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. 

Hassan Halawa

Egypt
Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD)
Artemis: Defending Against Automated Large-Scale Cyber Intrusions by Focusing on the Vulnerable Population

Yemi Adeyeye

Nigeria
Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
The Politics of Knowledge in Multi-Level Forest Governance: Perceptions, Roles and Contested Narratives of Knowledge across Scales

Sarah Fessenden

United States of America
Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (PhD)
"We just Wanna Warm some Bellies": Food Not Bombs, Anarchism, and Recycling Wasted Food for Protest

Miranda Meents

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD)
Assessing and Improving Teaching of Problem Solving in Undergraduate Cell Biology Classrooms

Matthew MacLennan

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry for the Analysis of Athabasca Oil Sands Process Water Components

Nicolás Ernesto Talloni Alvarez

Chile
Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)
Multilevel Governance Analysis of Marine Fisheries Sustainability

Andrew Pilliar

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Law (PhD)
Understanding the Market for Personal Legal Services to Improve Access to Civil Justice in Canada

Vivian Lam

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD)
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and Mental Health Outcome

Lyana Patrick

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Planning (PhD)
Dis/connection in 21st Century Canada: Therapeutic Planning through an Indigenous Lens

Omer Aijazi

Pakistan
Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies (PhD)
Precarious Lives, Disrupted Bodies: Examining Social Repair and Disaster in Northern Pakistan

Sarah Klain

United States of America
Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)
Leaning into Wind: Community Engagement, "New Conservation" and Offshore Wind Farms

Devyani Kumari

India
Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
Impacts of Clean Energy Transitions on Forest Sustainability and Climate

Alicia Luedke

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD)
Women, Peace and Security: Armed Groups and Sexual Violence in the Twenty-First Century

Karissa Milbury

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD)
Establishing Public Connections with the International Genetics Community

Andrea Lyall

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
A Kwakwaka’wakw First Nation’s relationship with the forests: the forest is our cupboard, the sea is our fridge

Amber Heckelman

United States of America
Doctor of Philosophy in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems (PhD)
Agrarian Responses to Climate Change: A 'Food sovereignty' Analysis of Small-Holder Farm Systems in the Philippines

Sean Patrick Kearney

United States of America
Doctor of Philosophy in Soil Science (PhD)
Mapping, Modeling and Enhancing Ecosystem Services from Smallholder Agriculture in El Salvador

Sarah Munro

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD)
Birth after Caesarean: An Investigation of Decision-Making for Mode of Delivery

Stefan Pauer

Austria
Doctor of Philosophy in Law (PhD)
Border Tax Adjustments in Support of Domestic Climate Policies: Explaining the Gap Between Theory and Practice

Kristine Theurer

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD)
Peer Support and Mental Health in Residential Care

Kirk King

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Music, Emphasis Ethnomusicology (PhD)
Kadekaru Rinsho: His Life, His Music, and His Role in Restoring Okinawan Identity

Andrea Vasquez Fernandez

Peru
Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
Addressing violent conflicts through understandings of “respect”: A collaborative research with the Asheninka and Yine Peoples from the Peruvian Amazon

Ana Elia Ramón Hidalgo

Spain
Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
Empowering Communities in Two Ecotourism Villages in Ghana

Will Plowright

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD)
Child Soldiers and Armed Non‐State Groups: Legitimacy and the Negotiation of Humanitarian Space in Intra‐state War

Espen Stranger-Johannessen

Norway
Doctor of Philosophy in Language and Literacy Education (PhD)
Digital Storytelling and Early Literacy in Uganda

Jessica Hallenbeck

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD)
Gone Fishing: Indigenous Women’s Labor and the Urbanization of Vancouver

Ashley Whillans

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)
The Benefits & Barriers of Buying Happier Time

Janna Fabris

Australia
Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering (PhD)
Establishing a Knowledge Framework for the Advancement of Composites Manufacturing and Design Practice

Sara Ortiz Escalante

Spain
Doctor of Philosophy in Planning (PhD)
Transgressing Space and Time: Everyday/Everynight Life of Women Working the Night-Shift

Kaylee Byers

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD)
Rats as a Source of Emerging Zoonoses: Understanding the Interactions between Rats, Pathogens, and the Urban Environment

Gloria Borona

Kenya
Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
Investigating People-Forest Relationships around Central Kenya’s Aberdare Forest Reserve

Manjeet Birk

Canada
Racialized and Indigenous Girls and Women in Non-Profit Organizations

Ajay Bhardwaj

India
Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Studies (PhD)
Cultural Exchange and Cooperation among Socially Marginalised Musicians in Punjab: The Muslim Mirasis and the Dalits

Dorian Tung

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD)
Design Procedure and Advanced Simulation for Innovative Earthquake Resilient Structures

Shelly Benjaminy

Israel
Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD)
Stakeholder Perspectives about the Pace of Stem Cell Research for Neurodegenerative Diseases

Angèle Beausoleil

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD)
Mapping the Innovation Process inside the Creative Industries

Curtis Andrews

Canada
Doctor of Philosophy in Music, Emphasis Ethnomusicology (PhD)
Traditional Music and Religion as a Means of Resistance to Cultural Hegemony in Rural Ghana

Julia Ulehla

United States of America
Doctor of Philosophy in Music, Emphasis Ethnomusicology (PhD)
Living Song: A Multi-Generational Investigation of Moravian Folk Song

Ron Darvin

Philippines
Doctor of Philosophy in Teaching English as a Second Language (PhD)
Digital Identities, Educational Inequities: Investigating Social Class and New Literacies of Migrant Filipino Youth in the Knowledge Economy

Jeremy Stone

United States of America
Doctor of Philosophy in Planning (PhD)
Discursive Gentrification: Neighborhoods, Resistance, and the Urban Commons

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