Convocation May 2023

Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership and Policy)

• Dr. Katarzyna Barbara Siedlaczek: "Dr. Siedlaczek studied the influences leading to a new quality assurance policy in BC higher education. Her analysis demonstrates the impact of global discourses on local policymaking and the increasing focus on quality assurance as a policy issue. The research provides insight on institutionalizing quality assurance practices in higher education."
• Dr. Anjum Khan: "Dr. Khan examined the meaning of home for people who experienced turbulence and unexpected dislocation in refugee situations, and how their understanding of home may shift once they leave refugee camps and resettle in new places. The study reflected on the concept of home as associated with a sense of belonging, security, and hope."
• Dr. Daljit Kaur Gill-Badesha: "Collaboration is a complex and relational practice, compounded by varying forms of power dynamics between government and non-profit stakeholders. Dr. Gill-Badesha presents insights informing practitioners and funders about the role of engaging processes and emotions to mitigate issues of power and politics in the early stages of collaboration."
• Dr. Marney Louise Jones: "Dr. Jones explores the ways apocalyptic poetry can be used to deepen understandings of living within dying systems. Drawing from the hypothetical example of drug coverage in a stage of systems collapse and the effects on persons living with disease, her work provides insight into mourning and relationality as key competencies in death pedagogy."

Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy

• Dr. Daniel Kwon: "Dr. Kwon's work focused on developing radiopharmaceuticals targeting molecular markers present on cancers with poor outcomes. These radiopharmaceuticals are able to both image and treat cancers through radiation emission. Several candidates showed better performance than the standard of care and will be considered for clinical investigation."
• Dr. Jennifer Ji: "Dr. Ji characterized the unique proteomic and metabolomic landscapes of clear cell ovarian carcinoma. She subsequently identified a metabolic vulnerability as a potential therapeutic target in uncommon ovarian cancers. Her work provided further insight into this aggressive malignancy and rich resources for the ovarian cancer research community."
• Dr. Jordan Squair: "Translational approaches to restoring autonomic dysfunction after spinal cord injury"
• Dr. Mark Edward Trinder: "Dr. Trinder showed that common and rare genetic variation can be used to predict an individual's risk of cardiovascular disease. He used these findings to implement genetic testing for cardiovascular disorders at St. Paul's Hospital's Healthy Heart Program. This work highlights the promise of genomic medicine for preventing and treating cardiac disease."
• Dr. Michael Alexander Skinnider: "Dr. Skinnider used machine learning to identify proteins that physically interact in living tissues. His work revealed how inherited mutations, present in every cell in the body, can cause dysfunction in just a single tissue."

Doctor of Musical Arts (Composition)

• Dr. Michael James Jeffery Ducharme: "Dr. Ducharme explored various methods of integrating music composition and music technology. His thesis piece, CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background), leveraged data on the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation of the Universe to create a musical work for chamber sextet, with live electronics and interactive video."
• Dr. Ramsey Sadaka: "Dr. Sadaka wrote The Book of Ice, a musical composition for flute solo and chamber orchestra, which responds to The White Book, a novel written by the South Korean writer Han Kang. This piece blends pitch-set theoretical techniques and a spectral attitude to orchestration, and it develops original ways of combining music and text."

Doctor of Musical Arts (Orchestral Instrument)

• Dr. Kristen Susan Cooke: "Dr. Cooke studied the practice of oboists giving the tuning-A in historical and contemporary orchestras. She found that oboists see tuning as not only a practical tool, but as a musical solo which can inspire other musical works like John Corigliano's Concerto. This research illuminates the history and beauty of an often-overlooked tradition."

Doctor of Philosophy (Anthropology)

• Dr. Fraser Kendrick GermAnn: "Dr. GermAnn did an ethnography in Thailand about a demon. Through this character he discovered how personal relationships to Thai traditions were being renegotiated within a growing generational divide marking the rise of an alternative understanding of the demon and an alternative form of Thai identity resistant to authoritarian structures of power"

Doctor of Philosophy (Applied Animal Biology)

• Dr. Anna Ratuski: "Dr. Ratuski studied approaches to environmental enrichment for mice and rats living in laboratories. She tested the effects of various enrichment strategies on rodent behaviour and emotional states. Her work demonstrates how species-appropriate changes to conventional laboratory housing can promote natural behaviour and improve rodent welfare."

Doctor of Philosophy (Art History)

• Dr. Daniela Perez Montelongo: "Dr. Perez Montelongo studied South African photography since the 1960s, with a focus on black and white analog technologies. She investigated photographic practices that put a question mark on colonial ideas about the genre of landscape photography, both in South Africa and beyond. Her dissertation expanded the scope of the history of photography."
• Dr. Pamela Mackenzie: "Dr. Mackenzie's dissertation discusses some of the earliest visualizations of plants seen through a microscope. She explored the relationship between images and knowledge-making in the seventeenth century, at a moment where new ways of seeing were emerging in response to novel approaches for understanding and documenting the natural world."

Doctor of Philosophy (Asian Studies)

• Dr. Casey Ray Collins: "Dr. Collins demonstrated how the Japanese new religion Shinnyo-en is shaped by sacred stories about its founders. He found that members form emotional bonds with one another, the founders, and the organization by intertwining the founders' narratives with their own lives and with elements of Japanese Buddhist ritual, objects, spaces, and art."

Doctor of Philosophy (Astronomy)

• Dr. Javiera Fernanda Parada Torres: "Dr. Parada Torres developed two new methods to estimate distances to nearby galaxies by using evolved stars as calibrators. Besides measuring distances, her research helped identify systematic biases and uncertainties in current calibrations. These new methods will help improve the determination of the rate of expansion of the universe."

Doctor of Philosophy (Atmospheric Science)

• Dr. Julia Jeworrek: "Dr. Jeworrek advanced computational and statistical methods to make high-resolution precipitation forecasts more skillful, reliable, and efficient. Her work focused on BC's coastal and mountainous regions and can be used to improve water-resource management and flood risk mitigation."

Doctor of Philosophy (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)

• Dr. Reid Warsaba: "A family of viruses called dicistroviruses contains many copies of a protein, a rarity for viruses. Dr. Warsaba investigated the reasons for this and explored the conservation of this duplication. Reid found that these viruses duplicate this protein to produce the correct amounts of their viral proteins, revealing insights into virus evolution."
• Dr. Zhiyu Zhao: "Dr. Zhao investigated membrane proteins using a membrane mimetic -- peptidiscs. Results showed peptidiscs enables the enrichment of membrane proteins in a water-soluble environment. The study can be beneficial to cancer biologists to discover novel biomarkers and drug targets and to biochemists to study membrane proteins in a native-like state."

Doctor of Philosophy (Bioinformatics)

• Dr. Ka Ming Nip: "Dr. Nip developed computational solutions for sequence assembly and visualization for RNA-sequencing data. His research presents fast and memory-efficient methods to study RNA in cells. These contributions lay the groundwork to advance our understanding of biology and diseases."
• Dr. Tunc Morova: "Dr. Morova's research presents a novel computational framework to study the impact of non-coding mutations on the development of prostate cancer. By using advanced functional genomics techniques, he worked to identify key mutations that affect the growth of the disease, which provided useful insight into the study of prostate cancer genetics."

Doctor of Philosophy (Biomedical Engineering)

• Dr. Massimo Cau: "Dr. Cau explored new strategies for managing non-compressible internal bleeding, which is a leading cause of death in military and civilian trauma. He used a system of self-propelling particles to deliver powerful blood clotting drugs deep into the body, and showed that this technique prevented death in animal models of severe bleeding."
• Dr. Daniel Christopher Louie: "Dr. Louie developed a new optical device to quickly and painlessly detect melanoma. This technology breaks new ground in analyzing polarization speckle, a complex pattern that lasers make when they illuminate the skin."
• Dr. John Edgar: "Dr. Edgar developed methods for making immune cells from stem cells. This research contributes to efforts to create cell-based therapies for treating cancer and autoimmune disease."
• Dr. Roza Vaez Ghaemi: "With a goal of developing and validating a scalable methodology to construct lab-made brain tissue, Dr. Vaez Ghaemi has successfully generated three-dimensionally structured tissue from a special cell population that are able to develop into many different cell types. De. Vaez Ghaemi's research confirms the suitability of these tissue-constructs for drug screening purposes."

Doctor of Philosophy (Botany)

• Dr. Kevin Ao: "Dr. Ao studied plant immune receptors - molecular tools that plants use to recognize and defend against pathogens. He characterized two genes that enable fine-tuned immune responses. These findings not only deepen our understanding of how plants activate defense in the face of threats, but also contribute to the engineering of crop protection."
• Dr. Thomas Andrew Whelan: "Dr. Whelan examined the genomes of a group of poorly-studied organisms called microsporidia. Their reduced genomes make them invaluable models to study complex cellular processes as there has been significant simplification. Overall, his research has broadened our understanding of the minimum requirements for cellular machinery."
• Dr. Weijie Huang: "Dr. Huang studied the initiation and regulation of plant innate immunity with the model organism Arabidopsis. He identified an indispensable transcription factor that plays dual roles in plant defense signalling. His studies provide new insights into how plants activate the biosynthesis of defense hormones to prevent pathogen attack."
• Dr. Yan Xu: "Dr. Xu studied how plant fungal pathogens cause diseases. She innovatively established a fast gene discovery pipeline and identified many genes required for the full virulence of the fungal pathogen. In the future, these genes can be targeted to develop new fungicides and provide efficient and long-lasting plant protection."

Doctor of Philosophy (Cell and Developmental Biology)

• Dr. Vaishnavi Sridhar: "Dr. Sridhar studied regions of close contact between parts of a cell using budding yeast. She studied the role of previously uncharacterized proteins in maintaining steady state levels of lipids at these sites. Similar proteins are present in humans and could have a role in disease biology."
• Dr. Shihao Wang: "Dr. Wang investigated how YAP1 gene regulates the differentiation of progenitor cells in the pancreas. He provided new evidence that manipulation of YAP1 expression controls pancreatic size and function during embryogenesis. His research shed light on the future development of cell therapy for type 1/2 diabetes and pancreatic cancer."

Doctor of Philosophy (Chemical and Biological Engineering)

• Dr. Marziyeh Danesh: "Dr. Danesh studied thoroughly linear and nonlinear rheological properties of salt-induced gels of cellulose nanocrystals. She also examined stability of zirconia microparticles by using CNC through gelation. Her research produced long-term stable suspensions for bio-based ceramics."
• Dr. Ehsan Banayan Esfahani: "P-F-A-S, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, otherwise known as forever chemicals are one of the biggest environmental challenges of the decade. Dr. Banayan Esfahani studied the application and mechanism of photochemical processes in destroying PFAS molecules, providing insight into the better strategies towards treating polluted waters."
• Dr. Tam Thi Ngoc Duong: "Dr. Duong's doctoral studies debunked the myth of glutamine being an essential amino acid in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell cultures producing therapeutic antibodies. Her research has shown how CHO cells could use asparagine as a replacement for glutamine and how these two amino acids were co-conditionally essential in culture media."
• Dr. Shivani Gupta: "To make a generic version of an antibody protein medicine, Dr. Gupta developed and applied a technology to engineer the genetic code of mammalian cells to produce them with the desired sugar components. This technology is intended to increase the probability of regulatory approval, reducing the cost and time for generic medicine development."
• Dr. Fatima Zaid Alafifi: "Dr. Alafifi is interested in exploring the effects of innate water constituents on the performance of Advanced Oxidation Processes. She studied the removal of MC-LR toxin in the presence of relatively high levels of halide salts. Her findings provide insights for water utilities on the effects of water constituents on the success of such treatments"

Doctor of Philosophy (Chemistry)

• Dr. Zaile Zhuang: "Dr. Zhuang developed the first inhibitors of tubulin glycylation initiase and elongase and developed inhibitors of type I isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase. These inhibitors will be very useful tools in studying the structure and mechanism of these enzymes."
• Dr. Yusuke Sato: "Dr. Sato developed robotic platforms to analyze heterogeneous chemical reactions and developed a new analytical methodology for monitoring nanocluster synthesis. This work enables greater understanding of reaction mechanisms, helping to optimize these challenging-to-sample reactions and is actively being applied in industry."
• Dr. Jian Guo: "Dr. Guo developed six bioinformatic programs improving the sensitivity and selectivity in metabolomics data processing. The programs increased the number of biomarkers identified for biological and clinical applications. The discoveries will lead to a more in-depth understanding of many disease mechanisms, diagnostic and therapeutic strategies."
• Dr. Tengxiao Ji: "Dr. Ji became the first UBC researcher in perovskite solar cell fabrication and successfully finished his four projects by making over 2500 devices in Ph.D program in the Department of Chemistry. He demonstrated creative works by incorporating chemical methods and thinking in developing this new-generation solar cell technology."
• Dr. Arthur Guillaume Fink: "Dr. Fink developed methods to convert CO2 or water into useful products using renewable energy. He showed that carbon capture can be directly coupled with CO2 electro-conversion to lower energy demands. He also demonstrated that hydrogen peroxide can be produced through electrochemistry to replace the current methods which consume fossil fuels."
• Dr. Nan Zhang: "Dr. Zhang investigated fundamental steps in Platinum catalyzed reactions. He focused on mechanism understandings and new reaction discoveries. A better understanding of fundamental steps in catalytic cycles helps scientists develop efficient and inexpensive industrial processes."
• Dr. Jade Poisson: "Dr. Poisson has investigated various uses of surface-initated polymerization techniques to solve current challenges in organic optoelectronics."
• Dr. Mihajlo Todorovic: "Dr. Todorovic developed new methods for constraining cyclic peptides. These peptides showed preliminary utility in killing cancer cells or medical imaging of tumors."
• Dr. Huaxu Yu: "Dr. Yu developed a series of analytical and bioinformatic methods for quantitative metabolomics using mass spectrometry. These novel tools assist us in understanding a wide range of biological questions."
• Dr. Melodie Deniz Christensen: "Dr. Christensen developed autonomous, self-optimizing robotic systems to guide chemical process optimization in high experimental throughput. These robotic systems were applied to the human intervention-free optimization of processes for the chemical syntheses of two pharmaceutically relevant compounds."
• Dr. Shipei Xing: "Dr. Xing has been developing bioinformatic algorithms and tools for the unexplored tandem mass spectrometry data in untargeted metabolomics. In revealing the structural information of the undiscovered metabolome, his works paved way for revealing biological mechanisms behind various health disorders and diseases from the perspective of small molecules."
• Dr. Hayden Owen Scheiber: "The crystal structures of lithium halides are dependent on a complex balance between competing forces at the atomic scale. Dr. Scheiber's research explores this complexity in detail using new theoretical and computational methods. The research contributes new tools and data to improve our understanding of these seemingly simple salts."
• Dr. Jeanette Nicole Loos: "Dr. Loos investigated sustainable materials for oil spill remediation using gels. This research was conducted in collaboration with a local company, and is now being considered for commercialization."
• Dr. Tianxiao Ma: "Dr. Ma developed a novel electrochemical DNA biosensor fabrication method. This method results in biosensors with higher binding efficiency and stability. Her work addressed key limitations hindering commercial application and provides valuable guidance for improved sensor fabrication."
• Dr. Siwei Luo: "Dr. Luo developed several theories for understanding the behaviours of fluids described by a set of collective variables. His equations laid a foundation for rigorously performing coarse-grained simulations of complex fluids. These findings also enhance our understanding of fluctuations in small, open systems."
• Dr. Kristian Jeffrey Kiland: "Atmospheric aerosols are all around us: in kitchens, cities, forests, and wildfires. Dr. Kiland measured the viscosity of aerosols from each of these environments, and developed a new temperature-variable viscometer along the way. These studies are helpful to improve the accuracy of climate change and air quality predictions."
• Dr. Rupsa Gupta: "Dr. Gupta's thesis presents ways to improve the physical robustness of fluorescent polymer nanoparticles or "Pdots". It contributes to a better understanding of how their fluorescence properties degrade, and demonstrates that the brightness of Pdots is ideal for enabling smartphone-based diagnostic technologies for prospective applications in health care."
• Dr. Taniya Adak: "Dr. Adak identified and demonstrated, for the first time, activity of enzyme involved in conferring antibiotic resistance to certain Gram-negative bacteria. This identification may help in the pursuit of making effective antibiotics against opportunistic bacteria that colonise the compromised lungs of individuals suffering from cystic fibrosis."
• Dr. Erick Nunez Bahena: "Dr. Nunez Bahena developed synthetic methodologies for accessing nitrogen-containing compounds by employing a catalyst based on an abundant metal, zirconium."
• Dr. Luca Egoriti: "Dr. Egoriti developed new particle accelerator targets and diagnostics that improve the quality and quantity of radioisotopes produced at TRIUMF, Canada's particle accelerator center. This work has enabled new scientific experiments that previously failed, and improved key metrics allowing for quicker and more effective research activities."
• Dr. Yi Ren: "Dr. Ren investigated heterogeneous ice nucleation by computational simulations and laboratory experiments. Her work demonstrated how atmospherically relevant ice nucleating particles can be influenced by ions and pH conditions. These results improve our understanding of how environmental conditions affect ice formation in the atmosphere."
• Dr. Benjamin Mowbray: "Dr. Mowbray developed materials for electrochemical reactors that convert carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into chemicals and fuels. His thesis informs how to design and fabricate reactor materials that improve the efficiency of converting carbon dioxide into commodity chemicals using electricity."

Doctor of Philosophy (Civil Engineering)

• Dr. Daniel Murray Robb: "Dr. Robb investigated the physical processes affecting turbidity in the surface waters of a glacier-fed hydroelectric reservoir, and the role of reservoir operations in modifying these processes. This research will help guide water use planning and reservoir management in dam-impacted aquatic ecosystems."
• Dr. Manuel Florian Schmid: "As the air flows through our towns, fields, and forests, it moves in chaotic, ever-evolving patterns. Dr. Schmid worked to improve the mathematical and computational tools we use to study this motion in order to enable more accurate and flexible modeling."
• Dr. Abhishek Dutta: "Dr. Dutta developed and optimised membrane systems for resource recovery from wastewater. Using this energy-efficient technology he extracted over 90% of dissolved methane and ammonia, which are profitable chemicals. This research highlights the potential of a circular economy in the waste sector while reducing environmental pollution."
• Dr. Kai Zhao: "Dr. Zhao studied methane bubbling from lake sediments. He showed that changes in atmospheric pressure regulate the release of methane bubbles from lake sediments, which then affects lake water quality and contributes to atmospheric methane concentration. The results apply to all aquatic systems and provide guidance for future emission surveys."
• Dr. Ann Abraham: "Dr. Abraham studied how subduction earthquakes influence regional seismic risk assessment in BC. She developed damage and loss functions for main BC building typologies to confirm the impact of subduction events in BC localities. Her study helps better understand the impact of significant earthquakes on regional seismic risk in the province."
• Dr. Xiao Pan: "Dr. Pan studied advanced methods of inspecting infrastructure damages. He developed an automatic framework to quantify damages and associated losses on infrastructure which can enhance the efficiency and accuracy of traditional manual inspection. His research contributes to a smarter, more resilient and sustainable built environment."

Doctor of Philosophy (Classics)

• Dr. Caterina Minniti: "Dr. Minniti investigated the distribution and use of Egyptian and Egyptian-inspired objects, also known as Aegyptiaca, in Sicily during the Archaic Period (ca. 776-480 BCE). Her analysis provides a better understanding of how the objects were adopted into local customs, and the reasons why their owners chose to use them."

Doctor of Philosophy (Computer Science)

• Dr. Vaden Masrani: "Dr. Masrani contributed to the field of machine learning by proposing a novel method for training deep generative models based on techniques used in statistical physics. His research unifies and extends a number of methods in the literature, and provides practitioners with tools to train"
• Dr. Wei Jiang: "Dr. Jiang showed how can we improve the accuracy of camera pose using deep learning based methods, specifically on estimating the homography and image correspondences. He subsequently designed a pipeline to reconstruct the scene and animatable human from a single video."
• Dr. Izabelle Foster Janzen: "Dr. Janzen explored how users could better manage mobile notifications, which is difficult and time consuming despite extensive research on the subject. Through user centered design she identified that infrequent, targeted personalization sessions supported by visualizations of notification use could encourage and support notification management."
• Dr. Joseph Eremondi: "Dr. Eremondi developed the theory of gradual dependently typed programming languages. Under this paradigm, programmers can use types to write correctness specifications, but can smoothly migrate the checking of those specifications between compile time and run time. This furthers the goal of making it easier to prove that software is free of errors."
• Dr. Bahare Fatemi: "Dr. Fatemi's doctoral studies focused on graph representation learning. She designed and developed machine learning models for graph-type data, such as social networks, and the internet. Her research helps to make predictions about the world by identifying patterns and relationships in data that would otherwise be difficult to see."
• Dr. Egor Larionov: "The simulation of frictional contact is a challenging problem in computer graphics. Dr. Larionov developed methods to accurately simulate friction between objects with smooth surfaces and showed where current methods fail. This work pushed the boundaries of acceptable friction behaviour in graphics, and opened promising avenues for future research."

Doctor of Philosophy (Counselling Psychology)

• Dr. Chelsea Dawn Beyer: "Dr. Beyer investigated the role of embodiment in young women's experience of sexual satisfaction. Research findings illustrated how young women's experiences of embodiment are intertwined not only with sexual satisfaction, but related aspects of sexuality including sexual desire and pleasure."
• Dr. Julia Iman O'Loughlin: "Dr. O'Loughlin examined the impact of traditional masculinity on Canadian Veteran men's psychosocial functioning and psychotherapeutic treatment outcome. Her research elucidates the situational nature of masculinity in the context of mental health and points to the importance of gender sensitive interventions for veteran populations."

Doctor of Philosophy (Craniofacial Science)

• Dr. Madhurima Datta: "Dr. Datta examined how DNA image Cytometry can serve as an early detection tool for oral cancer. DNA image Cytometry uses cells from oral precancerous lesion brushing to estimate the amount and organization of DNA. This work showed how this tool can be used to screen patients for oral cancer and identify oral precancers at a high-risk of turning into cancer."

Doctor of Philosophy (Curriculum Studies)

• Dr. Kshamta Bhupendra Hunter: "Dr. Hunter investigated urban youth sustainability leaders' competencies in engaging social innovative solutions to wicked problems. With a focus on self-transformation through values clarification and reflective discourse, she proposes a novel Transformative Sustainability Learning model that advances our understanding of sustainability education."
• Dr. Philip Kimani Karangu: "Dr. Karangu investigated non-refugee teachers' teaching experiences in a long-term refugee camp, Dadaab, Kenya. His analysis demonstrates that there is little known about these non-refugee teachers. This research brings forward the voices of underrepresented teachers as it mattered to them through an Afrocentric lens."
• Dr. Joann Ihuoma Anokwuru: "Dr. Anokwuru's dissertation examined how narratives of people with disabilities, their families, educators, and policymakers can inform inclusive education in Nigeria. Research findings advance the importance of self-advocacy, collaboration, and aligning change efforts across structures and roles, thereby designing an ecology of inclusive education."

Doctor of Philosophy (Economics)

• Dr. Vinicius Rodrigues Pecanha: "Dr. Pecanha analyzes the effects of a public policy that decreased violence in poor neighborhoods in the city of Rio de Janeiro on learning gains, formal employment and incarceration. He also discusses the impacts of localized temperature shocks on mortality. His research illuminates the role of urban policies in dealing with urban issues."
• Dr. Ronit Mukherji: "Dr. Mukherji shows how the entry of immigrants in the local labour markets can impact market institutions like unions. He also examines how economic conditions both in their source economy and in the market of entry can affect their labour supply decisions."
• Dr. Nadhanael Gemaliel Vimala: "Dr. Gemaliel Vimala's research using food prices in India showed that when people use physical cash for transactions, prices are usually set in round digits and they change less often. In an online setting, such bunching reduces and prices change more frequently. This brings out the policy implication of increased flexibility of prices in a cashless world."

Doctor of Philosophy (Educational Studies)

• Dr. Lisa Ruth Brunner: "As the Global North increasingly recruits international post-secondary students as so-called ideal immigrants, the role of higher education is shifting. Dr. Brunner described this distinct form of immigration as edugration and, focusing on Canada, explored its complexities related to settler colonialism, surveillance, border imperialism, and justice."
• Dr. Lena Ignatovich: "Dr. Ignatovich's work challenges Western-centric views on lifelong learning in Russian and Soviet history. It explores education-related terms in Russian discourse and identifies five unique lifelong education models. The findings benefit policymakers, educators, and scholars studying non-Western modernity projects and education models."
• Dr. Linda Elaine Pickthall: "Dr. Pickthall explored how BC nursing school educators facilitate student learning in international field schools. Her research participants described an instructional process grounded in transformational learning theory. The study provides recommendations for BC nursing schools and faculty who are new to facilitating international field schools."

Doctor of Philosophy (Electrical and Computer Engineering)

• Dr. Alaa Eldin Magdy Abdelaal: "Dr. Abdelaal's work aims to augment the surgeon skills in robot-assisted surgery. He designed novel interfaces that can use collected data in this surgical setting to improve surgical training and skill assessment. He also designed autonomous systems to help surgeons with their repetitive tasks so that they can focus on the more demanding ones."
• Dr. Rui Huang: "Dr. Huang revealed how the next-generation wireless networks can benefit from machine learning and artificial intelligence. He developed machine learning-based algorithms to push the limits of wireless networks, making it more intelligent, reliable, and efficient."
• Dr. Dan Wang: "Dr. Wang's doctoral studies centered on the interpretation of deep learning models in the field of computer vision. She devised multiple methods to clarify why a deep learning model generates predictions from different angles. Her research contributes to the interpretability of deep learning models and aids in building human trust in them."
• Dr. Vishnu Rajendran Chandrika: "Could you think about a world where every object is connected to a wireless network? Dr. Rajendran Chandrika designed solutions to address relevant problems related to direct device-to-device communication and satellite connectivity for low-cost devices. These solutions will help us achieve seamless universal connectivity."
• Dr. Kaiwen Yuan: "Dr. Yuan examined self-supervised learning at the sensor layer in robotics. These studies help push the boundary of self-supervised learning at the sensor layer to a usable stage, demonstrate the potential for this direction and shed light on future research."
• Dr. Qi Zeng: "Dr. Zeng introduced a new method of imaging the human liver with 3D ultrasound. The method quantitatively determines liver tissue stiffness in a large 3D volume. This will enable more accurate evaluation of chronic liver disease, in an accessible and inexpensive manner, suitable for the large percentage of the population."
• Dr. Hazem Abdelhafez: "Dr. Abdelhafez studied how to effectively harness the frequency configurability of heterogeneous platforms. He contributed towards variability-aware models that can estimate the impact of frequency configuration choice on performance and energy consumption. This allows for better decision making that reduces the energy footprint of the target applications."
• Dr. Hassan Hesham Halawa: "Dr. Halawa advocated for a paradigm shift across two high impact areas: cybersecurity and data analytics. His research explored novel ways to effectively harness big data to improve the security of online services and their most vulnerable users, and to explicitly model the bitemporal evolution of graph data to efficiently enable emerging use cases"
• Dr. Javier Orlando Tarazona Gomez: "Dr. Tarazona developed a method for interfacing two different types of simulators for large electric networks. A hybrid simulator operating with such a method offers an accurate and efficient alternative for modeling the future electric networks which will have a high percentage of renewable energy sources."
• Dr. Anindya Lal Roy: "Dr. Roy developed a combinatorial method for printing thin films of electroactive material dispersions. He applied this method to fabricate and evaluate the temperature sensing performance of organic polymers using statistical test procedures. His research is expected to enable rapid prototyping of thin film materials with minimal material wastage."
• Dr. Sayed Abbas Arshadi: "Dr. Arshadi studied and improved the performance of high-power DC-DC power supplies for Electric Vehicle battery charging applications. These improvements enable battery chargers to be able to cope with the newer technological requirement that batteries are placing on EV chargers today."
• Dr. Shahed Khan Mohammed: "Dr. Mohammed studied the stiffness reconstruction problem using magnetic resonance imaging. He developed stiffness reconstruction methods with structured sparsity to improve the reliability and accuracy of stiffness reconstruction. These new methods improve the clinical feasibility of stiffness reconstruction for disease detection."
• Dr. Rafiuzzaman Mohammad: "Dr. Mohammad addressed challenges related to the automatic configuration of software systems, specifically in the context of the Internet of Things. Modern applications may have a million or more possible configurations and Dr. Mohammad's research provides engineers with tools to identify good configurations efficiently."
• Dr. Jhih-Da Hsu: "Electric vehicles reduce carbon emissions, but the efficiency of power conversion matters. Dr. Hsu's research proposes practical ways to improve the efficiency of battery chargers, which saves your electricity bills. His research also explains the modeling of EV chargers, providing insights into high-performance battery charging for the future."
• Dr. Rahul Krishna Yandrapally: "Dr. Yandrapally developed a series of novel techniques to facilitate automatic software analysis and testing. Through controlled experiments, he showed that the proposed techniques outperform existing state-of-the-art techniques and provide solutions that are first of their kind for web applications."
• Dr. Yue Huang: "Dr. Huang studied users' perceptions of sharing private information via several technologies, such as smart speakers. Her findings improve understanding of users' concerns, mental models, and risk mitigation strategies. Subsequently, she developed recommendations for protecting users' online privacy and improving their experiences."

Doctor of Philosophy (English)

• Dr. Gage Karahkwi:io Diabo: "Dr. Diabo studied the politics of listening in Mohawk and other First Peoples' literatures. Taking the Haudenosaunee Great Law of Peace as a blueprint, their research theorizes what it means to listen politically in both First Peoples and settler-colonial contexts."
• Dr. Sara Victoria Press: "Dr. Press examined the role of persuasion in medical settings and scientific writing. She showed how a patient's positionality can impact how that person is treated in medical encounters, and how discrimination can lead to differential health outcomes. Her research shows the value of applying narrative and rhetorical approaches to health studies."
• Dr. Richard Angelo Bergen: "Dr. Bergen examined landscapes and buildings in medieval and Renaissance allegories. These understudied natural and built environments present a paradigm for metaphor that is as important as personification for this literary genre, and stand at the heart of medieval and early modern thought and writing on space, time, memory, and the individual."
• Dr. Rachel Boersma (Lacy): "Dr. Lacy Boersma examined how the language of Shakespeare and his contemporaries, especially the words used to articulate doctrines of the Church of England, contributed to England's modern identity. She shows that it is not only ideas which define a nation. Terminology, the origins and associations of terms used to express those ideas, also matter."
• Dr. Craig Paul Stensrud: "Dr. Stensrud studied the function of hypocrisy accusations in the U.S. slavery debates, tracing this rhetoric's influence on nineteenth-century writers. He demonstrates that authors incorporated anti-slavery invective in their work to translate political economic analysis into a moral vocabulary capable of mobilizing the public against slavery."

Doctor of Philosophy (Experimental Medicine)

• Dr. Susanna Shu Xian Tan: "Dr. Tan developed a novel oncogene-induced de novo model of triple negative human breast cancer by forcing the expression of various mutant genes in normal human mammary cells. It offers a powerful platform to analyze the complete sequence of changes that lead to the genesis of aggressive breast cancers and hence test new therapeutic strategies."
• Dr. Jacob Liam Stubbs: "Dr. Stubbs studied how traumatic brain injury affects the health of people who are homeless. He identified that serious brain injury is common in this population, and he used quantitative brain imaging to show how it affects health and functioning over time. His findings have implications for individual-level treatments and system-level policies."
• Dr. Lucy Mei: "Dr. Mei's research examined the mechanisms that control the size of the two daughter cells that result from a cell division. The findings from Dr. Mei's thesis link the loss of daughter cell size control with breast cancer development."
• Dr. Ferhan Saleem: "Dr. Saleem studied home oxygen therapy in interstitial lung disease. He developed a scoring system to predict low blood oxygen, analyzed prescription criteria for oxygen worldwide, identified countries lacking access to oxygen, and determined the costs for this therapy. His research will help identify public health needs related to home oxygen."
• Dr. Jessica Archibald Orozco: "Dr. Archibald's research focused on non-invasive neurochemical measurement, yielding a normative database for structural, functional, and biochemical measures of the adult human brain. These findings aid disease comparisons and can benefit individuals with neurological disorders, by advancing scientific understanding."
• Dr. Nasim Sadat Kajabadi: "Dr. Kajabadi identifies the cell population and molecular signals responsible for inducing muscle atrophy, a progressive condition of muscle loss commonly seen in chronic pathologies such as cancer associated cachexia. This finding can help in developing therapeutics aimed at ameliorating disease-induced muscle atrophy."
• Dr. Margaret Huang: "Dr. Huang studied the impact of genetics on heart-related side effects caused by cancer drugs, and explored ways to minimize them. Her research offers new insights that can assist doctors in identifying genetic mutations in patients before initiating cancer therapies, improving cancer treatment safety and efficacy."
• Dr. Zohreh Sharafianardakani: "Dr. Sharafian studied T cell development in infants, focusing on the physiological effects of T cells on the intestinal organoid model. She found that T cells induce the proliferation and differentiation of the infant's intestinal epithelial cells. Her work has potential implications for therapeutic advancements in infant intestinal diseases."

Doctor of Philosophy (Food Science)

• Dr. Yigong Guo: "Dr. Guo demonstrated the flexibility and capability of using buccal tablets with nanotechnology to deliver insulin with fast onset of action as injection which can be administrated more conveniently and had a long duration of blood glucose reduction effect. His research provided a promising way to deliver insulin orally."
• Dr. Thomas Matthew Brenner: "Dr. Brenner developed and characterized a bacteriophage treatment that can be safely ingested by chickens or sprayed directly onto their meat to target and kill dangerous Salmonella bacteria. He intends to connect this antimicrobial innovation to the poultry sector to benefit Canadian poultry producers, processors, and consumers."

Doctor of Philosophy (Forestry)

• Dr. Federico Lingua: "Dr. Lingua's work explores the opportunities that arise from the analysis of social media images for the study of nature-based recreation. His work shows that by combining machine learning and traditional economic techniques, it is possible to assess forest recreational values."
• Dr. Yuhang Ye: "Dr. Ye designed a series of nanocellulose-based gel conductors for a variety of sophisticated applications. His study would advance the creation of biodegradable electronics, relieving the environmental pollution caused by discarded electronics."
• Dr. Jose Ramon Arias-Bustamante: "The ancestral territories of the Mapuche Nation were violently reduced to individual properties that today are in the hands of non-Mapuche people, including settlers and commercial companies. Dr. Arias-Bustamante's study showed how Mapuche communities navigate the system in their quest to land restitution in a constantly changing context."
• Dr. Martin Queinnec: "Dr. Queinnec examined the ability of novel airborne and spaceborne remote sensing technologies to characterize three-dimensional vegetation structure in boreal forests of Canada. His work provides enhanced knowledge about forest resources in both managed and unmanaged forested ecosystems."
• Dr. Francois du Toit: "Dr. Du Toit used Airborne Laser Scanning to model genetically improved Douglas-fir trees. Descriptors were used to assess tree performance, and predict genetic parameters. He found that ALS is capable of describing trees at multiple scales, and should be used in breeding programs due the cost savings and insights the technology provides."
• Dr. Sarah Elizabeth Dickson-Hoyle: "Dr. Dickson-Hoyle examined how Secwépemc Nation communities and territories are recovering from recent megafires in British Columbia. She identifies key lessons from joint recovery efforts and describes Secwépemc Elder Ron Ignace's concept of walking on two legs to guide collaborative research and restoration in Indigenous territories."
• Dr. Cindy Cheng: "Dr. Cheng examined the interactions between urban forest policies and climate change (and related urban planning) policies in Canadian cities. Her research revealed key conflicts and synergies among municipal policies and explored solutions to better integrate urban forests into building a compact, livable, and climate-resilient city"
• Dr. Estefania Milla-Moreno: "Dr. Milla-Moreno examined the potential use of native trees to restore ecosystems damaged by copper mines in Chile. After assessing several tree species, the evergreen tree quillay was found suitable for this purpose because it keeps copper in the roots, as shown by mass spectrometry and X-ray fluorescence imaging."
• Dr. Leila Fazel Todd: "Dr. Todd studied Canadian municipal parks and their contribution to the urban forest canopy. She provides recommendations on how parks can continue to meet recreational and cultural demands while balancing those with urban forestry objectives for a more resilient city."
• Dr. Cheng Chen: "Dr. Chen examined where and how human activities affect mammals by using an extensive camera trap dataset comprising data from 8600 remote cameras. He found that mammal diversity is associated more with protected area coverage than with negative human influences globally, which provide insights into future biodiversity conservation."
• Dr. Cindy Meliza Hurtado Martinez: "Dr. Hurtado Martinez examined how existing knowledge can be applied to habitat and corridor models and evaluated the importance of forest connectivity for carnivore conservation. This research helps inform the management of carnivores in high biodiversity areas."
• Dr. Hyeone Park: "Dr. Park studied the multifunctionality of food forests and community gardens in Vancouver, Canada. She observed synergies among food and cultural benefits. Three important design and management factors including trees, garden size, and management characterized the multifunctionality. Her study informs the design and management of urban green spaces."
• Dr. Jonathan Reich: "Dr. Reich used novel molecular methods to identify airborne fungi that cause diseases in agricultural crops. He found that the air contains many pathogenic and mutualistic fungi for plant health and showed that this information could help predict plant epidemics. His research will help farmers manage field diseases while reducing fungicide use."

Doctor of Philosophy (Genome Science and Technology)

• Dr. Mitchell James Saddy Braam: "Recent advances in genetic engineering and stem cell research have paved way for new approaches to studying and treating disease. Dr. Braam applied these complementary approaches to advance the field of diabetes research with respect to stem cell differentiation, cell safety, and disease modelling."
• Dr. Elie Ritch: "Dr. Ritch developed ways to use the DNA in blood samples from cancer patients to personalize their treatments. He used this technology to identify and study DNA defects that sensitize prostate cancers to specific therapies and integrated his methods into screening programs for Canadian prostate cancer patients."

Doctor of Philosophy (Geography)

• Dr. Conor McDowell: "Dr. McDowell examined how downstream differences in river characteristics cause differences in river response to floods, including topographic changes and sediment transport rates."
• Dr. Nisreen Al-Ghorani: "Dr. Al-Ghorani studied spatiotemporal variations in sediment transport at watershed and channel scales.Though sediment reduction measures focus more on upland soil conservation, she found that local channel conditions should also be considered when mitigating the negative impacts of excess sediment caused by unavoidable climate and landuse changes."
• Dr. David Lawson Adams: "Is there a pattern to one of humankind's greatest and apparently random natural hazards? Dr. Adams captured order and self-organisation amongst chaotic behaviour in mountain rivers. His experiments reveal that as rivers become more hazardous they also become more predictable and ordered, which provides opportunities for managing them."
• Dr. Michael Paul Christoph Fabris: "Dr. Fabris' dissertation focused on the Piikani Nation's attempts to challenge the construction of the Oldman River Dam in the 1980s/1990s. His research findings draw attention to the continued limits of reconciling Indigenous law with Canadian law without addressing the implications of Indigenous jurisdiction."
• Dr. June Skeeter: "Dr. Skeeter investigated how greenhouse gases move into and out of two Arctic ecosystems with permafrost soils in the Mackenzie Delta Region using field observations and machine learning models"
• Dr. Jacob Forrest: "Dr. Forrest researched the origins and development of a real-time urban traffic control system in Los Angeles, California. Through this case study, he sheds light on how both the material and cultural aspects of a municipal organization shape the city-wide implementation of digital infrastructures."
• Dr. Craig Jones: "Dr. Jones studied how transit-oriented development (TOD), increased redevelopment pressure on clusters of Vancouver's aging suburban rental housing. He critiqued the logic of TOD to argue against suburban gentrification and the displacement of marginalized renters. Dr. Jones found that these processes could be ameliorated by City Council leadership."

Doctor of Philosophy (Geological Sciences)

• Dr. Nicole Williamson: "Hawaiian volcanoes are direct windows into the chemical composition of Earth's deep interior. Dr. Williamson's research on Hawaiian lavas revealed a change in mantle chemistry along the Hawaiian Islands about 5 million years ago. Her work provides new insight for tracking the distribution of chemical reservoirs in the Earth's mantle through time."
• Dr. Hannah Gatz-Miller: "Dr. Gatz-Miller investigated the biogeochemical and physical relationship between soil, water, and plants using reactive transport numerical modelling. Dr. Gatz-Miller's work highlights the benefit of strategic complexity in numerical modelling to explore these nonlinear, interrelated, and diverse processes."

Doctor of Philosophy (Geophysics)

• Dr. Reid Merrill: "Earthquakes represent the release of stress on faults, which occur in abundance in western British Columbia and Washington state due to convergence between North America and offshore oceanic plates.Dr. Merrill investigates several earthquake-dense regions in BC and Washington where fluids are interpreted to promote brittle failure."
• Dr. Colin Rowell: "Dr. Rowell studied explosive volcanic eruptions that interact with glaciers, lakes, and oceans, using both computer models and machine learning analysis of ash plumes in thermal camera imagery. He predicted how the behaviour, hazards, and climate impacts of eruptions evolve as they interact with increasingly greater volumes of water and ice."
• Dr. Gabriela Clara Racz: "Dr. Racz developed a method for retrieving a configuration of the subglacial drainage network and its changes throughout the melt season. This work contributes to a better understanding of subglacial hydrology which plays a crucial role in regulating glacier movement, and is, therefore, essential for predicting future sea level rise."
• Dr. Maryam Zarrinderakht: "Dr. Zarrinderakht developed a comprehensive mathematical and numerical model for propagation of crevasses and iceberg calving in ice shelves. The hope is that this model will provide the scientific community new insights into the complex processes that control the impact of climate change on our planet."
• Dr. Sam Anderson: "Dr. Anderson's research revealed ways in which the glacier runoff impacts water resources in Western Canada under climate change. He identified the communities in Alberta whose water supplies are most vulnerable to the loss of glaciers, and quantified how heat waves alter the timing and availability of water resources across BC and Alberta."

Doctor of Philosophy (Germanic Studies)

• Dr. Sabine Zimmermann: "Dr. Zimmermann reviewed how modern German-language literature challenges views of refugees as problems that threaten European liberal nation-states. Texts can illustrate that neither European citizens nor refugees are permanent outsiders or insiders to a place. The findings are relevant for literary discourses on the categorization of migrants."

Doctor of Philosophy (Hispanic Studies)

• Dr. Liliana Patricia Castaneda Lopez: "Dr. Castaneda studied narratives and aesthetics in 21st century Colombian films that challenged the longstanding invisibility of Afro-Colombian subjects. Her analysis helps in increasing awareness of anti-racist trends and the struggle to democratize the film representation regime in which the White/Mestizo aesthetics remains dominant."

Doctor of Philosophy (Human Development, Learning, and Culture)

• Dr. Natasha Parent: "Dr. Parent examined adolescent development and wellbeing in the current socio-technological context. Her findings illustrate the complex ways in which digital devices contribute to adolescents' wellbeing - suggesting that these may have both positive and negative effects. Her work has important implications for research and practice in adolescence."

Doctor of Philosophy (Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems)

• Dr. Colin Charles Dring: "Dr. Dring studied how municipal governance of agricultural systems in Southwestern British Columbia, Canada contributes to social justice. Through exploration of the politics of conflict and dissent over land use, Dr. Dring argues for the importance of municipal roles in planning just food futures."
• Dr. Celina Guadalupe Solis-Becerra: "Dr. Solis-Becerra examined how indigenous cuisine can serve as an effective tool to achieve local Food sovereignty while preserving regional biocultural diversity. Both are key aspects in the development of sustainable food systems and food security strategies aligned with culturally respectful initiatives."
• Dr. Tebogo Thandie Leepile: "Dr. Leepile evaluated the prevalence of household insecurity, undernutrition, and anemia among the Indigenous San people in rural Botswana. She also documented the communities' lived experiences, perceptions, and recommendations. Her findings will inform and guide targeted and culturally responsive nutrition and health policies for the San people."

Doctor of Philosophy (Interdisciplinary Oncology)

• Dr. James Wells: "Dr. Wells studied how our DNA faces internal obstacles and proposed a model featuring multiple repair pathways that work to tolerate this stress and prevent DNA damage. This work enhances our understanding of genome instability, a feature of cancer development and treatment."
• Dr. Margarita Elizabeth MacAldaz: "Dr. MacAldaz examined blood stem cells capable of life-long blood production. She identified a strategy to isolate these cells at high purity from fetal sources and discovered culture conditions that preserve their potent regenerative properties. This research will enable the development of ways to manipulate these cells for clinical applications."
• Dr. Sofya Langman: "Dr. Langman studied mechanisms of stress adaptation in cancer cells and identified novel functions of stress granule proteins in tumor growth and metastasis. Her research revealed new therapeutic targets for some of the deadliest pediatric cancers."

Doctor of Philosophy (Interdisciplinary Studies)

• Dr. Sanjana Mitra: "Dr. Mitra examined the role of socioeconomic marginalization in the production of overdose risk in an urban cohort of men and women who use drugs. Findings from this research emphasize the need for gender-informed, multi-level overdose prevention policies and programs to address the ongoing overdose crisis."
• Dr. Bindy Kang: "Dr. Kang's doctoral project evaluated how anti-racism and cultural safety paradigms are taken up in local health authorities. The three-phased study highlighted the significant need for provincial and national health organizations to incorporate principles of anti-racism, cultural safety, equity and social justice."
• Dr. Nola Vera Accili: "Dr. Accili investigated the ecological imagination of English playwrights William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson. Combining literary and theatre studies with art history and environmental philosophy, her research shows how Renaissance dramatists and artists understood animals and other non-humans in a way that might widen our ecological perspective."
• Dr. Andreas Pilarinos: "Dr. Pilarinos's research explored young people's perspectives on and experiences with medications for opioid use disorder. In addition to identifying policy barriers to treatment access, retention, and cessation, Dr. Pilarinos's research outlined young people's suggestions on ways to improve treatment services in the context of the overdose crisis."

Doctor of Philosophy (Kinesiology)

• Dr. Shalaya Kipp: "Dr. Kipp examined the demands of the respiratory system during exercise in older males and females compared to younger individuals. Collectively she showed that males and females use different strategies to breathe, and this sex difference persists throughout healthy aging, which contributes to the increased caloric cost to breathe during exercise."
• Dr. Matthew James Fagan: "Dr. Fagan examined if physical activity prevents substance use among Canadian youth. Overall, there was no evidence that physical activity confers broad, universal benefits in prevention. However, sport participation may provide a contextual experience that enhances school connectedness which in turn is associated with substance use prevention."
• Dr. Assaf Yogev: "Dr. Yogev examined the reliability and validity of wearable near-infrared spectroscopy during exercise, to better inform practitioners about the utility of measuring muscle oxygenation in field conditions. His work provides valuable guidelines for muscle oxygenation monitoring in real-time during exercise."
• Dr. Mick Leahy: "Dr. Leahy studied the effect of age and sex on the human skeletal muscle metaboreflex. His studies further our understanding on the effects of healthy ageing on reflex cardiovascular function, as well as sex differences in blood flow distribution and ventilatory control during exercise."

Doctor of Philosophy (Language and Literacy Education)

• Dr. Magdalena Vergara: "Dr. Vergara explored the uptake of Latin American literature in Metro Vancouver classrooms. She found that sometimes teachers and students used stereotypes and misrepresentations when interpreting such texts. This research illuminates the complexity of teaching diverse literature and discusses ways of supporting teachers and students in the process."

Doctor of Philosophy (Law)

• Dr. Jason Stuart Leslie: "Dr. Leslie examined how the Canadian federal government implements mortgage securitization in Canada. He found that the government provides support to banks and investors and takes risks affecting the Canadian public without meaningful public oversight. His research will assist in developing sound housing finance policy going forward."
• Dr. Grace Nosek: "Dr. Nosek showed how corporations have leveraged a multi-pronged strategy to simultaneously expand their reach over public discourse on climate change while undermining important checks on influence over discourse, like public protest and government enforcement actions for false and misleading speech."

Doctor of Philosophy (Library, Archival and Information Studies)

• Dr. Saguna Shankar: "Dr. Shankar explored practices with immigration data in Canada. Findings emphasize difference, interdependence, and the need for negotiation of responsibilities across groups working with immigration data. Her work offers implications to governmental and non-governmental actors for ethical decision making and the use of communities' data with care."
• Dr. Bonnie Tulloch: "Dr. Tulloch examined the way young people used Internet memes to process and communicate information in their daily lives. Her research highlights the importance of humour to their memetic storytelling and the implications it holds for digital citizenship education. Laughter,she argues, helps people negotiate the different values memes instantiate."

Doctor of Philosophy (Linguistics)

• Dr. Marianne Elizabeth Huijsmans: "Dr. Huijsmans investigated a set of small words with grammatical functions in ʔayʔaǰuθəm (Comox-Sliammon; Central Salish). These encode information about utterance type, source of evidence, speaker certainty, and broader discourse context. This research contributes to documentation available to future language learners, teachers, and researchers."
• Dr. Oksana Tkachman: "In languages, meaningful words and signs consist of meaningless units, or phonemes. Dr. Tkachman shows how phonemes could emerge from embodied motivations in language evolution. Her research brings together linguistics and cognitive science and demonstrates profound consequences of embodiment in communication and cognition."
• Dr. Alexander Angsongna: "Dr. Angsongna's work explored the word structure and the sound system of Dagaare, a language spoken in northwestern Ghana. His research showed how words are formed and how they differ in the expression of grammatical meanings. This research contributes to the documentation of the language and to the development of linguistic theory."

Doctor of Philosophy (Materials Engineering)

• Dr. Ido Koresh: "Dr. Koresh studied a novel approach to preparing solid-state electrolytes. The electrolyte is a key component for next-generation lithium-ion batteries - batteries that would drive your EV car significantly longer before recharging. His research explored new types of solid-state electrolytes and gained a deep understanding of their properties."
• Dr. Katherine Le: "Dr. Le examined the structural hierarchical effects in electronic textiles, and their influence on performance of wearable sensors used for health monitoring. Contributions include functional materials development to address long-term performance and durability. Her findings will inform future e-textile materials evaluation, selection, and design."
• Dr. Ajanthia Ann Gunaratnam: "Dr. Gunaratnam investigated iron behaviour and silver deportment through a unique industrial process employed in the mining industry to recover silver and gold from minerals with high iron and sulfide content. Her research illuminates the best operating conditions that maximize silver recovery."
• Dr. Brighty Dutta: "Dr. Dutta's research focussed on the recovery of Molybdenum and separation of impurity metal ions from acidic molybdenum solutions. She developed different flowsheets evaluating extraction techniques to recover pure molybdenum metal. Her findings contribute to the advancement of existing processes of molybdenum separation in the mining industry."
• Dr. Shubham Jain: "Dr. Jain studied Geopolymers, environment-friendly alternatives to Portland Cement, for cesium nuclear waste immobilization. Dr. Jain demonstrated enhanced cesium immobilization within the Geopolymers processed via one-step chemical synthesis route. Safer long-term nuclear waste storage will be possible because of Dr. Jain's work."
• Dr. Sijia Chen: "Dr. Chen developed a novel method to mimic bone mineral structure on a polymer membrane as a coating. She applied this coating for bone health, osteoporosis treatment, and cancer-induced bone metastases studies. Her research provided a new platform for bone-related investigation and improved the understanding of the bone resorption process."

Doctor of Philosophy (Mathematics)

• Dr. Sophie MacDonald: "Dr. MacDonald solved several problems related to symbolic dynamics, a mathematical field that explores deep, technical analogies between the thermodynamics of gases and magnets and the grammars of formal languages. She introduced definitions and methods that put earlier work in a systematic framework, emphasizing structural and combinatorial ideas."
• Dr. Ethan White: "Counting sums and differences between sets is a central part of many questions in additive combinatorics. Dr. White developed a new technique combining harmonic analysis and optimization to nearly resolve a longstanding question in this field. He expects that his new method can be extended to other problems in additive combinatorics."
• Dr. Nathan Lawrence: "Dr. Lawrence unified elements from reinforcement learning and control theory to solve industrially relevant problems. His framework enables learning stable control policies directly from data. This ensures that maintaining controllers in an industrial setting is efficient, safe, and automated."
• Dr. Min Jun Jo: "Dr. Jo studied inviscid damping phenomena in mathematical fluid dynamics. He developed a derivative loss minimizing methodology that captures the extra stabilizing mechanism around certain stationary states of the governing fluid systems that are not inherently energy dissipative."

Doctor of Philosophy (Mechanical Engineering)

• Dr. Athena Liu: "Dr. Liu proposed a model for liquid jet impingement on a moving surface which is the key process in industrial coating. She then applied the model to optimize the coating process in order to improve the quality of the coated liquid film and minimize any waste liquid from spills."
• Dr. Sarah Crosby: "Dr. Crosby developed a novel methodology to improve the prediction accuracy of occupants thermal comfort. Dr. Crosby's work suggested that predictions of thermal comfort can be improved by adding measurements of CO2 levels. Ventilation rates can be increased with minimal building energy demand increase while keeping thermal comfort maintained."
• Dr. Behzad Zakani: "Dr. Zakani developed a new class of water-based lubricants. These lubricants are environmenta-friendly and possess improved lubricity compared to other industrially available, water-based lubricants."
• Dr. Arash Nikzad: "Dr. Nikzad has developed a model to simulate the performance of Liquid Crystals (LCs) in the devices with rubbing surfaces, such as journal bearing, to improve the energy efficiency. The results of his research provided us with a deeper understanding on how chiral and non-chiral LCs behave under complex flows."
• Dr. Chunlei Song: "Dr. Song develops a mechanics model to investigate the chip formation mechanism in machining of CFRP with different fiber alignment configurations. The models developed can be used to instruct and optimize the practical machining process planning, by selecting proper fiber orientation, cutting tool geometry, and process parameters."

Doctor of Philosophy (Medical Genetics)

• Dr. Ebrahim Eskandari-Nasab: "Dr. Eskandari showed that CASPASE-3, which is an enzyme known for its role in mediating cell death, has pro-survival roles in human mammary cells. This research assist us in understanding the mechanisms of cancer cell survival, and can help improve treatments for breast cancer therapy."
• Dr. Erika Nicole Scott: "Dr. Scott identified genetic predictors for two chemotherapy-related adverse drug reactions: cisplatin-induced hearing loss and anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity. This research informs the development of genetic tests to predict and prevent these adverse reactions and ultimately improve the quality of life for cancer patients."
• Dr. Jafar Sadiq Hasbullah: "Dr. Hasbullah investigated the role of specific gene variants that increases the risk of patients developing heart failure after treatment from certain chemotherapy drugs. His research identified critical biological pathways that can cause this toxicity and demonstrated how drugs that modulate these pathways can prevent this adverse drug reaction."
• Dr. Amanda Ha: "Dr. Ha studied the function and regulation of a unique class of genes which are expressed only when inherited from the mother or father. Her research furthers our understanding of the mechanism regulating the expression of a maternally-expressed gene and may impact the management and diagnosis of patients with imprinting disorders."
• Dr. Fangwu Wang: "Dr. Wang studied the biological process that regulates the cells that give rise to different types of white blood cells in humans. She found these cells proliferate at a faster speed at an early step of their differentiation. In addition, the generation of lymphocytes is dependent on a mechanism that controls how their genomic DNA is organized."

Doctor of Philosophy (Microbiology and Immunology)

• Dr. Mihai Serban Cirstea: "Dr. Cirstea explored the role of gut microbiota in Parkinson's disease. Using human clinical studies and experimental models, he discovered several new connections between the bacteria in our guts and disease-relevant features."
• Dr. Jorge Arturo Pena: "Dr. Peña Díaz studied a group of molecules utilized by intestinal bacteria to perform cell-to-cell communication, and investigated their importance both during health and disease. His research will help in the development of novel therapeutics that could be used to manipulate bacterial behaviour as a method to treat infections."
• Dr. Christina Louise Wiesmann: "Dr. Wiesmann identified novel conserved mechanisms of bacterial association with plant and animal hosts, providing insights into how bacteria can protect against, or cause disease. This work ultimately aims to help in the development of novel therapeutics to prevent bacterial pathogenesis."
• Dr. Andrew Stanislaw Santos: "Dr. Santos studied how pathogenic E. coli manipulates normal human intestinal cell functions. He found that E. coli modifies important human signalling proteins, allowing it to influence how cells behave throughout an infection. This research provides insight into the mechanisms E. coli uses to survive and thrive during infection."
• Dr. Sarah Elizabeth Woodward: "Dr. Woodward used genetic barcoding to study population dynamics of intestinal pathogens. She found that manipulating host protective barriers to infection determines overall disease outcome. This research provides insights into infection ecology and how the gut environment can shape the population-level diversity of outbreaks."
• Dr. Iwona Malgorzata Niemietz: "Dr. Niemietz defined mechanisms by which hyaluronan influences human neutrophil functionality and how this potentially contributes to childhood-onset rheumatic diseases. Her research significantly expands our understanding of neutrophils in the human inflammatory response."

