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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 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 in Civil Engineering (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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 in Hispanic Studies (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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. | Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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 in Political Science (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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 in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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 in Physics (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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 in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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. | Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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. | Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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. | Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2022 | 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. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |