A doctoral citation summarizes the nature of the independent research, provides a high-level overview of the study, states the significance of the work and says who will benefit from the findings in clear, non-specialized language, so that members of a lay audience will understand it.
| Year | Citation | Program |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Dr. Diaz studied the prehistoric diet of dogs and other animals over the last 3,000 years in British Columbia. She identified regionally specific patterns in diet that generally don't change through time. This research provides some of the first data of its kind to B.C. archaeology and highlights the importance of understanding locally-oriented past relationships between humans and animals. | Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (PhD) |
| 2019 | The ongoing loss of mountain glaciers influences sea level rise and the supply of freshwater to communities and ecosystems. Through observations in the mountains of British Columbia, Dr. Fitzpatrick examined the atmospheric conditions affecting melt rates, and developed methods to better understand the response of glaciers in a changing climate. | Doctor of Philosophy in Atmospheric Science (PhD) |
| 2019 | Safety is a primary issue of driverless cars. Dr. Alahmad advanced new mathematical models and cost effective methods to enable both safety integrity and timing predictability for real-time computer systems. His work will continue to advance safety in emergent intelligent systems that are becoming ubiquitous in our daily lives. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Moradi developed methods and systems for robot-assisted intra-operative photoacoustic imaging of the prostate and tested these in simulation and ex vivo experimental studies. Providing high resolution images of vasculature and blood oxygenation, photoacoustic imaging promises to help surgeons achieve better outcomes during prostate surgery. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Bisher's research demonstrated that intermittent hypoxia, a key pathological feature of sleep apnea, causes structural and functional renal injury in mice. His data also showed that the antioxidant alpha-lipoic acid can prevent this injury. These studies add to our information on the mechanisms of kidney injury in sleep apnea. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Gan conducted multi-sited anthropological research amongst educated Russian migrants in Moscow, Paris, Berlin, and New York, showing that Russian state strategies have historically relied, and continue to rely on migrant discourses in defining Russian national identity. | Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Eltit explored the mechanisms of medical implants failure. His project described the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which patients develop adverse reactions to metal elements. The conclusions of his work will lead to the introduction of new therapeutic strategies in orthopaedic surgery. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2019 | DNA sequencing machines read the A, C, G, and T nucleotides that compose chromosomes, but they read only short snippets of DNA and make errors. Dr. Jackman developed tools to reconstruct the true genome sequence from imperfect DNA sequencing reads. He used these tools to assemble the western red cedar genome, which is four times larger than the human genome. | Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Mirvakili's work focused on environmentally benign techniques to fabricate water repellent papers with low gas permeability. She investigated the effect of wood fiber size and drying mechanism on the barrier, optical, and mechanical properties of paper. Such paper is suitable for flexible electronics, paper-fluidics and packaging applications. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Setiawan investigated how Hummel adapted Mozart's music to suit the early nineteenth-century audience. She found that while Hummel modified select passages, Hummel still showed respect for Mozart's original materials. For pianists, Hummel's arrangement can serve as an example that mediates between Mozart and a new audience in a balanced way. | Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano (DMA) |
| 2019 | Dr. Chou examined the narratives of intergenerational trauma and resilience among Chinese-Canadian families. His study was one of the first to examine this psychological construct for this population and has implications for counselling psychology in the areas of narrative and multicultural research as well as family and trauma therapy. | Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Kleynhans studied how species evolve to environmental change when interacting with other species. She found that species interactions alter the probability of persistence and trajectory of evolution. Findings show that overall, the community in which a species lives profoundly influences how it evolves to climate change. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Brown developed metal complexes that manipulate light. He demonstrated that the number of oxygen atoms bonded to a sulfur atom can finely tune the properties of metal complexes, in particular regarding the colour of light emitted from a material. This work opens a new avenue of control for lighting technologies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Salvosa studied Alberto Jonas' Master School and its role in early twentieth-century piano playing and virtuosity. He discovered that the Master School was the most comprehensive work written in the early twentieth century on piano playing, which still stands as an invaluable resource tool for pianists of today. | Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano (DMA) |
| 2019 | Dr. Siren completed her doctoral studies in the field of biomaterials chemistry. She studied how naturally occurring polymers at the blood vessel surface influence the immune response. These findings led to the development of a synthetic polymer-based therapeutic which was used to suppress the onset of organ rejection with reduced side-effects. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Cutts used novel radiometric dating methods to study the dynamics of Himalayan-style mountain building and the role of the mantle in preserving Earth's oldest crust. His results provide key insight and predictions into the uniformity of continental collision through time and on the feedbacks and interactions between the crust and mantle and the other Earth systems. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Gonzalez examined the development of race attitudes and gender stereotypes. She found that biases can affect children's behaviour as early as preschool but negative bias can be reduced through counter-stereotypical examples. Her research presents a strong case for developing bias interventions as early as possible. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Milbury analyzed the effects of common blood cancer mutations to determine how they may contribute to the development of cancer. She demonstrated that cancer mutations in the gene DIS3 interfere with the stability of DNA in a yeast cell model. This finding could influence drug selection for patients carrying these mutations. | Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Sikkes studied Yukon's public school system during Yukon's transition to having provincial-type powers. He found that Yukon's constitutional and democratic development had direct effects on educational policy, especially school governance. His research will help inform the decision making of Yukon's present day educators and school leaders. | Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy (EdD) |
| 2019 | Phosphorus is recovered from wastewater as a compound called struvite. Dr. Fromberg studied how struvite pellets form and how to maximize pellet-formation in UBC's previously pioneered, phosphorus-recovery technology. Maximizing yield increases the value of the technology, and results in greater recovery of this valuable and dwindling resource. | Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Page developed sensitive detectors designed to detect dark matter particles. To search for the dark matter particles, he operated the detectors from a low-radiation cavern in a mine half a mile underground. Analysis of data from the detectors ruled out certain dark matter particles with a mass close to the proton mass. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Sun studied the regulation of plant immune responses mediated by two transcription factors, which were found to play a broad role in plant immunity. His study also provided new insight on how plants perceive salicylic acid, an essential plant defense hormone. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Wright's work evaluated the effects of sport-related concussions on brain physiology, including the control of brain blood flow. His work highlighted the longer time required for brain physiology to recover as compared to symptoms - a concept since incorporated into the latest international guidelines for concussion management. | Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy (MDPhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Lawlor investigated mindfulness, self-compassion, and well-being in a group of early adolescents. She found that mindfulness and self-compassion had differing relations to indicators of well-being. Results suggest that mindfulness may serve as a protective factor, while self-compassion may have a promotive role in early adolescent well-being. | Doctor of Philosophy in Human Development, Learning, and Culture (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Pan's research focused on the management of electronic records as evidence and information in Chinese enterprises in the cloud context. She found that, while there are issues with the methods used for evidence protection and verification, efforts to exploit the informational content of records for business needs are increasing. | Doctor of Philosophy in Library, Archival and Information Studies (PhD) |