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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Dr. Bett studied the influence of olfaction on the behaviours of Pacific salmon during their spawning migration. He demonstrated that salmon respond differentially to olfactory cues depending on their chemical nature. His results contribute to our understanding of how Pacific salmon navigate towards spawning grounds. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Rennison's research investigated the processes of adaptation and speciation using a combination of field studies and controlled experiments on threespine stickleback fish. Her work suggests that biotic interactions are key drivers of diversification and that genetic architecture plays an important role in determining adaptive responses. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Munro studied the factors that influence women's choices for mode of birth after caesarean. She found that women are influenced by care provider's concerns about access to surgical services and legal liability. The Ministry of Health is using Dr. Munro's recommendations to create a strategy for supporting women's informed choices in childbirth. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Bai completed his doctoral work in the application of mathematics and game theory. He studied how to use mathematical models to predict the expected level of vaccine coverage. His research will help inform possible strategies in public health to fight against infectious diseases. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Fohring developed and tested mathematical methodologies for non-invasive monitoring of water flow in an aquifer, using synthetic numerical models of seismic tomography surveys. These studies help to determine optimal survey designs for seismic tomography while generating the best images of water flow underground. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD) |
| 2016 | Insects, plants, and their feeding interactions form food webs that regulate much of Earth's biodiversity. Dr. Barbour discovered that different plant genotypes support unique food chains of insect species. His work indicates that the loss of plant genetic diversity could unravel the web of interactions that sustains the diversity of life on Earth. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Field studied how children who have difficulty walking due to a chronic health condition use power wheelchairs to participate in daily life. Her findings explored the feasibility of research methods and the suitability of measurement tools describing children's participation and changes in their participation following receipt of a new power wheelchair. | Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Boychuk studied the art of 16th-century Europe, with a focus on the works of Joris Hoefnagel. She demonstrated how Hoefnagel used illumination to attain a position of prominence at the courts of the Holy Roman Empire. Her research challenges established views of early modern illumination and adds to the scholarship on Central European art. | Doctor of Philosophy in Art History (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Towle analyzed the molecular profiles of the different stages of progression in oral squamous cell carcinoma. She further investigated several genes that were frequently deregulated in the premalignant stage of this disease in order to understand their role in this disease. This research contributes to our understanding of the development and progression of oral cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Oncology (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Zhang conducted her research at the interface of chemistry and biochemistry. She studied the interaction of the starch-digesting enzyme in the human pancreas with starch and natural product mimics, to control the blood glucose level. Her novel work paved the way for treatments of diabetes and obesity. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Wright studied the extermination of thousands of civilians during the Korean War. He proved that state prohibitions on mourning caused a crisis for surviving families, which led to unique forms of political resistance. Dr. Wright's research increases our understanding of state violence, human rights, and transitional justice. | Doctor of Philosophy in History (PhD) |
| 2016 | Phytoplankton are the forests of the ocean. Invisible to the naked eye, these organisms take up as much CO2 and evolve as much O2 as all the plants on land combined, which makes them a crucial component of our planet's climate. Dr. Schuback's work helps to more accurately estimate rates of 'phytoplankton primary productivity' in the oceans. | Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (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. Hammond explored legal reform in Ghana, a country with multiple legal systems. She argued that for state law to be effective and meet the particular needs of its urban and rural peoples, legal reformers must consider the multilayered relationships between state law and customary law. Her work challenges conventional approaches to legal reform. | Doctor of Philosophy in Law (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Capelle investigated the role oceans play in controlling atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. His work identified the key processes responsible for the production and transport of the potent greenhouse gases nitrous-oxide and methane in coastal British Columbia waters and how they may respond to climate-driven ocean change. | Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. McCollum examined the influences and understandings that lie behind levels of political participation of young Canadians. She argued that political engagement is primarily fostered through social milieus that promote participation, and that increasing individualism in Western society is impacting young people's relationship with participation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Holroyd examined the influence of Canadian immigration policies on immigrant women. Her research demonstrated the value of neighbourhood-based settlement-oriented employment programs that recognize newcomers' skills, and that promote social and economic integration by fostering their sense of citizenship in Canada. | Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology (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. Ocariza studied the causes and consequences of JavaScript bugs that occur in web applications. In his research, he developed techniques for finding and automatically fixing these bugs. With over ninety percent of the Internet using JavaScript, his techniques will help ensure that programs used by billions of people online are reliable. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Taheri developed a novel electrosynthesis technique for advanced carbon nanomaterials, particularly graphene, to meet an increasing demand in clean energy devices. He also successfully integrated the products in hydrogen fuel cells as well as microbial fuel cells with significant performance improvements over a wide range of operating conditions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PhD) |
| 2016 | Do you think you can predict the behaviour of your competitors in strategic interactions? Dr. Calford studied the role that uncertain predictions of others' behaviour plays in strategic decision making. His research suggests that we can manipulate the degree of uncertainty in a strategic environment to influence behaviour in a predictable fashion. | Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Francis investigated the experiences of refugee youth in the Canadian criminal justice system. She found that humanist ideas about the human, the subhuman and the nonhuman are crucial in interpreting their experiences. Her findings contribute to conceptual understandings of the experiences of marginalized people in Canada. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (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 | Using big health data, Dr. Puyat examined depression treatment in the general population. He found that half of those treated for depression received inadequate care and that paying physicians more will not greatly improve access to care. His findings underscore the need for fundamental changes in the way mental health services are provided. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Lague identified multiple cardio-respiratory strategies that high-altitude geese and ducks use to maintain oxygen supply in low oxygen conditions. This study highlights how the avian heart and lungs are influenced differently by lifelong residency or transient performance at altitude, lending insight into how some animals thrive at high altitude. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |