Meet our scholars

The PSI Network consists of 347 doctoral students and PhDs from across the full range of disciplines at UBC.

Below you can navigate their profiles based on year of scholarship, faculty, theme; read about their research; and watch brief videos of their talks. 

Alysha Deslippe

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Human Nutrition (PhD)
EATing in a GENdered world (EatGen): How teens involved in high school sports can be empowered to make informed food choices

Fabiola Bazo

Peru
Doctor of Philosophy in Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice (PhD)
Exhibition: Feminist and queer interventions in contemporary urban popular music in Peru

Keisha Maloney

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Planning (PhD)
Navigating transitions: Remaking the planning engagement table with/by/for Indigenous peoples in Toronto (Tkaronto)
Rachel Ramsden's headshot

Rachel Ramsden

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD)
Participatory planning with young children: A mixed methods approach to planning outdoor play environments
Headshot of Zitao Chen

Zitao Chen

China
Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD)
Making machine learning reliable, secure and private
Olivia's research photo

Olivia Dreisinger

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD)
Diagnosis grad school: A podcast series

Aram Bajakian

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Music, Emphasis Ethnomusicology (PhD)
Navigating nostalgias: Musical identities in the Armenian diaspora

Romina Tantalean-Castaneda

Peru
Doctor of Philosophy in Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice (PhD)
Working collaboratively with an Indigenous women's grassroots federation of the Peruvian Amazon, my research focuses on the Rights of Mother Nature from a strongly pluralist paradigm, while centering Indigenous women's leadership, knowledge, and voices

Ace Chan

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD)
Primary prevention of cancers-related to tobacco and alcohol use in gender diverse communities across Canada

Laura Brass

Romania
Doctor of Philosophy in Language and Literacy Education (PhD)
Immigrant women language teachers’ identities

Sabina Staempfli

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD)
Long-term care reform in action: A realist review and evaluation of nursing care delivery to improve quality of life for Canadian long-term care residents

Julia Nakamura

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)
Volunteering with the Canadian Red Cross: recruiting, training, engaging, and promoting health and well-being of Canadian volunteers

Debbie Pierce

United States of America
Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
The impact of land rights and deforestation on women in the Colombian Amazon

Michelle Kaczmarek

United Kingdom
Doctor of Philosophy in Library, Archival and Information Studies (PhD)
Fixing for Change: Stories of Information and Aspiration in Community Repair Initiatives

Addye Susnick

United States of America
Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD)
Trans Joy and Trans-Formative Justice: Imagining and Enacting Radical Futures

Hoda Amal Hamouda

Egypt
Doctor of Philosophy in Library, Archival and Information Studies (PhD)
Incorporating the view of archival diplomatics into the authentication practices of citizen journalists videos captured during historically significant events

Ife Adebara

Nigeria
Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics (PhD)
Inclusive by Design: Natural Language Technology for Africa

Anudeep Dewan

Nepal
Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (PhD)
Landing on Histories: Indigenous Experiences of Belonging in Nepal and India

Lianne Cho

Canada
Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy (MDPhD)
Community Brain Art

Icíar Fernández Boyano

Spain
Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD)
Redefining preeclampsia in the placenta

Bri Watson

United States of America
Doctor of Philosophy in Library, Archival and Information Studies (PhD)
Expanding the catalog: renaming and redescribing indigenous, Black, Queer, Disabled and communities of color in Galleries, Libraries, Achieves, Museums, and Special Collections (GLAMS)

Alejandra Botia

Colombia
Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology (PhD)
The role of peer support in eating disorders recovery

Rapichan Phurisamban

Thailand
Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)
Relationalities and River Flows: Toward a Socially-Equitable and Bioculturally-Conscious Environmental Flow Management

Denise Fong

Hong Kong
Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD)
Beyond Museum Walls: Storytelling Pacific Canada through Participatory Curation

Catherine Liao

United Kingdom
Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD)
Burn injury in underserved communities in BC. A Mixed-Methods study

Verónica Relaño-Ecija

Spain
Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
Socio-ecological management in San Antonio Marine Protected Area (MPA), Argentina

Ismália De Sousa

Portugal
Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD)
Towards equitable stroke care: learning from young women's experiences

Louisa-May Khoo

Singapore
Doctor of Philosophy in Planning (PhD)
Ageing in a Neuropolis: The Social Epidemiology of Stress in Late Life among Older Adults in Global-City Singapore

Ryan Stillwagon

United States of America
Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology (PhD)
Queer Rights to the City: Exploring Mechanisms of Urban Food Security in Vancouver and the Underlying Processes that Imperil LGBTQIA2S+ Survival

Alison Ariss

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Art History (PhD)
Salish Weaving in Relation with the Land: The Work of Wrapping Territory and Critiquing Institutions

Max Cohen

United Kingdom
Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD)
Placing the Just Transition in Scotland and New Zealand

Paula Pinzón Hernández

Colombia
Doctor of Philosophy in Reproductive and Developmental Sciences (PhD)
Reducing women’s mortality through knowledge translation: closing the gaps between abortion care and public policy.

Prerna Gupta

India
Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)
Nuclear risk perception in India: risk in the context of political debates and economic insecurities

Phoebe Wong

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD)
Development of speech perception testing material for hearing health care in the Inuktitut language

Neha Sharma-Mascarenhas

India
Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)
Analyzing data and policy outcomes for repair, reuse, and recycling for end-of-life electronics

Evelyn Arriagada

Chile
Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)
Islander women mapping water-related problems and solutions

Rivkah Gardner-Frolick

United States of America
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering (PhD)
Quantitative evaluation of local air pollution in collaboration with the Strathcona community to inform environmental injustice concerns.

Alberto Campos

Brazil
Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)
Rewilding the Brazilian Caatinga.

Kennedy Borle

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD)
Investigating the unmet need for clinical genetic services in Canada and identifying strategies to improve equitable access to care

Trevor Goodyear

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD)
Out on the street: A community-based study with homeless 2SLGBTQ+ youth who use drugs

Caitlyn Yates

United States of America
Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (PhD)
Degrees of Visibility: the Journeys of Extra-continental Migrants through the Americas

Kohle Merry

Canada
Master of Physical Therapy and Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences (MPTPHD)
Promoting sustainable telerehabilitation: co-development of a novel telerehabilitation system for repetitive strain injuries

Shayda Swann

United States of America
Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy (MDPhD)
Investigating the role of reproductive hormones in healthy aging for women living with HIV: A community-collaborative cohort study

Callista Ottoni

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD)
Loneliness and social connection: A community-engaged study with older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic using visual and traditional methods

Nick Middeldorp

Netherlands
Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD)
Territories in dispute: repression and protection in Indigenous struggles in Northern Cauca, Colombia

Rena Del Pieve Gobbi

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD)
Mental Health Disability in higher Education: Images of stigma and resilience

Henry John

United Kingdom
Doctor of Philosophy in History (PhD)
Mapping the war in the woods

Megha Kalia

India
Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD)
Making Augmented Reality Feasible for Robot Assisted Surgery

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