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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Dr. Lüskow studied the ecology of oceanic gelatinous plankton. Long-established paradigms shedding a bad light on jellyfish's reputation were challenged. The novel knowledge obtained provided strong support for the "jelly web" persistence and allows for data-driven parameterisation of gelatinous zooplankton in global biogeochemical models. | Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD) |
| 2023 | Dr. Castaneda studied narratives and aesthetics in 21st century Colombian films that challenged the longstanding invisibility of Afro-Colombian subjects. Her analysis helps in increasing awareness of anti-racist trends and the struggle to democratize the film representation regime in which the White/Mestizo aesthetics remains dominant. | Doctor of Philosophy in Hispanic Studies (PhD) |
| 2023 | Dr. Nip developed computational solutions for sequence assembly and visualization for RNA-sequencing data. His research presents fast and memory-efficient methods to study RNA in cells. These contributions lay the groundwork to advance our understanding of biology and diseases. | Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD) |
| 2023 | Dr. Cau explored new strategies for managing non-compressible internal bleeding, which is a leading cause of death in military and civilian trauma. He used a system of self-propelling particles to deliver powerful blood clotting drugs deep into the body, and showed that this technique prevented death in animal models of severe bleeding. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2023 | Dr. Stubbs studied how traumatic brain injury affects the health of people who are homeless. He identified that serious brain injury is common in this population, and he used quantitative brain imaging to show how it affects health and functioning over time. His findings have implications for individual-level treatments and system-level policies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2023 | Dr. Robb investigated the physical processes affecting turbidity in the surface waters of a glacier-fed hydroelectric reservoir, and the role of reservoir operations in modifying these processes. This research will help guide water use planning and reservoir management in dam-impacted aquatic ecosystems. | Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD) |
| 2023 | Dr. Vergara explored the uptake of Latin American literature in Metro Vancouver classrooms. She found that sometimes teachers and students used stereotypes and misrepresentations when interpreting such texts. This research illuminates the complexity of teaching diverse literature and discusses ways of supporting teachers and students in the process. | Doctor of Philosophy in Language and Literacy Education (PhD) |
| 2023 | Dr. Janzen explored how users could better manage mobile notifications, which is difficult and time consuming despite extensive research on the subject. Through user centered design she identified that infrequent, targeted personalization sessions supported by visualizations of notification use could encourage and support notification management. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2023 | Dr. Jones explores the ways apocalyptic poetry can be used to deepen understandings of living within dying systems. Drawing from the hypothetical example of drug coverage in a stage of systems collapse and the effects on persons living with disease, her work provides insight into mourning and relationality as key competencies in death pedagogy. | Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy (EdD) |
| 2023 | Dr. Fabris' dissertation focused on the Piikani Nation's attempts to challenge the construction of the Oldman River Dam in the 1980s/1990s. His research findings draw attention to the continued limits of reconciling Indigenous law with Canadian law without addressing the implications of Indigenous jurisdiction. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD) |
| 2023 | Recent advances in genetic engineering and stem cell research have paved way for new approaches to studying and treating disease. Dr. Braam applied these complementary approaches to advance the field of diabetes research with respect to stem cell differentiation, cell safety, and disease modelling. | Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD) |
| 2023 | Atmospheric aerosols are all around us: in kitchens, cities, forests, and wildfires. Dr. Kiland measured the viscosity of aerosols from each of these environments, and developed a new temperature-variable viscometer along the way. These studies are helpful to improve the accuracy of climate change and air quality predictions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2023 | In languages, meaningful words and signs consist of meaningless units, or phonemes. Dr. Tkachman shows how phonemes could emerge from embodied motivations in language evolution. Her research brings together linguistics and cognitive science and demonstrates profound consequences of embodiment in communication and cognition. | Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics (PhD) |
| 2023 | Dr. Dutta developed and optimised membrane systems for resource recovery from wastewater. Using this energy-efficient technology he extracted over 90% of dissolved methane and ammonia, which are profitable chemicals. This research highlights the potential of a circular economy in the waste sector while reducing environmental pollution. | Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD) |
| 2023 | Dr. Koresh studied a novel approach to preparing solid-state electrolytes. The electrolyte is a key component for next-generation lithium-ion batteries - batteries that would drive your EV car significantly longer before recharging. His research explored new types of solid-state electrolytes and gained a deep understanding of their properties. | Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering (PhD) |
| 2023 | Dr. Zimmermann reviewed how modern German-language literature challenges views of refugees as problems that threaten European liberal nation-states. Texts can illustrate that neither European citizens nor refugees are permanent outsiders or insiders to a place. The findings are relevant for literary discourses on the categorization of migrants. | Doctor of Philosophy in Germanic Studies (PhD) |
| 2023 | Dr. Yogev examined the reliability and validity of wearable near-infrared spectroscopy during exercise, to better inform practitioners about the utility of measuring muscle oxygenation in field conditions. His work provides valuable guidelines for muscle oxygenation monitoring in real-time during exercise. | Doctor of Philosophy in Kinesiology (PhD) |
| 2023 | Dr. Zarrinderakht developed a comprehensive mathematical and numerical model for propagation of crevasses and iceberg calving in ice shelves. The hope is that this model will provide the scientific community new insights into the complex processes that control the impact of climate change on our planet. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD) |
| 2023 | Dr. Zhao studied methane bubbling from lake sediments. He showed that changes in atmospheric pressure regulate the release of methane bubbles from lake sediments, which then affects lake water quality and contributes to atmospheric methane concentration. The results apply to all aquatic systems and provide guidance for future emission surveys. | Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD) |
| 2023 | Dr. Wang's doctoral studies centered on the interpretation of deep learning models in the field of computer vision. She devised multiple methods to clarify why a deep learning model generates predictions from different angles. Her research contributes to the interpretability of deep learning models and aids in building human trust in them. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2023 | Dr. Pan studied advanced methods of inspecting infrastructure damages. He developed an automatic framework to quantify damages and associated losses on infrastructure which can enhance the efficiency and accuracy of traditional manual inspection. His research contributes to a smarter, more resilient and sustainable built environment. | Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD) |
| 2023 | Dr. Siedlaczek studied the influences leading to a new quality assurance policy in BC higher education. Her analysis demonstrates the impact of global discourses on local policymaking and the increasing focus on quality assurance as a policy issue. The research provides insight on institutionalizing quality assurance practices in higher education. | Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy (EdD) |
| 2023 | Dr. Cheng studied the social construction of personal identity. | Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy (PhD) |
| 2023 | Dr. Masrani contributed to the field of machine learning by proposing a novel method for training deep generative models based on techniques used in statistical physics. His research unifies and extends a number of methods in the literature, and provides practitioners with tools to train | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2023 | Dr. Reich used novel molecular methods to identify airborne fungi that cause diseases in agricultural crops. He found that the air contains many pathogenic and mutualistic fungi for plant health and showed that this information could help predict plant epidemics. His research will help farmers manage field diseases while reducing fungicide use. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |