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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Dr. Thandi's research resulted in the development of a validated electronic frailty screening tool for older adults, the first of it's kind in Canada. This tool is ready for pilot implementation within primary care and provides a tremendous opportunity to detect and manage frailty to improve older adults' holistic health and quality of life . | Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD) |
| 2025 | Dr. Richardson’s research focused on Granzyme K, a previously understudied enzyme now linked to chronic inflammatory diseases. She established a role for Granzyme K in psoriasis, uncovering how it promotes disease development in skin. Her work redefines the biological function of Granzyme K and sets the stage for future therapeutic innovation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2025 | Dr. Loewen explored how genetic mutations contribute to the development of retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited eye disease that results in progressive blindness. His work used novel animal models to uncover a variety of mechanisms associated with the disease and offered new insights for developing targeted treatments. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2025 | Dr. Kim developed a computational tool to categorize the brain’s immune cells by shape and explored how these changes relate to immune memory. Her work introduces new approaches for studying microglial diversity and offers insights into the connection between cell shape and gene expression, advancing our understanding of brain health and disease. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2025 | Dr. Dada used new DNA sequencing technology to develop all-in-one diagnostic tests for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, including Prader-Willi Syndrome, Angelman Syndrome, and Temple Syndromes. She also developed the use of third generation DNA sequencing for personalized diagnosis in Autism Spectrum Disorder. | Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD) |
| 2025 | Dr. Gagnon examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on teaching practices, uncovering a heterogeneous acceleration in digital adoption, a redefinition of pedagogical beliefs, lasting changes in teaching modalities, and shifts in power dynamics over their adoption. His work advances understanding of educational transformation in times of crisis. | Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy (EdD) |
| 2025 | Dr. Al-Salehi studied how headfirst impacts in vehicle rollovers cause neck injuries. He found that these impacts are much more likely to result in neck injuries and showed how people instinctively adjust their posture before the impact. His work, including a novel rollover simulator, will help design better safer vehicles and reduce neck injuries. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2025 | Large earthquakes often draw attention, but most seismic activity consists of more frequent, smaller earthquakes. Dr. Drolet developed and applied numerical methods to analyze small earthquakes across western North America. Her findings advance understanding of seismic source processes and reveal important insights into Earth’s interior behaviour. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD) |
| 2025 | Dr. Corcuera studied how minimum wages affect employment and wages when there is a large informal sector. His research finds that in these cases, raising the minimum wage tends to reduce formal jobs. However, by estimating changes in purchasing power across households, he finds that the least wealthy are not negatively affected overall. | Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (PhD) |
| 2025 | Migrants in Latin America increasingly come from demographically diverse backgrounds. Dr. Yates found that non-Latin American migrants experiences and reception in Latin America differ widely based on the race, nationality, religion, & language of migrants themselves. This research informs hemispheric migration enforcement & protection policies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (PhD) |
| 2025 | Dr. Jiang studied how Chinese huaju (spoken drama) actors professionalized in the mid-20th century. His historical research demonstrated that this process presupposed systematic training in characterization, voice, and deportment, underpinned by a theatrical science of mind and body. | Doctor of Philosophy in Theatre (PhD) |
| 2025 | Syler compared two interventions to help individuals maintain non-problematic alcohol use. The career-focused intervention had greater outcomes than the identity-focused intervention but his research also highlighted the possibility that individuals’ needs change throughout their recoveries. | Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology (PhD) |
| 2025 | Dr. Fuhrman studied the interaction of visual attention and physiological movements during speech production. This work showed that a general principle linking attention and energy can serve as a basis for optimizing visual fixations to predict auditory speech patterns in an AI model, offering insights for both human cognition and AI development. | Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics (PhD) |
| 2025 | Polymeric coatings are the first line of defense in the pipeline industry but are not immune to aging. Dr. Zargar's research showed that while they effectively prevent corrosion in certain environments, irreversible degradation can lead to substrate oxidation. This study also provided fundamental insights for predictive modelling of their failure. | Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering (PhD) |
| 2025 | Ribosomes are critical molecular machines that carry out the process of translation. Dr. Hay investigated how changes in the ribosome enhance the production of proteins in the interferon response, a critical component of the innate immune response. Her work provides novel insights into our understanding of immunity and viral infection. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2025 | Dr. Forouzandeh explored the role of real-world urban sustainability experimentations in addressing urgent challenges like affordable housing. Through diverse case studies across Canada, she identified key dynamics and dimensions shaping their success and developed frameworks to enhance their impact in connection to broader urban transformations. | Doctor of Philosophy in Planning (PhD) |
| 2025 | How do cells stick together and move around within embryos? Dr. Venkatesh used mouse embryos to study the processes that regulate cell adhesion as the embryo develops into an adult. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2025 | Dr. Winnick created and tested a new methodology for studying ancient Greek ethnicity. By treating the genealogies of the characters of Greek mythology as networks and using network theory to study them, he advanced scholars' ability to study Greek ethnicity with efficiency and depth. | Doctor of Philosophy in Classics (PhD) |
| 2025 | Dr. Pratap Ghanathe's research enhances artificial intelligence for tiny, battery-powered devices. His innovations in compact neural networks and hardware optimization enhance speed, efficiency, and reliability. These advances enable smart sensors to operate longer on minimal energy, making intelligent technology more accessible and sustainable. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2025 | Dr. MacKenzie studied caregiver joint goal-directed action in adolescent anorexia recovery using the Action-Project Method with caregivers worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her research explored how caregivers approach meal support to foster recovery and connection during family-based treatment. These findings support caregivers, clinicians, and recovering adolescents. | Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Bliven investigated the biomechanics of strengthening the femur with an orthopaedic implant and applied high-speed x-ray to collect new visual data in a fall impact. This research lays the groundwork for developing better implants to prevent hip fracture and provides new insights into how the hip responds to falls after getting these implants. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Morin’s research focused on the regulation of gene expression in mammals. He analyzed thousands of genomic datasets across different methodologies in order to identify regulatory interactions supported across diverse studies. His work contributes to our understanding of gene activity and organizes this information into a community resource. | Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Russell conducted translational research to examine individual susceptibility to the risk-promoting effect of cues on decision making among those in the community with and without problematic gambling involvement. By using an animal model of decision making, she investigated the underlying neurobiological processes these cues may use to potentiate decisional risk. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Knight's work looks at the author's personal lived experiences of gender and sexuality through the lens of an original music composition that tackles these issues and presents them in a new way for audiences to engage with. The music explores virtuosity in vocal writing with the addition of movement interwoven into the music to aid in expression. | Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition (DMA) |
| 2024 | Dr. Allen found that students hold nuanced perspectives about learning technical writing in computer science and that their experiences of this learning are influenced by their communities in various and complex ways. Her work may impact curricula and adds to the understanding of students' experiences and perspectives in learning communicative skills. | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |