Doctoral Citations

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. Huang's research studies the region of the Solar System beyond Neptune. He explored how the plausible brief existence of an extra "rogue" planet in our early Solar System provides possible answers to some long-standing puzzles in the orbital structure of the distant Kuiper Belt of comets beyond Neptune. Doctor of Philosophy in Astronomy (PhD)
2023 Dr. Jamal's study on ethnocultural pluralism and the International Baccalaureate's Primary Years Programme explored how an ethic of respect for ethnocultural diversity may be reflected in educational discourses. The study generated findings around issues of representation and teachers' pedagogical practices in different geopolitical contexts. Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies (PhD)
2023 Dr. Kamensek's research examined the reciprocal relationship between social interest, visual experience, and face recognition abilities in autism spectrum disorder. His findings challenge the notion of a singular cause for face recognition challenges in autism and may pave the way for potential interventions aimed at improving these abilities. Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD)
2023 Dr. Rogalla developed ocean models of the concentrations of the micronutrient manganese and the pollutant lead in Inuit Nunangat. These simulations highlight the importance of dirty sea ice for manganese in the Canada Basin, the extent of glacial and continental river water in this region, and the impact of lead pollution. Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD)
2023 Dr. Saxena developed a novel oral delivery system called sorbops that can improve the oral delivery of compounds and biomolecules which would normally get degraded in the gastrointestinal tract. She subsequently tested the efficiency of sorbops in different cell lines and mice using SPECT/CT imaging thereby, showing higher amounts of drug uptake in the target sites. Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD)
2023 Dr. Bellwood developed a novel method to document current medical practices aimed at changing human behaviour and inform strategies to improve such practices using the example of prescribing physical activity in primary care. This method has a potential application beyond physical activity prescribing and beyond primary care in future research. Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD)
2023 Dr. Cochrane studied natural vs synthetic folate supplementation during pregnancy. Her results showed that maternal folate status can be maintained by using either of the two supplements, but that human milk composition is affected. These findings will inform optimal folate supplementation practices during pregnancy for healthy starts in life. Doctor of Philosophy in Human Nutrition (PhD)
2023 Dr. Diemert conducted her research in an international high school located in Costa Rica. A new term 'student-centered community-based learning' evolved with a focus on student agency in decision-making, problem solving, reflection, and community engagement. Students in the K-12 system and post-secondary education will benefit from this research. Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD)
2023 Dr. Cui delved into the escalating drug overdose epidemic involving opioid and methamphetamine use. Her research emphasizes the crucial need for comprehensive and integrated treatment and harm reduction strategies to address both opioid and methamphetamine use. Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD)
2023 Dr. Williams' thesis oratorio, Sprinkle Coal Dust on my Grave, is based on the West Virginia Mine Wars. Using a mixture of classical and Appalachian musical styles, Williams depicts a violent period of U.S. labor history, employing texts taken from witness testimony as well as songs and poems of the era. Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition (DMA)
2023 Dr. Stephens examined caricature within popular Parisian magazines of mid-19th century France. A major theme in his analysis is how caricaturists secretly used embedded worker's slang to carry hidden messages to evade censorship. His research significantly expands our understanding of the work of artist Honoré Daumier. Doctor of Philosophy in Art History (PhD)
2023 Dr. Jelsing examined Indigenous and settler colonial visions of the future as they were articulated through prophecy in two nineteenth-century North American "northwests". He showed how these prophecies expressed divergent modes of relationship that help us understand how settler colonialism unfolded in these two distinct places. Doctor of Philosophy in History (PhD)
2023 Dr. Munk studied scientific simulators, probabilistic models, and their stochastic inversion via probabilistic programming. His research has led to novel contributions to the field of probabilistic programming. These contributions may impact diverse disciplines, ranging from physics to finance. Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2023 Dr. King studied the experiences of youth returning to high school and re-engaging in their education after sustaining a mild traumatic brain injury/concussion. This research helps us understand the barriers these students face, what is helpful to them in this time, and what can be improved to better support their transition back to school. Doctor of Philosophy in School and Applied Child Psychology (PhD)
2023 Dr. Kellett examined how small changes to the chemical structure of molecules impact the rate of electron transfer reactions. These results help us understand how transient attractions between adjacent molecules can act as a conduit for electric charge and demonstrate how careful molecular design can control the electronic properties of a material. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2023 Dr. Brake's work focuses on friendships and social relationships among adults diagnosed with autism. His research helps us in understanding the life and social experiences of autistic people and the physical, social, and emotional challenges that they face in their daily lives. Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (PhD)
2023 Dr. Flynn developed statistical methods of using structured networks of data to estimate the size of hidden or hard-to-reach populations, and created corresponding software for these techniques to readily be used by researchers across diverse fields. These methods were used to illuminate the true scope of the opioid epidemic in British Columbia. Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD)
2023 Dr. Romualdi investigated the effect of chemical composition and thermal cycles on the weld heat affected zone of line pipe steels as a critical aspect of pipeline integrity that will remain significant for future applications including carbon capture and a hydrogen fuel energy matrix. Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering (PhD)
2023 Dr. Bolduc investigated and developed new synthetic applications for two sulfur-fluorine gases as reagents in synthetic organic chemistry. His work surveyed these two reagents in the context of four chemically distinct applications and has enabled the expedited synthesis of pharmaceutically relevant fluorinated organic motifs. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2023 Dr. Wang studied the role that the key stakeholders such as institutional investors and firm owners play within a firm's ecosystem, with a primary focus on understanding how corporate governance and ownership structures might influence firm policies. Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration in Finance (PhD)
2023 Dr. Super studied soil refugia, experimental warming and nitrogen deposition, and pH and climate effects on ecosystem plant and microbial biodiversity. Tree seedling microbiome predictability changed with refugia, warming increased plant growth, clear-cutting impacted biodiversity predictability, and community diversity increased with higher pH. Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
2023 Dr. Shortill explored mechanisms of intracellular protein sorting using a budding yeast model. His work led to the identification of the VINE complex, a previously unknown endosomal assembly with similarity to the neurodegeneration-linked retromer complex. These results pave the way for a more complete understanding of endosomal function. Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD)
2023 Dr. Mohanna worked towards developing a CRISPR gene therapy for the childhood blindness aniridia. She created a mouse model for this disease and subsequently tested two delivery systems. She showed that a non-pathogenic virus successfully targets the affected cells in the eye and can be used for developing a gene therapy for aniridia in the future. Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD)
2023 Dr. Farivar has designed a laser device that can deploy the heat to the tumor precisely, kill cancer cells and activate immune system minimizing damage to the surrounding tissue.She tested the device in a bladder cancer model in mouse and showed that the heat combined with immune stimulating drugs can decrease tumor growth and increase survival. Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD)
2023 Dr. Akinlaja adapted proteomics methods towards understanding the infectious processes of a pathogen of the honey bee midgut. Her work provides new insight into how host protein expression and interactions are altered by pathogen infection, and identifies candidate proteins that could be potential therapeutic targets in the resulting disease. Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD)

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