Doctor of Philosophy (Mining Engineering)

• Dr. Ryan MacIver: "Dewatering of slurries and sludge is a critical industrial process. Dr. MacIver's research developed an approach to analyzing 3D X-ray images of flocs and sediments to provide new insights into how floc structure and composition change during the dewatering proces."
• Dr. Vinoth Kumar Kuppusamy: "Dr. Kuppusamy developed a process of extracting rare earth elements from waste material. These elements are essential for the manufacturing of EV motors & wind turbines and are critical for the transition to green energy-economy. Because of Dr. Kuppusamy's work, these elements can be co-produced from BC coal deposits in a sustainable manner."
• Dr. Ali Fahrettin Kuyuk: "Dr. Kuyuk investigated cooling systems used in deep underground mines. His research offered renewable alternatives to energy-intensive conventional approaches. He also explored numerical and experimental methods to model these systems for better performance. His work has implications that will advance and improve current mine cooling practices."
• Dr. Lina Xie: "Dr. Xie studied the geochemical processes in the rhizosphere during the successful establishment of phytostabilization at sulfidic mine tailings. This work reveals the role of soil acidification and neutralization affecting the metal mobility for the phytostabilization, and how amendments can be combined to increase neutralization capacity and enhance the metal stabilization."
• Dr. Santiago Seiler: "Dr. Seiler developed novel flotation conditions for the selective separation of a nickel mineral, named awaruite, from ultramafic rocks. Awaruite deposits are a promising nickel feedstock to support the transformation to clean low carbon technologies. His research contributes to the development of awaruite deposits into nickel mines."

Doctor of Philosophy (Neuroscience)

• Dr. Yang Ge: "Dr. Ge developed novel drugs targeting GluN2B-containing NMDA receptors and demonstrated that these drugs improved learning and memory in rat models. This research generated a potential pharmacotherapy for various learning disabilities."
• Dr. Yundi Wang: "Dr. Wang examined how the drug mefenamic acid affects the delayed cardiac rectifier current revealing a drug binding site. In neuroscience, she identified aberrant forelimb motor behavior and cortical changes in a Huntington Disease mouse model. This research revealed the importance of multiple techniques in therapeutic development."
• Dr. Brett Hathaway: "Dr. Hathaway studied risky decision making in rats. They found that pairing lights and sounds with reward on a risky decision-making task can both increase risky choice and impair flexibility. They identified the orbitofrontal cortex as a key region underlying this effect. These findings advance our understanding of gambling disorder in humans."
• Dr. Aarya Vaikakkara Chithran: "Dr. Vaikakkara Chithran's work explores how neural circuits are maintained in the adult nervous system. She demonstrated that axon guidance cues are essential for the survival of adult neurons. Her research also contributed to the development of a novel tauopathy model to study how protein toxicity leads to neurodegeneration and neuronal death."
• Dr. Tristan Joshua Philippe: "Dr. Philippe identified novel neuronal targets involved in adaptive responses to stress. He subsequently demonstrated these to modulate the serotonin subtype 1A receptor. Finally, he set the stage to study the role, connectivity, and effects of this modulation on health-related risk factors (e.g. metabolism, stress hormone, behaviour)."
• Dr. Shunya Yagi: "Dr. Yagi investigated sex differences in how new neurons in the hippocampus are related to learning and memory in males and females, and roles of estrogens in females. He found sex differences in new cell production and how they are integrated into the brain. This knowledge will lead to a better understanding of hippocampus-related diseases."
• Dr. Lucy Aceves Serrano: "Dr. Aceves investigated the effects of non-invasive brain stimulation in healthy brains. Her research centered on the evaluation of neurotransmission and brain function, providing insights into the therapeutic applications of this brain-stimulation technique."
• Dr. Wenlin Chen: "Dr.Chen developed a novel drug for treating stroke. He also extended his research interest to employing precision medicine to assit the management of young patients with epilepy that are caused by rare variants. His studies showed a great potential in improving the life quality of the old and young patients."

Doctor of Philosophy (Nursing)

• Dr. Catherine Ojerinde: "Dr. Ojerinde investigated the cervical screening experiences of Black African immigrant women in BC. She found that the participants' social identities interact with different contexts of Canadian society and the healthcare system to create barriers to cervical screening uptake. Her findings may have implications for practice."

Doctor of Philosophy (Oceanography)

• Dr. Florian Lueskow: "Dr. Lüskow studied the ecology of oceanic gelatinous plankton. Long-established paradigms shedding a bad light on jellyfish's reputation were challenged. The novel knowledge obtained provided strong support for the "jelly web" persistence and allows for data-driven parameterisation of gelatinous zooplankton in global biogeochemical models."
• Dr. Tereza Jana Jarnikova: "Dr. Jarnikova used a submesoscale ocean model of the Salish Sea to study anthropogenic ocean acidification in this valuable ecosystem, showing that significant changes have occurred since the preindustrial era. She developed a carbonate chemistry module for the model, as well as applying machine-learning methods to model interpretation."

Doctor of Philosophy (Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)

• Dr. Sreeparna Vappala: "Dr. Vappala developed cationic polymeric agents that are safe and effective in treating sepsis. They reduce thrombosis and hyperinflammation in sepsis by targeting polyanionic mediators."

Doctor of Philosophy (Pharmaceutical Sciences)

• Dr. Alice Yu: "Dr. Yu developed and validated two novel reporter gene mouse models that can quickly measure the effectiveness of genome editing in animals. They are valuable tools to evaluate and optimize new ways to deliver gene editors into various tissues. The long-term goal of this research is to improve the safety and efficacy of genome-targeted therapeutics."
• Dr. Karan Khanna: "Dr. Khanna examined how nanoscale flow cytometry could improve the analysis and isolation of extracellular vesicles. He identified how STEAP-1 positive extracellular vesicles can be diagnostic of prostate cancer more accurately than currently available blood tests, and subsequently developed a novel method to isolate this subpopulation."
• Dr. Tullio Vito Francesco Esposito: "Dr. Esposito used nuclear imaging techniques to study the pharmacokinetics of native and nano-formulated cationic host defense peptides (CHDPs), naturally occurring compounds that direct kill bacteria and bolster the immune system to better fight infections. Important insights were gained in this work that are expected to help advance the development of CHDPs and their formulations toward clinical use."
• Dr. Louis Lin: "Dr. Lin built a mathematical model describing the unique oral absorption of an anti-cancer drug in order to understand the responsible mechanisms. This model can inform drug research and development by predicting oral absorption of new drug candidates and determine dose and regimen of drugs showing similar absorption characteristics."
• Dr. Rui Shang: "Dr. Shang examined the metabolic effects of a growth factor, VEGFB, in the heart under normal conditions and following diabetes. Her research brings attention to fat utilization as an additional means for development of diabetic heart disease. Her findings are expected to advance the clinical management of this complication seen with diabetes."

Doctor of Philosophy (Pharmacology)

• Dr. David Kim: "Dr. Kim studied movement disorders in precariously housed and homeless people. He found that substance use and psychosis were differentially associated with movement disorders, and that parkinsonism rapidly increased over time. His research helps increase awareness of movement disorders in at-risk groups, especially during the overdose crisis."
• Dr. Pouria Jalily Hasani: "Mutations have rendered the current therapeutics ineffective against the circulating strains of the pandemic viruses. Dr. Jalily designed and developed a new class of antivirals that can inhibit novel pandemic strains of the influenza virus.His work can aid the development of novel antivirals against mutated variants of influenza and coronaviruses."

Doctor of Philosophy (Philosophy)

• Dr. Jordan Joseph Wadden: "Dr. Wadden examined the bioethical implications of using artificial intelligence and machine learning in healthcare decision-making, specifically focusing on advanced diagnostic systems. He demonstrated how these systems entail new obligations for clinicians toward their patients and how they may impact a patient's ability to consent to treatment."
• Dr. Katherine Cheng: "Dr. Cheng studied the social construction of personal identity."
• Dr. Graham Seth Moore: "Dr. Moore developed a philosophical account of truth that combines insights from formal semantics and current theories of reference, and then defended his account against rivals that seek to trivialize the philosophy of truth. He subsequently applied his theory to address the question of how thinking in terms of truth can aid philosophical inquiry."

Doctor of Philosophy (Physics)

• Dr. Adekunle Kayode Aina: "Dr. Aina developed new computer-based methods for engineering vaccines to treat brain diseases. He showed that the methods are effective for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease in computer models, making them valuable in drug development. His findings benefit those with brain diseases, as well as researchers and the pharmaceutical industry."
• Dr. Adam Dvorak: "Dr. Dvorak developed a method for performing magnetic resonance imaging about 25 times faster than conventional techniques, while simultaneously improving the image quality. This method is implemented for scanners from 3 different manufacturers, including a small, portable, inexpensive scanner that could revolutionize access to MRI medical imaging."
• Dr. Robin Newhouse: "Dr. Newhouse used data from CERN's Large Hadron Collider to search for signs of yet-undiscovered "sterile neutrinos." He helped develop new algorithms and analyses to extend the reach of this search to new parts of the ATLAS detector. If found, these particles may answer several open questions about the fundamental nature of our universe."
• Dr. Xiruo Yan: "Dr. Yan's research focuses on a quantum computer architecture built upon photonic and spin qubits in silicon. Dr. Yan has developed a universal fault-tolerant architecture with practical implementation, as well as specific operational procedures that increase the quantum information fault-tolerant threshold."
• Dr. Yukiya Saito: "Dr. Saito developed statistical and machine learning tools for understanding the roles of nuclear physics in the production of the heaviest elements in the Universe, the so-called r-process. These developments connect the uncertainties of our understanding of the r-process and the properties of exotic nuclei."
• Dr. Hyungki Shin: "Dr. Shin researched titanium-based oxide thin films, with distinct properties for advanced electronic devices. Using molecular beam epitaxy, he grew these films and analyzed their electrical and magnetic traits through electrical transport and x-ray spectroscopy. These findings enhance comprehension of oxide films in cutting-edge electronics."
• Dr. Pranav Garg: "Dr. Garg studied how proteins involved in ALS and COVID-19 work at the molecular scale in causing disease. A potential vaccination strategy against coronaviruses has emerged from this. Dr. Garg also established culturing protocols and genome sequence for a comb jelly which will be used to understand animal evolution."
• Dr. Sarah Rosemary Morris: "Dr. Morris studied advanced MRI scans which can measure white matter health in the brain and spinal cord. She used these scans to quantify myelin across the brain in healthy children and adults and to track myelin loss after a spinal cord injury. Her research validated the specificity of the scan contrast by comparison with histological staining."
• Dr. Sofia Fatigoni: "Dr. Fatigoni contributed to our understanding of the early Universe by designing, building and deploying a Cosmic Microwave Background telescope at the South Pole. Her research was focused on understanding how to clean data from Atmospheric noise, so to improve the quality of observation made from the ground."
• Dr. Robin Hayes: "Dr. Hayes used the high-energy proton collisions of the Large Hadron Collider to study the Higgs boson, a fundamental particle that gives mass to all other particles. Her work contributed to the first observation of a specific process involving the Higgs boson and furthered our understanding of this piece of the Standard Model of particle physics."
• Dr. Peter Henry Gysbers: "Dr. Gysbers calculated the properties of atomic nuclei using a first principles description of interacting protons and neutrons. He resolved a long-standing discrepancy between theory and experiment in rates of beta decays and improved predictions of nuclear reactions for comparison to future and ongoing experiments."
• Dr. Tarun Reddy Tummuru: "Dr. Tummuru studied quantum materials that can be assembled from simple building blocks to unveil novel emergent properties. Experimental realization of the proposed structures could find use in the development of quantum technology."

Doctor of Philosophy (Political Science)

• Dr. Camille Desmares: "Dr. Desmarès studies patterns of discrimination in key citizenship policies adopted after World War II in France and Switzerland. She finds that new policies (re)introduced discriminatory provisions based on gender, race, ability status, and one's mode of nationality acquisition. Her work highlights the limits and drifts of liberal citizenship. "
• Dr. Saltanat Zhumatova: "Dr. Zhumatova developed a policy index that measures the scope of mainstreaming, a policy of immigrant integration, across European states. She used the index and other data to examine if mainstreaming helps immigrants find employment. Her research contributes to a better understanding of whether immigrant integration policies work."
• Dr. Stefano Burzo: "Foreign investment can benefit the recipient economy. Dr. Burzo examined empirically the political and economic aspects that influence the destination of foreign investments. His findings contribute to policy discussions on the redefinition of the international investment regime, particularly in relation to developing countries."

Doctor of Philosophy (Population and Public Health)

• Dr. Reka Elizabeth Pataky: "Dr. Pataky's research explored methods to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of precision medicine technologies. She found that using genomic testing to define eligibility for cancer therapy can provide value for money. These new evaluation methods will help health care systems to better assess the value of funding precision medicine."
• Dr. Elizabeth M.K. Nethery: "Dr. Nethery explored how we screen for gestational diabetes in pregnancy. Her work showed that changes in screening methods in BC were the primary drivers for a rapid increase in this condition. This points to an ongoing need to balance benefits and burdens of this diagnosis when considering screening changes."
• Dr. Punit Virk: "Dr. Virk adapted a self-administered mental health screening instrument for post-secondary students (called HEARTSMAP-U). He applied a user-centred approach and engaged diverse student sub-populations in validating the instrument, to ensure it can be accurately and equitably applied in post-secondary educational settings."

Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology)

• Dr. Ke Zhang: "Dr. Zhang studies online gamblers' betting behavior, examining how prior wins/losses affect ones' future betting. She identifies high-risk gamblers based on their behavior and develops interventions to reduce bets, improving prevention and intervention for gambling disorder"
• Dr. Iris Wai Yan Lok: "Dr. Lok studied whether people avoid talking to strangers because they underestimate other people's willingness to connect. Her work led to the development of an actionable framework that outlines the conditions that need to be met before strangers decide to engage with each other."
• Dr. Patrick Klaiber: "Dr. Klaiber studied the minor uplifting events that occur frequently in daily life. He showed how the lifespan developmental context and personality differences are linked to how many of these positive events people experience and how they respond to them."
• Dr. Debra Ann Bercovici: "Dr. Bercovici examined how neural activity in the prefrontal cortex supports behavioural flexibility. She showed that prefrontal neurons convey distinctive information for guiding choices during different phases of the decision-action sequence. Her research reveals how neural activity in this region shapes animals' perception of the decision context."
• Dr. Anna Maslany: "Dr. Maslany investigated how affective valence influences visual attention scope. She examined the theory that positive valence broadens attention scope, and negative valence narrows it. In 5 experiments, she found no evidence for the theory. Thus, she proposed limits under which the influence of valence on visual attention scope does not occur."

Doctor of Philosophy (Rehabilitation Sciences)

• Dr. Lyndal Solomons: "Dr. Solomons studied patterns of nervous system sensitisation in musculoskeletal pain syndromes. This research gives insight into the nature of persistent pain problems that is expected to inform more effective management strategies."
• Dr. Nafeez Syed: "Dr. Syed studied the acute effects of air pollution on lung function and exercise responses in individuals with & without COPD. He found that air pollution negatively affected exercise responses more in healthy individuals compared to COPD. This work has implications for physical activity guidelines during periods of increased air pollution."

Doctor of Philosophy (Religious Studies)

• Dr. Gillian Glass: "Dr. Glass studied stories of human encounters with the divine in ancient Jewish, Christian, and pagan literature, often called epiphanies. This comparative research illustrated shared beliefs in how and why the gods intervened in human life, and contributes to our understanding of intercultural relations in the ancient Mediterranean."

Doctor of Philosophy (Reproductive and Developmental Sciences)

• Dr. Faten Farouk Abdelhafez Ahmed: "Dr. Ahmed showed the mechanistic pathway by which the growth factor myostatin increases the invasion of human placenta into the mother's womb to support the developing baby. Her study illustrates a role for myostatin in pregnancy. It also helps in understanding the effects of its dysregulation in several pregnancy complications."

Doctor of Philosophy (Resources, Environment and Sustainability)

• Dr. Yeonuk Kim: "Dr. Kim introduced a new theory to understand terrestrial evaporation from a land-atmosphere coupling perspective. The proposed theory effectively estimates evaporation and its upper limit, which he evaluated using field observations and climate simulations. This study improves hydrologic analyses particularly in warming climatic conditions."
• Dr. Madison Paige Stevens: "How do conservation actors make decisions in practice? Dr. Stevens shows that governance of protected areas is changing to reflect new commitments to human rights, collaboration and evidence. Her analyses highlight diverse solutions to the biodiversity crisis, offering policy-relevant insights for more just and effective community-led conservation."

Doctor of Philosophy (School and Applied Child Psychology)

• Dr. Lindsay Starosta: "Dr. Starosta's research examined high school teachers responses to exclusionary behavior. Not only did teachers in her study recognize that both identity- and non-identity-based bullying were serious and required intervention, but they also appreciated the need to respond in ways that were supportive and addressed the specific type of bullying."

Doctor of Philosophy (Sociology)

• Dr. Leah Joyce Keegahn: "American Indians have the highest rates of early school leaving but are often left out of data. Working with the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, Dr. Keegahn examines this omission through Indigenous education and data sovereignty. Her research reveals the ongoing erasure of American Indians and ways the Swinomish have sought to address this."

Doctor of Philosophy (Statistics)

• Dr. Saifuddin Syed: "Dr. Syed's work on non-reversible parallel tempering showed how parallel computing could improve the scalability of Monte Carlo methods and solve challenging statistic inference problems. He was awarded the Pierre Robillard award for the best PhD thesis in statistics and probability in Canada."

Doctor of Philosophy (Zoology)

• Dr. Julian Tam Nhan: "Dr. Nguyen studied different roles of the nuclear localization signals in the life cycle of the Influenza A virus. She found these signals are important for the virus's nuclear import and nucleolus accumulation. Her findings deepen our knowledge of the influenza A virus's biology, which may lead to new pharmaceutical approaches for flu treatment."
• Dr. Coreen Laura Nicole Forbes: "Dr. Forbes tested how ecological communities are affected by rising temperatures and fragmented habitats. Her experiments help us understand how species respond to global change."
• Dr. Anne Kim: "Dr. Kim's research focused on mechanisms that reduce metabolic rate in small hibernating rodents. These comparative studies take us one step closer to understanding and utilizing naturally occurring biological phenomena for biomedical advancement."
• Dr. Derek Anthony Somo: "Dr. Somo investigated the adaptation of aerobic capacity in fish in the intertidal environment. Focusing on the effects of oxygen, temperature, and body size, these studies illuminate how marine organisms in this environment have evolved to thrive under harsh, variable conditions, with lessons for how species might fare under climate change."
• Dr. Fiona Beaty: "Dr. Beaty studied human impacts and relationships with the ocean. She revealed broad negative effects of climate change on marine animals and identified traits and places that increase vulnerability. She also co-created a values-mapping project with Indigenous and local partners in the Salish Sea. Her work helps us steward life in the ocean."
• Dr. Elizabeth Natola: "Dr. Natola studied the evolutionary process whereby 1 species splits into multiple different species using 3 hybridizing species of woodpeckers as a study system. She found the 3 species arose due to their environmental, behavioral, and genomic differences. Her study demonstrates evolutionary processes that have produced Canada's biodiversity."