A doctoral citation summarizes the nature of the independent research, provides a high-level overview of the study, states the significance of the work and says who will benefit from the findings in clear, non-specialized language, so that members of a lay audience will understand it.
| Year | Citation | Program |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Dr. Khowaja conducted an economic evaluation of the community-level interventions for pre-eclampsia. His research highlights incremental costs to the health system and families. Though substantial investments are being made for technology adoption, he argues that a societal perspective is imperative to inform decisions on resource allocation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Reproductive and Developmental Sciences (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Su studied end-to-end computational imaging systems using numerical optimization and machine learning. By introducing time-resolved image formation models for color and depth cameras, his algorithms tackled some of the challenges in machine perception. Dr. Su's research opens the door to many exciting directions in computational photography research. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Boroushaki developed new methods for constructing solutions to stochastic differential equations. These equations are used to model population dynamics in biology, demonstrate evolution of a fluid velocity and turbulence in physics, and model stock prices and risky assets in finance. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Qu's study focussed on currently incurable advanced prostate cancer. Using a state-of-the-art cancer model he showed that anticancer activity of first line chemotherapy can be markedly boosted with the drug Aneustat without increasing toxicity. This drug combination may lead to improved clinical treatment of advanced prostate cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Oncology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Chouaib studied the watershed hydrology in the Eastern United States. She found that the interaction between the climate variability and watershed characteristics are determinant of the flow response. Her analysis suggested a process-based model to quantify the flow. This knowledge solves issues of prediction at ungauged basins. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Peters studied how the brain focuses attention and plans leg movements after stroke. She found that the amount of attention that is paid to sensory information during movement planning is an important factor in community balance and mobility. This knowledge will aid with developing targeted rehabilitation of balance and mobility after stroke. | Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Chen examined both the design and analysis of computer experiments from a statistical perspective. He developed a new method to estimate the unknown parameters of a Gaussian process model. He also assessed the performance of some existing methods in sequential experimental design and provided insights into issues faced by practitioners. | Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. McCormick studied the costs of lupus and related systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases in British Columbia. Her estimates of the extra medical costs of these little-known forms of arthritis, and impact on patients' paid & unpaid work, will inform public spending and research priorities | Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Mitelut showed that spontaneous neural activity has temporal structure and can be linked across spatial scaled between single neurons to entire cortical hemispheres. This research further advances our understanding of cortical activity in mammals. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Kerr established a new tool to study viruses that infect agriculturally and economically important insects, such as honeybees. With this tool, he researched how these viruses produce proteins. This work has deepened our knowledge of fundamental protein synthesis, common to all life, and our understanding of this emerging family of viruses. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Matheson examined efforts by a broad range of extra-governmental actors to influence foreign policy in France's early Third Republic. Their consensus building helped to enable the Franco-Russian military alliance of 1894, illustrating the role of domestic public opinion in international relations. | Doctor of Philosophy in History (PhD) |
| 2018 | The Nansen Initiative was an intergovernmental process that addressed the challenges of cross-border disaster and climate change displacement. Dr. Okeowo examined the Protection Agenda of the Initiative and argued that it has the tendency to regulate the behaviour of states on the recognition and protection of cross-border disaster-displaced persons. | Doctor of Philosophy in Law (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Lee studied the mechanisms of polar distribution of cell wall components in plant cells. The asymmetric distribution of cell wall components contributes to the heterogeneity of cell wall properties, which, in turn, influences plant cell structure and function. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Chen examined the textures and microstructures of an alloy comprised of aluminum, manganese, iron and silicon. He studied the different conditions and relevant mechanical behaviours and developed a model based on the local texture and microstructure of this compound. This work gives new insights into the mechanical properties of complex alloys. | Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Vlok studied the composition and distribution of aquatic RNA viruses from the poles to the tropics. She found more than 27 virus genera and developed a taxonomic method to classify many new species. Her study has a strong impact on the understanding of the complex and dynamic roles played by RNA viruses in aquatic ecosystems. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Yang studied the life of an eighth-century Buddhist monk of mixed Indian and Sogdian descent. He illustrated how a religious system of Indian heritage was integrated into the state institutions in China. His work enriches our understanding of cross-Asian cultural exchange and the relationship between the state and Buddhist church in medieval times. | Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Studies (PhD) |
| 2018 | Electrical chargeability is a diagnostic physical property for various geoscience applications such as mining. Dr. Kang's doctoral studies focused on developing a workflow that extracts a three-dimensional chargeability model from airborne electromagnetic geophysical surveys. This work facilitates locating mineral ores from the air. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Liu develped a theory of intertwining distributions on algebraic groups. He applied the theory to study intertwining operators between smooth parabolic inductions of real reductive algebraic groups. His study also gives explicit decription of local behaviour of intertwining operators. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Lim uncovered a novel mechanism for how the cancer-causing gene K-RAS modulates antioxidant levels within cancer cells to protect them from damaging free radicals and in order to support cancer initiation and growth. This research presents a new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of difficult-to-treat cancers driven by K-RAS. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2018 | The ability to inhibit actions that are potentially harmful is integral to survival. Dr. Piantadosi illustrated that two subregions of the nucleus accumbens, the Core and Shell, contribute to partially distinct aspects of aversive motivation. This work furthers our understanding of disorders such as addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Garforth examined the relationship between Chinese character reading and English literacy skills among students who had English as a second language and Chinese as their first language. She found that measures of English phonological awareness accounted for more of a relationship to English literacy skills than Chinese character reading did. | Doctor of Philosophy in Special Education (PhD) |
| 2018 | Plant cuticular waxes cover a plant surface as a hydrophobic layer that prevents desiccation and other environmental stresses. Dr. Liu identified novel regulatory factors controlling the waxes biosynthesis during plant development and in response to environmental cues. Her results may have important agricultural applications. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2018 | Numerous everyday materials and products are made up of polymers. Dr. Ebrahimi studied the molecular characteristics on the flow behaviour in molten polymers. She developed a comprehensive universal model to predict the processing behaviour of various polymers based on their structure. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Lambert-Shirzad studied arm motion coordination in healthy and post-stroke populations. He created a mathematical model to show how a stroke alters healthy motion coordination patterns. This model provides a better understanding of impairment post-stroke and will aid in the design of more efficient therapies for people with stroke. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Parente examined emerging forms of governance in the Russian and American Arctic, particularly the role of transnational natural resource corporations. Her project helps us understand how decision-making practices shape policy outcomes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD) |