step in safeguarding our infrastructure against the effects of climate change."

Doctor of Philosophy (Computer Science)

• Dr. Yasha Robert Pushak: "Dr. Pushak studied the recipes computers use to solve problems. Computational recipes, or algorithms, are similar to baking recipes, which can be adjusted by modifying parameters such as temperature. He showed that computer parameters contain simple, exploitable patterns that can substantially reduce the time needed to solve computational problems."
• Dr. Patrick Huber: "Dr. Huber investigated data-driven approaches to better understand natural language by combining linguistic theories with machine learning methods. He proposed new computational models using large-scale, natural annotations to improve discourse parsing, enabling researchers to better integrate discourse information into natural language tasks."
• Dr. Giovanni Viviani: "Dr. Viviani investigated what design represented in software development and how to extract design information from discussions between software developers. He developed a tool to automatize the localization of design information and showed that this information is understandable and useful to software developers."
• Dr. Susanne Michelle Bradley: "Dr. Bradley explored mathematical properties and solution methods for large-scale linear systems arising in problem in multiphysics and constrained optimization. Her research provides a theoretical framework for the development of efficient and robust computational methods."
• Dr. Arthur De Sousa Marques: "Dr. Marques studied the properties of the text with information that is helpful to a developer's tasks. This study led to the design of a proof-of-concept tool able to identify task-relevant text automatically, thus assisting developers in completing a software task correctly and completely."
• Dr. Hung Yu Ling: "Dr. Ling developed learning-based algorithms for animating simulated characters naturally and realistically. He showed that symmetry, curriculum, and proper task abstraction are critical for solving challenging control tasks. His research illuminates the role of inductive biases in reinforcement learning."
• Dr. Zhenan Fan: "Dr. Fan studied mathematical optimization techniques for large-scale data-driven applications. He explored how the duality theory can help to develop scalable optimization algorithms. His works provide state-of-the-art solutions to many challenging optimization problems arising from machine learning, signal processing and data mining."

Doctor of Philosophy (Counselling Psychology)

• Dr. David Willis Munro: "Dr. Munro examined relational processes between sexual and gender minority youth and their parents, and how these processes contribute to the youth's identity formation. Findings show a dynamic and goal-oriented identity construction process and provide insight into complex relationship processes that facilitate youth identity construction."

Doctor of Philosophy (Craniofacial Science)

• Dr. Yasmine Alawaji: "Dr. Alawaji studied the factors that could impact the risk of having gum diseases in a group of never treated individuals. She found many factors contributed to having the gum disease such as the increased age, male sex, low education, low income, cigarette smoking and diabetes mellitus."
• Dr. Mona Mohamed Fathy Hamoda: "Dr. Hamoda's research focused on the management of Obstructive Sleep Apnea or OSA. She conducted clinical trials to compare the effectiveness of the two main OSA therapies. She also explored the combination of these two therapies. Her work is a step towards providing a personalized treatment approach and an improved overall management of OSA."
• Dr. Bernardo Urbanetto Peres: "Dr. Urbanetto Peres investigated the role of adhesion molecules and oxidative stress markers in sleep apnea patients. These long-term follow-up studies help us understand how can we better identify which patients are at increased risk of serious adverse consequences of obstructive sleep apnea."
• Dr. Arwa Zohair Gazzaz: "Dr. Gazzaz studied how social factors influence oral health in children and adolescents. She found that several psychosocial factors associate with oral health providing insights into the pathways potentially linking social factors and oral health. Her research contributes to our understanding of oral health inequalities."
• Dr. Abdulraheem Alwafi: "Dr. Alwafi introduced novel methods to assess three-dimensional tooth movement for the maxillary and mandibular dentitions. These methods help clinicians and researchers in assessing tooth movement and planning treatments."

Doctor of Philosophy (Curriculum Studies)

• Dr. Myron A. Medina: "Dr. Medina explored Indigenous mathematics through culture-based practices of his Maya Elders. His research demonstrates how Indigenous ways of knowing can engender greater awareness of meaningful mathematical heritages. Dr. Medina argues that mathematics, far from being immaterial and disembodied, is deeply material, human, and cultural."
• Dr. Jenita Huynh: "Dr. Phuong Mai Huynh integrates the Zen views of life unto a pedagogy of home-inquiry that is inner discovery of one's subjective world. Through meditative, eco-poetic inquiry, she presents a pedagogy that reflects the embodied way of being, living, working, and creating in response to one's home-nature."
• Dr. Anna Ryoo: "Dr. Ryoo studied the question of what it means to act for amor mundi, the love of the world, at the intersections of art, aesthetics, education, philosophy,and politics. Her study invites us to examine commonly held conceptions in these disciplines and in our daily lives to understand our ethical, educational, social, and political responsibilities."

Doctor of Philosophy (Economics)

• Dr. Leo Ma: "Dr. Ma conducted cross-field research in labor, public, and education economics. He found that student grants provided to low-income family students lead to higher earnings after graduation. The findings assist us in understanding the long-term labor market impact of various forms of student financial aids."
• Dr. Dongxiao Zhang: "Dr. Zhang studied the interactions between occupational persistence and labor market efficiency. He demonstrated the relationship between intergenerational persistence and occupation-talent misallocation in the labor market. His research highlights the role of information friction in workers' occupational choices and lifetime earnings."
• Dr. Juan Felipe Riano Rodriguez: "Dr. Riano Rodriguez studied the determinants of State Capacity in developing countries and the impact of conflict in the long run. He showed how Political Competition, Bureaucratic Nepotism, and institutional reforms can affect the state's administrative capacity and how specific conflicts can have persistent effects on economic development."
• Dr. Arkadev Ghosh: "Dr. Ghosh studied the effects of social integration and in-group ties on economic performance and growth. He showed that intergroup contact between Hindu and Muslim Indian factory workers improved productivity and attitudes. He also found that weakening in-group (family) ties in the historical U.S. context led to greater urbanization and income."

Doctor of Philosophy (Educational Studies)

• Dr. Gabriella Maestrini: "Imagine disasters and laughing and making meaning through humor in the face of the rubbles. Dr. Maestrini's work is a comic poetic collection of stories, poems and theories written to understand the social, political, cultural and pedagogical functions of humor after earthquakes in Mexico, in life and during the COVID-19 pandemic."
• Dr. Paulina Semenec: "Dr. Semenec looks at how discourses embedded in curriculum and everyday classroom practices position children as coherent, knowable, and agentic subjects who are responsible for their own mis/behaviour, and offers alternative, more speculative responses to the problem of in/attention among children."
• Dr. Patricia Ratnee Rampersaud: "Dr. Rampersaud explored a major change in Canadian nursing education policy concerning the introduction of a new nursing registration exam for baccalaureate nursing graduates. She showed how globalization and market-oriented policies were redefining Canadian nursing education, the role of the educator, and the nursing profession."
• Dr. Masayuki Iwase: "Dr. Iwase examined why and how foreign national young migrants in Japan have been treated as problems despite the government's policies of multicultural coexistence. As a researcher-teacher-videographer, he collaborated with a group of young migrants to produce videos to find alternative ideas and hopes for their coexistence in the country. "
• Dr. Jenalee Kluttz: "Dr. Kluttz studied decolonial learning that takes place in the climate justice movement as non-Indigenous activists work with Indigenous communities in opposition to the fossil fuel industry. She found it to be a process of learning to think, be, and do differently that can only take place in relationship with others and through social action."
• Dr. Hyunok Ryu: "Dr. Ryu studied the practices of Canadian death educators, who educate adults in public domains. She found that to change the culture of denying and defying death, we need to put efforts to die well and care for the dying and dead. With mortality, she binds all human and non-human beings, proposing broader solidarity and different ways to educate."
• Dr. Stephanie Nahima Glick: "Dr. Glick examined how public mass gun violence (PMGV) is linked to histories of colonization. She illustrates how PMGV does not begin the moment the trigger is pulled and provides alternative social practices that could alleviate the violence and promote peace."

Doctor of Philosophy (Electrical and Computer Engineering)

• Dr. Delaram Behnami: "Dr. Behnami developed machine learning methodologies to assist clinicians with early detection of heart disease through the automation of critical measurements from the heart ultrasound images."
• Dr. Ehsanur Rahman: "Dr. Rahman developed computational frameworks to simulate the operation of thermionic energy converters.This research enables a realistic understanding of thermionic converters' operation and helps design the practical converters. His research would advance the development of portable electricity generator for off grid areas and space application."
• Dr. Farah Deeba: "Dr. Deeba investigated Quantitative Ultrasound (QUS) based approaches for tissue characterization. Her research demonstrated that QUS measures obtained from the placenta could differentiate between normal and complicated pregnancies. The clinical translation of the findings will aid in the design of an effective pregnancy screening system."
• Dr. Mohammad Bajammal: "Dr. Bajammal proposed novel approaches to improve the quality of software and its development process. He designed techniques to make it easier and more efficient for software engineers to build software systems that are accessible and easier to maintain and test."
• Dr. Golara Javadi: "Dr. Javadi worked on building a solution to improve the detection of prostate cancer using an ultrasound and machine-learning framework. Her approach allows this technology to identify clinically significant prostate cancer in real-time ultrasound. This is expected to positively benefit the lives of all patients suffering from prostate cancer."
• Dr. Mohammad Khaled Dashti: "Dr. Dashti examined how computer programs are affected when run on different types of heterogeneous hardware with complex memory hierarchies. He proposed solutions that alleviate performance degradation and discussed challenges for adapting applications to run on such complex systems."
• Dr. Masoud Mehrabi Koushki: "Dr. Mehrabi investigated improvements to smartphone users' experience with authentication and access control. He conducted field studies, which advanced the scientific understanding of how and why users lock and share their phones. Subsequently, he developed guidelines for improving the design and user interface of the phones' security features."
• Dr. Rabe Arshad: "Dr. Arshad quantified the effect of user mobility on the data rate in a variety of future wireless networks. He proposed several mobility management algorithms to manage user mobility and enable the provisioning of a seamless and high data rate connectivity to the mobile users."

Doctor of Philosophy (English)

• Dr. Scott Douglas Inniss: "Dr. Inniss researches complex forms of provocative humour in recent avant-garde, decolonial, anti-capitalist, and feminist poetry. Focusing on three poets who write from different social locations, he argues that the textual-political value of such aggressively humorous poetics lies in its ability to destabilize dominant notions of social identity."
• Dr. Sheila Jane Giffen: "Dr. Giffen analysed a transnational archive of literary responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and showed how the turn to sacred address constitutes a life-saving practice of freedom in the face of death. Her research proposes new methodologies for reading the politics of illness, literature and globalization in sacred and secular worlds."
• Dr. Madeleine Danyelle Reddon: "Dr. Reddon studied experimental Indigenous literature in relation to global modernist writing and anti-colonial thought. Her work argues that Indigenous modernisms are coeval with other avant-garde traditions and that these texts offer us powerful examples of the expression of Indigenous sovereignty."
• Dr. Jae Sharpe: "Dr. Sharpe studied how American maximalist novels published after 2001 comment on our contemporary information-saturated moment. Acknowledging that technology is causing neurological changes, these authors call for a new form of reading that embraces the inconvenience and difficulty of the maximalist novel as a way of restoring reader autonomy."

Doctor of Philosophy (Experimental Medicine)

• Dr. Ryan Yen: "Dr. Yen studied drug resistance mechanisms in chronic myeloid leukemia by identifying predictive microRNA biomarkers and exploring the role of the translation initiation complex. This research will help stratify drug-insensitive patients and develop alternative combination treatments to treat them."
• Dr. Melina Messing: "During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Messing showed that blood immune biomarkers at time of ICU admission predict COVID-19 clinical outcome. She also studied immune responses in other conditions including muscular dystrophy and childhood allergic disease where she demonstrated important immunological mechanisms that underlie disease development."
• Dr. Mehul Sharma: "Dr. Sharma characterized three new disorders in patients presenting with immune defects since birth. His research will improve the care and management of these patients, as well as that of future patients diagnosed with these disorders. This work also provides insight into the mechanisms of more commonly occurring immune regulatory diseases."
• Dr. Ni Gusti Ayu Nanditha: "Dr. Nanditha examined the epidemiology of aging with HIV in British Columbia. She demonstrated the disproportionate burden of chronic diseases experienced by people living with HIV and proposed reproducible methodological approaches that improve the reliability of chronic disease frequencies measured using large administrative health datasets."
• Dr. Huitao Liu: "Coxsackievirus B3 shows therapeutic potential towards lung cancer but with evident organ toxicity. Dr. Liu's study on the genetically miRNA-modified virus provides insightful information on optimizing the viral backbone for balanced oncolytic potency and safety with enhanced genomic stability, as well as maximum capacity to carry therapeutic genes."
• Dr. Kang Dong: "Dr. Dong developed blood-based molecular biomarkers to predict pulmonary exacerbation events with high accuracy in individuals with cystic fibrosis. Findings from his study facilitate personalized medical monitoring and allow earlier diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary exacerbations in cystic fibrosis."
• Dr. Shaghayegh Nouruzi: "Dr. Nouruzi's research provides insight into the role of the proneuronal transcription factor ASCL1 in early drug induced epigenetic plasticity that supports the reprogramming of prostate cancer towards aggressive disease."

Doctor of Philosophy (Food Science)

• Dr. Kaiwen Mu: "Dr. Mu's research looked at how different dietary phenolic acids, present in fruits and vegetables, work to mitigate the pro-inflammatory reactions that contribute to intestinal injury. Her findings will assist us to make optimal food choices that will lead to health and welfare benefits."
• Dr. Ronit Mandal: "Dr. Mandal used computational simulation and experimental validation to develop an understanding of parameters related to pulsed UV light treatment of liquid foods. He developed a reactor for processing of liquid foods that can inactivate the microorganisms present in these foods, while retaining their sensory quality and nutritional value."

Doctor of Philosophy (Forestry)

• Dr. Paul William Hacker: "Dr. Hacker used drone-based hyperspectral imagery to examine the impact of human activities on ecosystem functioning and biodiversity in endangered prairie-oak savannahs. This research provides quantitative evidence that human activities can alter plant function and introduces a method for detecting a global plant invader, Scotch broom."
• Dr. Jeremy Arkin: "Dr. Arkin developed and demonstrated novel ways to provide fine-scale forest fuel and fire severity information using remote sensing data."
• Dr. Ingrid Jarvis: "Dr. Jarvis studied how different forms of urban nature influence human health in Metro Vancouver. She found that children and adults living in areas with more vegetation and water had better health outcomes. Her work provides unique insights on how to integrate nature into urban planning and policy efforts for population health benefits."
• Dr. Tonya Natasha Smith: "Dr. Smith investigated how settler forestry and conservation management in British Columbia impact Lil'wat First Nation's processes to recover food sovereignty. Through collaborative community-based research with Lil'wat, Dr. Smith's research produces insights and potential pathways forward for supporting and enhancing Lil'wat Nation food sovereignty."
• Dr. Pramila Khatri Chhetri: "Dr. Khatri-Chhetri modelled the impact of disturbances on forest carbon stocks in Nepal to identify how carbon stocks might change under population pressures, climate change, and increased forest management. She also explored the impacts of increasing the proportion of harvest directed to solid wood products as opposed to fuel wood."
• Dr. Xinyi Huang: "Dr. Huang investigated the impact of soil salinity on willow trees grown for environmental rehabilitation and biomass production. Tailored to North American prairie regions, her project demonstrated the unique toxicity associated with specific salt ions, redirecting this research field with a new perspective. "
• Dr. Yi Hu: "Dr. Hu tested and validated a model describing how nitrogen movement in plants influences nitrogen isotope composition. He applied it to identify genetic variation in nitrogen use in poplar and willow. This research provides a new way to measure plant nitrogen-use traits, which are often technically challenging to measure."
• Dr. Hugh William Scorah: "Dr. Scorah examined the nature of risk in wildfire management and how best to use public dollars to reduce those risks. The work emphasizes the need to be humble in the face of natural forces."

Doctor of Philosophy (French)

• Dr. Pooja Booluck-Miller: "Dr. Booluck-Miller's work studies how selected female authors use the individual experiences of characters in Francophone literatures to reveal the lived reality of migration trauma. She examines the role of space, psychological dispositions, and sociological implications in African, Caribbean, and Indo-oceanic migrations."
• Dr. Magali Suzanne Ida Blanc: "Dr. Blanc's dissertation focuses on writers who embarked on a journey of self-writing. She demonstrates the complexities of the subject who reclaims their identity through the exploration of a past marked by the absence of the parental figure. It reveals that all identities are a product of a multitude of stories: past, present, and future. "

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

• Dr. Marika Margaret St. Rose Yeo: "Dr. St. Rose Yeo studied the possibilities generated by creative practices to subvert temporal dominance as formulated in Western modernity. Her work contributes to ongoing discourses that suggest creative practices play a critical role in transforming systems of harm in our global present."

Doctor of Philosophy (Genome Science and Technology)

• Dr. Evan William Warner: "Dr. Warner performed genomic profiling of metastatic prostate tumors using tissue and blood-derived DNA. He showed that mutational heterogeneity exists not only between different prostate tumors, but also across regions of a single tumor. This research will aid in development of cancer treatment strategies that are personalized for each patient."
• Dr. Tal James Shalev: "Dr. Shalev developed genomic resources for western redcedar and found low genetic diversity despite remarkable responsiveness to natural and artificial selection in this important tree species. These resources were used to find genomic areas associated with multiple traits of interest for the application of genomics to operational forestry."
• Dr. Zeid Hamadeh: "Dr. Hamadeh studied how DNA repair is perturbed in selected cancers. He used single-cell methods to better characterize the function of several DNA repair enzymes and identified regions of the genome that are prone to abnormalities in the absence of those enzymes. This knowledge will aid in the future design of targeted cancer therapies."
• Dr. Joseph Uchechukwu Ogbede: "Dr. Ogbede studied genes important for how we react to chemicals such as approved drugs. He found that when particular genes are absent, cells are more vulnerable to certain chemicals, and cells that are made to produce an excessive amount of proteins are protected against the effects of these chemicals."
• Dr. Miguel Ramirez: "Dr. Ramirez discovered and characterized genes and regulatory DNA sequences critical for cerebellum development and function. His findings expand our understanding of the genetics of normal brain development and will inform the eventual treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders."

Doctor of Philosophy (Geography)

• Dr. Fernanda Rojas Marchini: "Dr. Rojas Marchini traces new legal frameworks, markets and knowledges focused on managing and financing biodiversity in Chile, with attention to how the state relates to Indigenous people. She shows the pitfalls involved in this turn and the need for institutional transformation, providing an informed analysis for policymakers in the Global South."
• Dr. Sara Cannon: "Dr. Cannon conducted interdisciplinary research examining relationships between people and coral reef health. This included analyses of coral communities in the central Pacific, a meta-analysis of a common proxy for coral reef health, and an examination of the ways that coral reef conservationists talk about local threats facing coral reefs."

Doctor of Philosophy (Geological Engineering)

• Dr. Afshin Amini: "Dr. Amini developed methodologies to investigate earthquakes related to oil and gas industry activities in North America by integrating empirical analyses, machine learning and advanced numerical modelling. The results of this research help to better understand these phenomena and design effective mitigation plans."

Doctor of Philosophy (Geological Sciences)

• Dr. Rhiana Elizabeth Henry: "Dr. Henry has demonstrated that H2O content within the beryl crystal structure can be calculated using measured Na. She determined additional chemical differences between gem beryl varieties. She has created a model to predict beryl structural details and used this to explore possible chemistries and limitations to the mineral."
• Dr. Andrew Paul Steiner: "Dr. Steiner found that ancient gold-rich fluids in the Osiris gold deposit preferentially flowed through veins in rigid, folded rocks. The fluids deposited gold where local variations in rock permeability forced the fluids to flow into non-fractured rocks. These results will help geologists find and develop other ore deposits more efficiently."
• Dr. Brenda D'Acunha: "Dr. D'Acunha compared carbon and water fluxes from natural and managed ecosystems in Brazil. She found that the magnitude, seasonality and drivers of these fluxes change with biome, land use and management. Her research increases our understanding of tropical ecosystems, and helps inform policies for land management and climate change mitigation."
• Dr. Mengqi Jia: "Dr. Jia developed and compared various modeling approaches to assess the mechanisms of GHG production, consumption, transport and emissions from macroporous agricultural soils, and interpret the simulation results in the context of observations from a field site in Ontario, Canada."

Doctor of Philosophy (Hispanic Studies)

• Dr. Marcos Moscoso-Garay: "Dr. Moscoso-Garay studied the literature of the Rubber Extraction Time in the Amazonia (1879-1914). He examined how the industrial modernization helped to perpetuate stereotypes of gender and nature in the Amazon. His research challenges assumptions about discourses of modernity in the Amazonia"

Doctor of Philosophy (History)

• Dr. Sharanjit Kaur Sandhra: "Dr. Sandhra studied museums as spaces of belonging through the experience of three Asian Canadian migrant communities in BC - Sikhs, Chinese and Japanese. Her research and findings centred racialized voices only as a means to demonstrate the power of margins as the site of solidarity and belonging in public history discourse."
• Dr. Xian Wang: "Dr. Wang researched the causes and legacies of a state-sponsored massacre of Muslims in southwestern China. She investigated how Islam and Maoism had shaped interactions between Muslim villagers and communist officials from 1949 to 2019. Her work provides insights into why religious conflicts frequently emerge under communist rule in modern China."
• Dr. Teilhard Alfeche Paradela: "Dr. Paradela charts the development of audience research in the Philippines to explain how the imperative for audience discipline, or the imperative to make the people perform the role of audiences as prescribed by the local elites, persisted throughout and the 20th century and intensified during the dictatorial regime of Ferdinand E. Marcos."
• Dr. Jihyun Shin: "Dr. Shin explored how popular media in South Korea portrayed the pursuit of wealth as a masculine quality during the 1960s and the early 1970s. Unlike conventional portrayals of South Korean capitalism as state-led development, Dr. Shin showed how popular media encouraged ordinary South Koreans to embrace profit-seeking and capital accumulation."

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

• Dr. Arthur Constantijn Wolf: "Dr. Wolf developed an affective conception of thinking through the work of Gilles Deleuze as a new theory and practice of an education for thinking. Especially in relation to Matthew Lipman's philosophy for children approach, the pedagogical consequence is a thinking that is more inclusive and sensitive to context leading to a richer sensibility."

Doctor of Philosophy (Interdisciplinary Oncology)

• Dr. Courtney Elizabeth Van Ballegooie: "Dr. van Ballegooie examined how polyethylene glycol conjugated protein based nanoparticles could be synthesized using microfluidics for applications in pharmaceutics requiring IV administration. She also demonstrated potential use as a triggered release system for combinatorial therapy (radiation + chemotherapy) used in cancer treatment regimes."
• Dr. Rachel Wong: "Dr. Wong examined mechanisms that underlie cell fate determination during normal T-cell development. She identified an epigenetic factor critical for maintaining appropriate lineage development. Her research furthers our understanding of normal T-cell differentiation and how aberrations throughout development can result in leukemia."

Doctor of Philosophy (Interdisciplinary Studies)

• Dr. Desiree Doree Wilson: "Dr. Wilson worked with children and other community members on a participatory study of a municipal Child and Youth Friendly Community Strategy. The research supported thinking about the complex relations of humans and non-humans in policy enactment - and offered insights into the more-than-human potential of efforts to make cities better for kids."
• Dr. Mohammad Ali Ahadi: "Dr. Ahadi presents two new models for a critical approach to historical and contemporary issues in art, politics, and philosophy. These models are Thought-Activism and the Visitor. This work is deeply influenced by the philosophy of Alain Badiou, supplemented by the philosophy of language of Martin Heidegger."
• Dr. Michelle Olding: "Dr. Olding studied overdose prevention sites as a community-based response to the illicit drug poisoning epidemic. Her work highlights the importance of these services being designed by and employing people who use drugs. She identified policy and organizational changes to better support the work of overdose responders with lived expertise."
• Dr. Adi Burton: "The most urgent ethical task in the face of genocide is the demand to stop it. Rooted in her experiences and philosophical study of anti-genocide activism, Dr. Adi Burton responds to the ethical, political, and educational crises of recent decades and posits a theory of praxis that aims to address the problem of action or response to genocide."
• Dr. Ashli Akins: "Dr. Akins examined how to safeguard cultural heritage in an era of rapid change. She found that economic security often usurps sociocultural and environmental wellbeing, and that markets are not set up to support small-scale artisans. Collaborating with Andean women in Peru, her work offers solutions to uphold the Quechua textile tradition."

Doctor of Philosophy (Kinesiology)

• Dr. Raza Malik: "Dr. Malik developed novel paradigms to study the planning and execution of skilled leg movements. His work provides new opportunities to understand the brain's use of peripheral vision when planning to step over obstacles and the importance of coordinating the joints of the lower limb for the recovery of skilled walking after partial paralysis."
• Dr. Deana Kanagasingam: "Dr. Kanagasingam interviewed social justice-oriented clinicians and their patients to examine how social justice is understood, enacted, and experienced in weight-related clinical care. The study presents an alternative to the dominant approach of treating obesity and offers practice-oriented insights for weight-inclusive and equitable care."
• Dr. Mark Stewart Rice: "Dr. Rice examined the developmental trajectories of young athletes to understand multi-sport vs. single sport approaches to sport. He found that athletes value and are trying to participate in multiple sports through seasonal specialization, but greater cooperation and harmonizing of messaging is needed between sport bodies."
• Dr. Geralyn Rochelle Ruissen: "Dr. Ruissen applied a continuous-time framework to examine how the bidirectional relationship between affect and physical activity unfolds over time. This work introduced an innovative approach to studying dynamic psychological processes in relation to health behaviours."

Doctor of Philosophy (Language and Literacy Education)

• Dr. Pramod Kumar Sah: "Dr. Sah examined how policies for English-medium education are created and implemented in multilingual schools. He showed that policymaking processes are not always educational but ideological and political, which perpetuate injustice and inequalities for minority groups. The research highlights implications for a multilingual education policy."

Doctor of Philosophy (Law)

• Dr. Craig Garfield Bateman: "Dr. Bateman examined the decision of the Roman Emperor Constantine to legislate Bishops into the role of judges in the Roman state. He argues that Constantine did this because of his first hand experience with bishops sitting on a panel of judges with them, and due to the fact the emperor wanted to rid the Roman courts of corruption."

Doctor of Philosophy (Library, Archival and Information Studies)

• Dr. Amelia Wandschneider Cole: "Dr. Cole examined working adults' sense of self-efficacy when learning using web search engines. They constructed a scale of self-efficacy and applied mixed methods to identify factors that contribute to User Experience professionals' sense of confidence while learning using search."
• Dr. Vanessa Da Silva Figueiredo: "Dr. Figueiredo studied how context and agency affect Brazilian school children's information searching strategies to complete homework. She found that these strategies depend on school and home resources, and interpersonal assistance. Her analysis of information searching strategies provides recommendations for designing youth digital applications."

Doctor of Philosophy (Linguistics)

• Dr. Roger Lo: "Dr. Lo studied how Mandarin-English bilinguals use vowel-initial pitch to distinguish certain speech sounds. He found that these bilinguals use pitch as a cue, but to different degrees, when pronouncing and listening to words in Mandarin versus English. This research informs both the flexibility of and limitations in how bilinguals process speech."

Doctor of Philosophy (Materials Engineering)

• Dr. Ronny Winarko: "Dr. Winarko investigated a novel process for copper extraction from chalcopyrite, a copper-bearing mineral. He showed that the rate of copper extraction could be significantly improved by adding a small amount of iodine. This research offers a potential technology that could unlock value from vast amounts of previously uneconomical low-grade ores."
• Dr. Ali Khajezade: "Dr. Khajezade developed a model framework for large-scale analysis of a phenomenon known as recrystallization to study some parameters that control the evolution of microscopic features which determine the material mechanical response. The framework enables engineers to design eco-friendly light vehicle components with tailored mechanical behavior."
• Dr. Chunying Wei: "Driven by the demand for improving fuel efficiency, the automotive industry has been committed to reducing vehicle weight. Many casting technologies have been employed to produce aluminum automotive parts. Dr. Wei has worked to optimize the process parameters and die tooling design to improve cast quality for lightweight aluminum components."
• Dr. Maryam Yaghtin: "Dr. Yaghtin developed a novel, safe and cost-effective process for deposition of advanced functionally graded thermal barrier coatings by aqueous suspension and solution plasma spray techniques. This study makes a significant contribution to the knowledge and design of modern high efficiency gas turbines for aviation and electricity generation."

Doctor of Philosophy (Mathematics)

• Dr. Zhaohui Fu: "Dr. Fu studied three kinds of numerical schemes for phase field models and proved that they preserve intrinsic properties including the maximum principle and the energy dissipation law. This research offers high-order structure-preserving numerical solutions for phase field models and other gradient flows with special structures."
• Dr. Thomas Rud: "Number-theoretical approach to geometric objects and their transformations has applications ranging from quantum physics to cryptography. Dr. Rüd obtained results on invariants related to local and global properties of tori, developed algorithms to study them numerically, and established a more general framework to study similar properties."
• Dr. Stephen Christopher Pietromonaco: "Dr. Pietromonaco studied curve-counting in certain geometries with singular points. His new results lead to some beautiful formulas, and reveal some new structure in the enumerative geometry of these singular spaces."

Doctor of Philosophy (Measurement, Evaluation and Research Methodology)

• Dr. Shun-Fu Hu: "Dr. Hu's research integrates AI and statistics. Given a short form of a test, an AI was trained to guess what the results would have been had the respondents finished the full test. Traditional statistics was used to visualize how the AI made its decisions. Using the combined method, anyone interested can use AI to shorten a test and know why."

Doctor of Philosophy (Mechanical Engineering)

• Dr. Zhengwen Nie: "Dr. Nie developed an efficient direct voxel tracing method which computes the workpiece geometry and cutter-workpiece engagement in multi-axis machining simulation. This method achieves high efficiency in calculating geometric information while being accurate and robust enough for physical modeling."
• Dr. Stefano Fregonese: "Dr. Fregonese added a valuable contribution to the area of nonlinear mechanics by developing a new theory for needle insertion mechanics. This body of work includes both theoretical and experimental components. Given the practical relevance of this problem, the potential impact of this research is far-reaching."
• Dr. Mohammad Mohammadzadeh Keleshteri: "Dr. M. Keleshteri developed mathematical models to evaluate elastic properties of composite metal foams and analyzed nonlinear vibration response of metal foam structures. These studies showed the potential of metal foam structures, which allows their widespread use in different industries."
• Dr. Rodrigo Seiji Mitishita: "Dr. Mitishita investigated turbulent flows of complex fluids such as polymer and surfactant solutions. His experiments contributed to better understanding the relationship between fluid properties and energy savings via turbulent drag reduction."
• Dr. Hamed Helisaz: "Dr. Helisaz investigated the effects of cancer on the mechanical properties of prostate gland. Collaborating with Vancouver General Hospital, he studied the prostate's properties in the presence of cancer using advanced biomechanical models and statistical tools. Dr. Helisaz's novel findings can be used for prostate cancer diagnosis in the future."

Doctor of Philosophy (Medical Genetics)

• Dr. Kelsie Reanne Shanna Doering: "Dr. Doering discovered a new pathway by which cells can respond to and survive low oxygen stress using the model organism C. elegans. This work will be important for future development of drugs and therapies in diseases where cells are frequently exposed to low oxygen, such as cancer and diabetes."

Doctor of Philosophy (Microbiology and Immunology)

• Dr. Isobel Mouat: "Dr. Mouat demonstrated that a unique population of immune cells, called age-associated B cells, are required for the contribution of viral infection to multiple sclerosis."
• Dr. Kateryna Ievdokymenko: "Dr. Ievdokymenko investigated molecular mechanisms that help microorganisms in terrestrial, aquatic, engineered and host-associated environments to survive in the presence of toxic chemicals. Her research identified novel tolerance genes relevant for developing biological processes for bioremediation and biotechnological applications."
• Dr. Jessica Ashley Frias Da Silva: "Dr. Silva studied an immune cell type called patrolling monocytes, which are important in maintaining vascular health. She identified a beneficial role for these cells in obesity, Alzheimer's disease, and tumour metastases. Her work contributes to the potential of harnessing these cells in novel disease therapies."
• Dr. Paula Tracey-Ann Littlejohn: "Dr. Littlejohn developed a murine model to study the impact of early-life exposure to multiple micronutrient deficiencies on host, gut microbiome and resistome. Her most significant finding was that early-life micronutrient deficiencies induced clinically relevant antibiotic resistance which has major policy implications for malnourished children."
• Dr. Etienne Melese: "Dr. Melese studied T cell immune response inhibition in lung cancer. His research showed tumour cells produce factors that contribute to the recruitment of suppressive immune cells; that specific circulating immune cells distinguish a patient with a beneficial response to immunotherapy; and showed roles for lung resident T cells in lung cancer."

Doctor of Philosophy (Neuroscience)

• Dr. Ellen Teresa Koch: "Dr. Koch used brain imaging techniques to study the movement disorder, Huntington disease, in mice. She identified altered motor behaviour that was associated with neural signaling in a brain region called the striatum. This research provides insight into the neurological changes in Huntington disease, that should one day help us develop a cure."
• Dr. Qing Zhang: "Dr. Zhang defined the mechanisms underlying the transcription, modification, and degradation of a critical molecule in autism. She discovered that impaired modification of the molecule contributes to autism pathogenesis. This research provides novel insights into potential targeted therapy for autism."
• Dr. Xiuyun Wu: "Dr. Xiuyun Wu studied the relationship between human visual perception and motor action. She examined how perception and eye movements respond to different visual objects and tasks. This research provides new insights into how visual information is utilized by perception and action, and informs our understanding of the underlying brain mechanisms."

Doctor of Philosophy (Nursing)

• Dr. Allie Slemon: "Dr. Slemon examined how nurses who work in emergency departments promote equity and justice through everyday patient care. Her findings illustrated that despite individual nurses' efforts, promoting equity was not meaningfully supported in this setting. This study can contribute to future interventions to embed equity in health care systems."
• Dr. Abdul-Fatawu Abdulai: "Dr. Abdulai examined how sexual health-related stigma can be addressed in the context of digital health technologies.Using a trauma-informed care framework, he developed a set of destigmatizing design guidelines.His work provided a reference guide on how sexual health-related technologies can be designed to be trauma-informed and less stigmatizing."
• Dr. Elizabeth Martha May Straus: "Dr. Straus' research aimed to understand living well through exploring the experiences of young people who required a ventilator long-term. Her work incorporated stories and photographs and challenges assumptions about what someone with a ventilator can do. Her work also identifies ways healthcare providers can reimagine living well in practice."

Doctor of Philosophy (Oceanography)

• Dr. Benjamin Lee Moore-Maley: "Dr. Moore-Maley showed how wind-driven ocean currents in the Strait of Georgia transport nutrients from deep water to the surface where photosynthesis occurs. This nutrient pathway is important for summer growth of phytoplankton and their zooplankton grazers, and may help explain observed ecosystem and fisheries trends such as salmon declines."
• Dr. Joanne Kathryn Breckenridge: "Dr. Breckenridge's research revealed that zooplankton in the Fraser River Estuary are limited by how quickly water moves through the system; channelization of the delta may therefore have reduced zooplankton production. Her modelling suggests that warming and early snowmelt may lead to changes in the abundance of zooplankton in the estuary."
• Dr. Anwar Sameer Al-Qattan: "Dr. Al-Qattan examined the model bacterium, Dokdonia sp., and characterized its genome and gene expression when exposed to iron-deplete media or viral lysate. These results show the transcriptomic responses and the physiological adaptations of the heterotrophic bacterium to iron-limitation and viral lysate addition."

Doctor of Philosophy (Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)

• Dr. Ya-Chi Angela Mo: "Dr. Mo investigated the mechanisms of leukemogenesis in AML driven by genetic mutations. The research identified a novel genetic driver of AML, FBXO11, as well as a new link between two cellular systems, the ubiquitin pathway and mitochondrial function."
• Dr. Lisa Rachelle Decotret: "Dr. Decotret investigated various ways cancer cells spread throughout the body. She found a novel role for a widely expressed molecule called PTP alpha in breast cancer cell invasion and developed an advanced method for tracking the invasion of brain cancer cells into surrounding brain tissue."
• Dr. Wayne Zhao: "Dr. Zhao explored storing platelets in the cold versus at room temperature. He showed that cold-stored platelets are more effective at stopping bleeds and have preserved metabolomic parameters than the currently in-use room-temperature stored platelets. His work contributes to and accelerated the clinical investigation of cold-stored platelets in cardiothoracic patients."
• Dr. Guangze Zhao: "Viral myocarditis is the leading cause of sudden death in young children and youth. Dr. Zhao's study shed light on the mechanisms underlying how coxsackievirus induces viral myocarditis by both direct cardiac injury and perturbation of innate immune response, and thus provided potential therapeutic strategies against virus-induced heart diseases."

Doctor of Philosophy (Pharmaceutical Sciences)

• Dr. Sumreen Javed: "Dr. Javed has developed breast cancer models to target primary and metastatic tumors at distant sites. She also explored the role of finger like projections-invadopodia in helping tumor cells movement through the lymphatic system. The findings from these studies will be helpful in providing an in-depth insight into targeting tumor metastasis."

Doctor of Philosophy (Philosophy)

• Dr. Ian Tomas Heckman: "Utilizing literature from philosophy, cognitive science, and dance studies, Dr. Heckman argued that spectators' bodily responses to dance are crucial for understanding and appreciating dance."

Doctor of Philosophy (Physics)

• Dr. Pinrui Shen: "Dr. Shen studied collision physics in the two body system and formulated the universal behavior of the quantum diffractive collisions. Based on the universal behavior, he realized the world's first cold atom based primary pressure standard. This new pressure standard will help redefine the pressure unit, Pascal, in the quantum scale."
• Dr. Mengxing Na: "Dr. Na developed a new technique for studying interactions between electrons and the lattice in graphite. This technique was made possible by a cavity-based extreme ultraviolet laser for time- and angle-resolved photoemission and can also be used to study the microscopic interactions in other material systems."
• Dr. Mateus Arantes Fandino: "Dr. Fandino developed methods to detect radiation emitted by neutral hydrogen on cosmological scales. His contributions to the construction and analysis of a new instrument led directly to the first detection of its kind. This work represents a significant development in the technique of hydrogen intensity mapping and the study of dark energy."
• Dr. Graham Baker: "Dr. Baker studied metals in which electronic motion does not obey Ohm's law. He looked at metals where electrons develop preferred directions of motion because of strong interactions with the ionic lattice. He developed a theory of how this leads to new electrical and optical properties, and measured these novel effects in palladium cobalt oxide."
• Dr. Felix Blanchet Cormier: "Dr. Cormier developed a novel adversarial machine learning algorithm in order to detect particles with challenging signatures in the ATLAS detector. This research both furthered the combination of machine learning and particle physics, as well as led to world-leading limits on the possible existence of some theories beyond the standard model."
• Dr. Xunyu Liang: "Dr. Liang studied the so-called axion quark nugget model, one of the best-studied macroscopic dark matter candidates to date. He developed the nuggets' formation mechanism, proposed new strategies for direct detection, and examined potential indirect evidence observed from current experiments."
• Dr. Oliver Yam: "The motion of ions in a crystal lattice is described as "phonons" in quantum mechanics. The interaction, or coupling, between electrons and phonons is important in determining many properties of materials. In contrast to the oversimplified coupling customary used, we showed that some different Physics can be seen using the more detailed coupling."
• Dr. Carolin Janet Hofer: "One of the biggest puzzles in modern physics is dark energy, which is causing the expansion of the universe to speed up. Dr. Höfer helped build the largest radio telescope in Canada named CHIME. To exploit the complex CHIME data, she developed advanced simulation and analysis techniques. Her results will have an impact on future radio surveys."
• Dr. Colby Lee DeLisle: "Dr. DeLisle used quantum information theory to study electromagnetic and gravitational fields. His work argued that upcoming laboratory experiments should be capable of observing quantum superpositions of space-time, and resulted in the discovery of a new kind of electric current, responsible for emitting the longest wavelengths of light in Nature."
• Dr. Daniel Bruns: "Dr. Bruns examined the mechanisms of heat transport in carbon nanotubes at the atomic level. He showed that the small spatial dimensions of these materials require a rethinking of some fundamental laws of thermal science. His research improves our understanding of the thermal performance of some technologically important materials."
• Dr. David Avrahm Wakeham: "What happens when you fall into a black hole? Gravity predicts one answer, quantum mechanics another. Dr. Wakeham explored this problem, using an approach which combines quantum and gravitational effects, and in particular exploited surfaces called end-of-the-world branes to peer inside black holes and understand the fate of someone who falls in."
• Dr. Christopher Gubbels: "The prevailing theory of particle physics has been immensely successful but is known to be incomplete. Many of its extensions predict modifications to the rate at which Higgs bosons are produced in pairs. Dr. Gubbels analyzes data collected by the ATLAS detector to search for this process, placing strong constraints on any such new theories."

Doctor of Philosophy (Planning)

• Dr. Lauren Ann Brown: "Dr. Brown explored the practices and policies surrounding homeless shelters in the U.S. and the ways different levels of policy are understood, constructed, and navigated in people's day-to-day lives. This research challenges how urban governments are managing homelessness, and the resultant stigmatization and criminalization of poverty."

Doctor of Philosophy (Political Science)

• Dr. Hema Nadarajah: "Dr. Nadarajah studied soft law's prevalence in the Arctic, Outer Space, and Climate Change while theorising this now ubiquitous aspect of international relations. This helps us better understand today's international system, how it has changed, and develops our understanding of the relationship between International Relations and International Law."
• Dr. Sarah Lachance: "Dr. Lachance analyzed how campaign information influences voters in Canada, U.S. and Germany. Her research shows that policy matters for voters, even when affect plays a significant role in their decision. In sum, her work shows that campaigns give voters the information they need to choose the alternative that will best represent their interests."

Doctor of Philosophy (Population and Public Health)

• Dr. Michael Lee: "Dr. Lee explored the characteristics, strengths, weaknesses, barriers, and opportunities associated with the theory and practice of municipal rat management with a view towards providing recommendations for cities seeking to develop or improve their own rat management strategies."
• Dr. Jonathan David Simkin: "Dr. Simkin examined differences in cancer risk by geography in British Columbia, Canada, using various methods that leverage locational information. In doing so, he revealed new insights on the geographical distributions of cancer, and developed analytic approaches and tools that provide localized information to support regional health planning."
• Dr. Kalysha Closson: "Dr. Closson explored the validity evidence of a commonly used measure of gender equity in sexual and reproductive health research among South African youth. She demonstrated that measures need to be adapted to be more inclusive, contemporary, and strength-based to better reflect gender equity and the positive elements of youth relationships "
• Dr. Carly Elizabeth Magee: "Dr. Magee examined the epidemiology of schizophrenia spectrum conditions and access to psychiatric services among adolescents in British Columbia. Her findings can be used to plan for adequate mental health supports for young people in BC."
• Dr. William Leon Hall: "Dr. Hall's research synthesized health economics with learning health systems to support strategic management of care portfolios. Through the development and implementation of his 'Economic Learning Health System' framework, he assisted a health authority with the optimization of care delivery for seniors receiving home health services."
• Dr. Maeve Elizabeth Wickham: "Dr. Wickham investigated modifiable risk factors associated with recurrent adverse drug events, and examined how well these events are captured in health care data. These studies have implications for patient safety, and for drug safety research, as the documentation of these events is crucial in understanding and preventing their recurrence."
• Dr. Seraphine Zeitouny: "Dr. Zeitouny assessed key dimensions in access to medicines in Canada and globally. Her research examined primary non-adherence in primary care. It uncovered changes in drug use and costs in British Columbia and investigated global vaccine availability during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her findings contributed to constructive health systems research."

Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology)

• Dr. Anthea Colleen Pun: "Dr. Pun's research revealed that infants as young as six-months-old expect a larger group to prevail during a conflict. Furthermore, bystanders that witness the conflict are only expected to help members from their own group. These findings suggest that infants may be born with the capacity to make inferences about social status."
• Dr. Klint Wing Hei Fung: "Dr. Fung studied the memory mechanisms underlying social anxiety. He found that physical characteristics of people, and self-attributes are feared stimuli, and negative evaluation is a feared outcome for socially anxious people."
• Dr. Drake Levere: "Dr. Levere examined the relationship between social support types, self-efficacy, and well-being in stressed dyadic couples. He found that receiving different types of support can impact health and relationship satisfaction depending on the recipient's self-efficacy. This research illuminates when and why support from a partner may be unhelpful."
• Dr. Tianyou Qiu: "Dr. Qiu studied how suicidal individuals construe death, and how different aspects of death construal relate to suicidal ideation and attempts. This research enhances understanding of the progression from suicidal thoughts to acts."
• Dr. Lihan Chen: "Researchers will often encounter missing data, which makes it more difficult to detect the effects they are looking for. Dr. Chen studied the impact of missing data under a wide variety of conditions and demonstrated its connection to how researchers design their studies. His findings can help improve the cost-effectiveness of future studies."
• Dr. Rachele Francesca Benjamin: "Dr. Benjamin investigated the psychological underpinnings of support for democratic values and practices. She studied how individuals react to information about democratic backslides, and what dispositions and contexts explain their reactions."
• Dr. Ryan Dwyer: "Dr. Dwyer found that cash transfers improved housing stability and financial security for the homeless, and he quantified the well-being benefits of cash transfers across the global socioeconomic spectrum. His findings demonstrate that cash assistance may be an effective way to help those who are homeless or living in poverty."

Doctor of Philosophy (Rehabilitation Sciences)

• Dr. Rebecca Kenny: "Dr. Kenny investigated heading in female varsity soccer players and provided important details on the frequency and magnitude of these repetitive head impacts. Using the substantial video data and comprehensive data collection over 3-years, she demonstrated a potential dose response to the number of headers and both brain physiology and function."
• Dr. Jennifer Kathleen Ferris: "Dr. Ferris examined patterns of brain damage in aging and after stroke using a magnetic resonance imaging technique called diffusion tensor imaging. Her work advances the development of novel MRI-based tools to measure brain damage and predict behavioural impairments after brain injury."
• Dr. Lisa Simpson: "Dr. Simpson investigated the epidemiology, measurement, and recovery of arm and hand use following a stroke. This research increases our knowledge of this unique aspect of stroke recovery and will inform future stroke rehabilitation treatments."
• Dr. Calvin Tse: "Dr. Tse evaluated shoe orthotic insoles as a novel complementary treatment for individuals with progressive knee joint degeneration. These works highlight how shoe orthotics alter movement patterns and knee joint load transfer during walking, and provide a prediction tool to match insole designs to individual presentations knee joint degeneration."
• Dr. Jesse Marshal Charlton: "Dr. Charlton applied novel wearable technology to measure how people walk in everyday life, and to develop new ways to use physical activity to treat joint disease. His work contributes to the understanding of how people with musculoskeletal disease move, and their capacity to integrate movement-based rehabilitation into daily walking practices."

Doctor of Philosophy (Religious Studies)

• Dr. Ryan Daniel Schroeder: "Dr. Schroeder compares prophecy in the Hebrew Bible with documents excavated in the Middle East that date to the second and first millennia BCE. He argues that oracles were commonly solicited in antiquity and thus biblical depictions of spontaneous revelation reflect the ideals of ancient Hebrew scribes rather than the actual oracular process."

Doctor of Philosophy (Reproductive and Developmental Sciences)

• Dr. Natasha Leigh Orr: "Multiple factors play a role in endometriosis pain, ultimately impacting treatment decisions. Dr. Orr found a clinically practical tool to identify central sensitization in endometriosis and found that KRAS mutations were related to endometriosis severity. Her findings will contribute to a new classification system for endometriosis care."

Doctor of Philosophy (Social Work)

• Dr. Andrea Kristina Johnson: "Dr. Johnson explored the experiences of adolescents who had completed treatment for cancer. Posttreatment is an invisible phase in the cancer trajectory yet holds significant implications for youth. This research highlights posttreatment as a dynamic period of time and compels clinical attention to it within adolescents' cancer survivorship care."

Doctor of Philosophy (Sociology)

• Dr. Jennifer Nora Adkins: "Dr. Adkins studied the impact of social pressures on interracial relationships. She discovered that individuals restructure their identity using methods to develop and maintain racialized trust with their partners. Her contributions include introducing a new process called racial frame convergence, which advances the areas of identity and trust."
• Dr. Francois Lachapelle: "Dr. Lachapelle argued that an emerging way of science-making emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, organized around preprint servers, challenging the traditional channel of scholarly communication, organized around academic peer-reviewed journals. These servers participate in a reversal of epistemic evaluators and the logic of scientific capital."
• Dr. Tanvi Sirari: "Dr. Sirari examines the everyday experiences of interracial couples in Vancouver and how they make sense of their relationships. In her interviews, many couples related their personal intimacies to larger discourses of Canada as a multicultural nation. Dr. Sirari's research shows how racial power is reproduced and contested in intimate relations."
• Dr. Adriana Brodyn: "Dr. Brodyn examines how queerness impacts the way people imagine and create families. Three inter-related studies illuminate the ways queer people employ individual and relational strengths in order to transform the family context into a site of potential healing from societal stigmatization and trauma."
• Dr. Adam Philip Vanzella Yang: "Dr. Vanzella Yang investigated how different socioeconomic resources shaped the mental health of Canadian adults. He found that resources in adulthood mattered more than parental resources earlier in life. His findings suggest that interventions in adulthood can potentially mitigate socioeconomic inequalities in psychological distress."
• Dr. Maximilian Piotr Chewinski: "Dr. Chewinski examined rural people's participation in environmental politics following the 2014 Mount Polley mining disaster. He focused on how meaning-making processes, emotions, and cultural contexts produced inequalities in public consultations and incited community mobilization in response to mounting environmental risks."
• Dr. Christina Treleaven: "Dr. Treleaven examined how younger adult eldercare providers navigate work and care. She extends theories of mental labour to better understand and reflect the reality of providing eldercare in the COVID-19 pandemic. Her dissertation analyzes the stories, experiences, and implications to illuminate the relational nature of care within families."

Doctor of Philosophy (Statistics)

• Dr. Xiaomeng Ju: "Dr. Ju developed prediction methods that go beyond classical settings. Her proposals are built upon the idea of ensemble learning and use data that contain extreme or function-valued variables. The resulting algorithms provide computational tools for practitioners to deal with complex data seen in various applications."
• Dr. Sonja Isberg: "Computer experiments are used as replacements for physical experiments in a wide variety of applications. Dr. Isberg's research addressed the analysis of large datasets arising from computer models, as well as the combination of multiple competing computer models. The work can be applied broadly in science and engineering, including climate models."
• Dr. Anthony-Alexander Christidis: "Dr. Christidis developed a new class of statistical algorithms designed to analyze data in high dimensions. He made theoretical and computational contributions to support his work. His methods were applied to study the relationship between genetic patterns and different types of diseases."

Doctor of Philosophy (Teaching English as a Second Language)

• Dr. Dmitri Detwyler: "The global COVID-19 pandemic has affected us all. Dr. Detwyler studied its early impacts on instructors of English as a second language in Canada. Their talk about emergency remote teaching reflected pandemic vulnerability among learners, precarious employment in the sector, and Canada's settler-colonial past as ongoing professional challenges."

Doctor of Philosophy (Theatre)

• Dr. Matthew Tomkinson: "Dr. Tomkinson's research explores the theatrical relationship between sound and mental health differences. He examines a range of case studies in which audience members are immersed in auditory simulations of madness. His dissertation investigates the shortcomings of simulation as a representational practice."

Doctor of Philosophy (Zoology)

• Dr. Hyewon Jung: "Dr. Jung investigated the regulation of respiratory gases within the gastrointestinal tract and cardiovascular system in teleost. She also studied the potential implications associated with osmoregulation and digestion. Her research illuminates maintenance of blood homeostasis despite the extreme extracorporeal environment in the tract."
• Dr. Katrina Minasha Kaur: "Dr. Kaur used a variety of computational approaches to assess a key question of why certain groups of species are more diverse than others. She found species interactions do not shape diversity uniformly, but they can drive diversity differences across the tree of life. Her work demonstrates the importance of methodology when studying interactions."
• Dr. John Michael Cristiani: "Dr. Cristiani studied the movement of marine invertebrates among different areas of the British Columbia coast. His research modeled the spatial extent of animal dispersal and predicted where habitat is connected. This work is now being incorporated into planning the placement of marine protected areas to better conserve biodiversity."
• Dr. Samantha Danielle Straus: "Dr. Straus used a combination of field, molecular and laboratory experiments to explore the interactions between social spider hosts and their parasites. She found that colony size and primary productivity influence parasite loads, and that the parasites cause measurable harm to their host, and they are able to move freely between host colonies."
• Dr. Amelia Hesketh: "Dr. Hesketh showed that heatwaves have spatially variable consequences on the survival of invertebrates on rocky shores in British Columbia and that repeated exposure to high temperatures has cumulative negative effects on biodiversity. These findings help us anticipate the future of our shorelines in the face of ongoing climate and ocean change."
• Dr. Stephanie Blain: "Dr. Blain tested for predicted effects of competitive interactions among co-occurring fish phenotypes in post-glacial lakes. She demonstrated weak or no evidence for predictions from theory for selection and evolution in solitary stickleback populations and some evidence for habitat and trait repeatability in assemblages of sympatric salmonids."
• Dr. Ron Ronald Togunov: "Dr. Togunov developed statistical tools to study behaviour using tracking data for animals in moving environments. Using these tools, he identified temporal and environmental conditions that drive polar bear behaviour, which appeared to be tied to the behaviour of ringed and bearded seals, the main prey of polar bears."
• Dr. Mairin Deith: "Dr. Deith created spatial tools to help manage wild meat hunting, one of the greatest threats to tropical mammals. Using movement algorithms and simulation, she built a software to help conservationists and managers map where overhunting occurs and assess how traditional management rules can improve food system sustainability."
• Dr. Jasmin Wong: "Dr. Wong investigated how the flexible components of the avian wing structure, individually and as a multi-component coupled system, improved aerodynamic performance. These findings provide mechanisms for tuning aeroelastic response to flight behaviors which may inspire future aeronautical designs."
• Dr. Naomi Kathryn Pleizier: "Dr. Pleizier studied the effects of air supersaturation in water on gas bubble trauma in fish. She quantified the effects of depth and locomotion on gas bubble trauma and showed that fish may be unable to detect and avoid these conditions. Her findings have implications for fish conservation and understanding the impacts of hydroelectric dams."
• Dr. Ilan Naftali Rubin: "Dr. Rubin studied the theoretical basis of the evolution and maintenance of diversity in ecological communities. Using mathematical models and numerical methods, he showed how competition between individuals can explain the diversity of the number of species found in ecosystems in the natural world."
• Dr. Emily Mei-Ying Adamczyk: "Dr. Adamczyk found complex patterns in seasonal change in eelgrass food webs. Human activities have a negative impact on eelgrass invertebrate communities, and eelgrass leaves host a core microbiota which can be resistant to environmental change. Her research helps us understand how anthropogenic activities affect coastal ecosystems."
• Dr. Cecilia Jalabert: "Dr. Jalabert examined peripheral and neural synthesis of steroids across seasons and in different social contexts in wild male song sparrows. She showed that steroids are regulated within the brain throughout the year and local steroid production rapidly increases in response to aggressive interactions in the non-breeding season."
• Dr. Gauthier Monnet: "Dr. Monnet studied the mechanisms of growth variation in fish. His work demonstrates the role of physiology and behaviour in differentiating growth trajectories in fish that have specialized to different freshwater habitats. This research provides insight into the evolutionary mechanisms that allow organisms to coexist in nature."