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 | NID |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Who doesn't want increased access to clean renewable energy? Dr. Nikpour studied the impact of generating plants directly connected to electricity distribution systems. She developed a method for voltage stability analysis, and an index for distributed generation placement. Her work supports development of the renewable energy sector. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Cocker utilised a novel rodent slot machine task to probe the underlying neurobiological basis of problem gambling. He found a novel role for the dopamine D4 receptor in mediating attributions of salience to reward related stimuli, indicating that targeting this receptor may represent a potential treatment avenue for problem gambling in humans | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Bergeron investigated the shape of representation spaces and their deformations. In this realm, he showed that the representation theory of nilpotent groups is not rigid. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Aylesworth used seahorses as a case study to understand how to develop conservation action for data-poor marine fishes. Her research highlights ways that management can move forward with limited data, such as with local knowledge and new advances in data-poor fishery assessment methods, to address conservation issues for marine species. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Peeler studied the historical development and contemporary interpretation of the law of armed conflict. He argues that despite the existence of a recognizable trend towards humanitarianism, an expectation of reciprocity continues to be an important factor when states consider their law of armed conflict obligations. | Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Courtade's doctoral studies focused on the processing of hormones in the pancreas. He developed an assay to detect a novel hormone precursor in humans, and modeled his findings in rodent models of diabetes. His research increases our understanding of hormone function in the pancreas during the healthy and diabetic state. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2016 | X-ray computed tomography is a central tool in medicine. A continuing concern is that the radiation can be harmful to the patient. Dr. Karimi showed that new mathematical techniques can be used to produce high-quality computed tomography images while reducing the radiation. His findings can benefit the health of the general public. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Pesarchuk characterized a novel role for the protein MCL-1 in regulating chromatin architecture and promoting DNA repair. This work adds to the understanding of MCL-1's multifunctionality and presents a new way to target this protein in the treatment of the numerous types of cancer known to depend on it. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Tamminga developed methods to study river ecosystems using remote sensing with unmanned aerial vehicles. He applied these techniques to address how extreme flood events affect river morphology, hydraulics, and aquatic habitat. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Mohammad has further developed a methodology to efficiently sort particle suspensions. His work was mostly theoretical in which he studied the layering of visco-plastic fluids in spiral pressure-driven flow. He demonstrated the conditions in which this process will work and the information will now be used by another PhD work to test this concept. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Keerthisinghe investigated the role of the signalling protein MUSTACHES in plant development. She discovered how this protein controls the shape and symmetry of the cells that control gas exchange in leaves and the formation of lateral roots. This work will have important implications for understanding water use efficiency in plants. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Renard studied spectrum-sensing techniques for wireless communication devices known as cognitive radios. He focused on improving the robustness of cognitive radios to a specific type of electromagnetic noise known as "impulsive noise". Increasing the strength of cognitive radios to impulsive noise will facilitate their use in urban environments. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Lu studied social influence and its applications in viral marketing and recommender systems from a computational perspective. He proposed mathematical models to encode complex social interactions and designed algorithms to efficiently and effectively tackle influence maximization problems in such contexts. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Narusevicius investigates Conceptual artists and their practices by focusing on the link with educational institutions, student protest movements, and a desire for autonomy in the 1960s and early 1970s. It is through an analysis of the relationship between Conceptual art and the various notions of autonomy that this research provides a deeper insight and understanding of Conceptual art. | Doctor of Philosophy in Art History (PhD) |
| 2016 | Nuclear imaging has a significant role in cancer management including diagnosis, staging, treatment planning and treatment monitoring. Dr. Lau developed radiotracers targeting carbonic anhydrase IX, a protein found in tumours. His research enables physicians to identify patients that can benefit from personalized therapies targeting this protein. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Oncology (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Maity studied the situation of women and a historically marginalized group called the Scheduled Tribes in India. She found that women's participation in workfare and historic property rights enhance women's and children's well-being at present. Her research shows the need to improve healthcare delivery to reduce health inequality faced by tribes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Dorador studied the fragmentation process of block caving, an underground mining method. He developed a new approach to estimate block size distribution at drawpoints. His research contributes to the design of block cave mining projects during early stage engineering. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Engineering (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. McCullough explored the psycho-social experience of mandated addiction treatment across different referral contexts. She developed a theory of engagement outlining how mandated clients actively choose, prepare for, and evaluate treatment. Her work highlights personal histories and quality supports and will have implications on treatment protocols. | Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Shahriari contributed to the increasingly relevant field of Bayesian optimization and sequential experimental design. His work explores automatically tuning experiments in order to avoid tedious labour often reserved for graduate students, lab technicians, and other highly qualified personel. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Mashayekhi contributed to developing effective techniques to address obstacles affecting the wireless communication sector. He also developed a novel architecture for dynamic channel measurements. His work supports efficient implementation, deployment and operation of the wireless telecommunication systems used in Smart Grids. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Hwang proved that algebras for noncommutative 4 dimensional space, which both Mathematicians and Physicist are interested in, form a good family, and figured out what the family looks like. These results shed light on the mathematically concrete study of noncommutative algebras as a family. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Owens explored the effects of hybridization on the genomes of sunflowers. He developed a novel method for quantifying genomic composition in hybrid species. His work has implications for how hybrid species form and how genes can move between species. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Shack used administrative data and school-choice programs from British Columbia in order to examine issues relating to the economics of education. Topics studied include how parents learn and make decisions about their children's progress in school, the impact of language immersion programs, and externalities from peers. | Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Hoellering showed how Turkish-German ethno-comedians occupy a social position similar to medieval jesters, and how their distinctive humor deflates stereotypes that have developed over centuries. His work helps to understand ethno-comedy as an effective platform for the cultural participation of marginalized groups. | Doctor of Philosophy in Germanic Studies (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Fortelny examined and modeled interactions of proteases, a class of key cell enzymes underpinning biology and pathology. He developed computational models and databases that identify protease pathways and their targets in health and disease. His analyses revealed the unexpected pervasiveness and importance of protease interactions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |