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. Alonzo studied the interactions between geographic mobility and marriage markets. He showed that marriage increases the concentration of workers in high-productivity areas by affecting their migration patterns. His research highlights the role of families in shaping the geography of economic activity. | Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Caballero measured how much lysine children use when they eat different plant-based foods, such as rice, oats and corn. Her work will help develop dietary guidelines for children that consume a predominantly plant-based diet. These guidelines will ensure they meet their lysine requirement, which is important for adequate growth and development. | Doctor of Philosophy in Human Nutrition (PhD) |
| 2022 | Can the harvest of soft shell crab be prevented? The fact that they moult at all the same time suggests that they can. Nonetheless, Dr. Greenberg developed a set of mathematical models fit to weekly catch and effort data that allowed for the simulation of different rules to avoid harvesting soft-shell Dungeness crab in Area A of the Hecate Strait. | Doctor of Philosophy in Oceans and Fisheries (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Robb investigated the impacts of decarbonization on Canada's physical and cultural landscapes. His research developed new place-based methods to visualize, design, and evaluate potential pathways toward Canada's post-carbon future. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Soni explored the mechanism of heterogeneous ice nucleation by molecular simulations and machine learning. To analyze surface water structure, he introduced a two-dimensional lattice perspective of ice. He found that the microscopic surface features and local water properties near the surface are important factors influencing ice nucleation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Alamri studied synaptic proteins in the brain samples of older people. She found that higher amounts of specialized proteins contributed to better memory and lowered the risk of depression. Her findings demonstrated that synaptic proteins could serve as targets for developing treatments for disorders that affect the brain in old age. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Provost's research evaluated the BC Provincial Violence Prevention Curriculum for healthcare workers, aimed to reduce violence from patients and visitors. Her use of an innovative, realist approach resulted in valuable evidence and practical recommendations for healthcare leaders on how to best support the curriculum to be learned and applied. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Chudnow examined the effectiveness of prospective management regulations to conserve bull trout in central British Columbia. Her work involved clarifying unknowns surrounding bull trout biology and ecology, specifically bull trout movement and migratory behaviour to determine where and when they may be vulnerable to fishing. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Johnson's research examined the political economy of the American blood plasma industry. Following the history of this economy from plantation prisons in the US south to the opening of new plasma centers in the contemporary suburbs, her work reveals how relations of race and inequality shape this increasingly significant economy. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD) |
| 2022 | Many clinical drug trials are not published, biasing the evidence available to inform patient care. Dr. Morrow's research shows that drug companies may influence whether trials are published and that researchers have career-related incentives to focus on reporting positive trials. These insights could help improve policy on clinical drug trials. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Obada-Obieh studied how technological solutions in personal, professional, and involuntary relationships led to security and privacy concerns. She proposes a framework of how technological solutions can be (re)designed to address these concerns. Her research could make users feel safer while using these technologies in their relationships. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2022 | Severe cases of thrombosis can lead to stroke or heart attack. Dr. La developed a new strategy for creating positively charged therapeutic polymers. Their charge increases when binding to their target polyanion, resulting in a class of molecules able to inhibit blood clotting with reduced bleeding risk. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Khalili identified limiting factors to achieve desired autonomy among wheeled mobility assistive device users. Subsequently, she developed novel control strategies to improve the performance and usability of these devices. Her research provides an autonomy-based evaluation and design paradigm for future assistive technology developments. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Taylor examined changes in peptide hormone biosynthesis in the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. These studies have improved our understanding of the cellular and physiological changes that occur during the development of diabetes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Renteria used various experimental and computational methods to gain insights on the fluid mechanics involved in primary cementing of horizontal and irregular wellbores. Her research aims to prevent hydrocarbons from leaking, either to surface or into the water table. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Pilsworth identified novel mutations in adult-type granulosa cell tumours of the ovary and explored the development of new models to study this rare cancer. She concluded that this cancer is a highly specific disease that is centered around the FOXL2 mutation and that treatments targeting this mutation is the most promising approach. | Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Bhardwaj studied how a cosmopolitan community of progressive South Asian Canadian labour cultural activists contested cultural hegemony in British Columbia in the 1980s. He records and reinterprets a unique phase of intercommunity cultural solidarity that succeeded in producing a forceful critique against gender inequality. | Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Studies (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. McDaniel examined how frontline community workers maintain wellness while responding to the fentanyl overdose crisis. Participant responses focused on collective ethics, social support, work-life balance, structural supports, and individual strategies. These findings make clear the crucial need to advocate for increased worker resources. | Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Gray's research demonstrated how a health promotion intervention, called Choose to Move, could be implemented, adapted, and scaled up before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. This intervention supported social connectedness and mobility, and reduced loneliness of older adults across BC. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Palmieri focused on the modeling of the degradation of clayey soils during earthquakes. She derived a simplified procedure to predict the strength of this type of soil under different frequencies of loading. Further, she developed a degradation mechanism for an existing model to conduct seismic analysis under different amplitudes of loading. | Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Kuanr has developed efficient catalytic routes for the feasible synthesis of nitrogen-containing small molecules and polymers. He further explored their applications in energy-storage systems and as corrosion-resistant materials. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Zhang studied the effect of insulin and insulin receptors on pancreatic cancer. She showed that low insulin levels and loss of insulin receptors reduce the number of precancerous lesions, and identified some mechanisms in the process. Her findings add to our understanding on how obesity and diabetes increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Johnson developed a new bilingual speech data set and demonstrated a high degree of similarity in voice and sound categories for Cantonese and English. Her research offers insight into the nature of bilingual speech and furthers our understanding of how language interacts with the mind. | Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics (PhD) |
| 2022 | Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a disease with unknown causes that gradually paralyzes people. Dr. Xue's research demonstrated that viral infection is a risk factor for ALS by accelerating disease progression. This finding will inspire the incorporation of antiviral drugs in treating ALS. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Shademani developed a remote controlled, implantable drug delivery device for the treatment of osteomyelitis, a condition caused by bacterial infection of bone. This device is controlled by a magnet from outside of the body. He also studied the synergistic interactions between antibiotics and silver particles to enhance antibacterial efficacy. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering (PhD) |