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. Elleouet studied spruce populations in Alaska to understand how expanding forests evolve in a changing climate. She found that the trees' long time to maturity and the capacity to disperse pollen across large distances might help these forests keep a healthy level of genetic diversity. She also explored the use of genomic data to infer past demographic changes in natural tree populations. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Napier studied running biomechanics and injury in runners. His work showed that higher braking forces were associated with a significantly increased risk of injury. He subsequently showed that these forces can be reduced through a gait-retraining program, and provided recommendations on how to achieve this in a clinical environment. | Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD) |
| 2018 | Did rivers ever flow on Mars? The remnants of channels on its surface suggest they did. Dr. Grau Galofre showed that although rivers existed, the majority flowed beneath hundreds of meters of glacial ice. This discovery may help to understand the climate and hydrology of ancient Mars and to focus the search for life outside of our planet. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Turan asked why people obey political authorities even when obedience goes against their values or interests. By using a historical analysis, he argues that past authorities engineered the socio-political isolation of their subjects to break rebellious communities into obedient individuals. Current practices of obedience reflect this past. | Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Lay studied individuals' thoughts and emotions when in solitude (without social interaction) across cultures. Far from being an inherently lonely experience, she found motivation, older age, and social resources can help us thrive in solitude. Solitude is a multifaceted part of daily life, and her research reveals ways we may reap its benefits. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Fung investigated the potential of using synthetic amino acids for the treatment of pain. His work identified the small molecule, ACBC, as being capable of alleviating responses in various experimental models of pain. These studies assist in the development of much needed new medicines for pain management. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Kellman-McFarlane's research focused on cognitive processes associated with Hoarding Disorder. Her doctoral thesis explored the decision-making process that often causes people who hoard to see parting with possessions as distressing and unreasonable. Her work aims to inform the development of improved psychological treatments for hoarding disorder. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Johnston worked with Inuit mothers in Nunavut to examine child welfare in relation to changes families experience due to mining in the territory. Her research informs standards, legislation, policies and programs to protect Inuit children and youth in ways that respect and incorporate Inuit culture and traditional knowledge. | Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Wang studied how international trade affects firm performance. Using empirical analysis and theoretical modeling, she showed that an increase in import competition can lead to more innovation as firms "escape" the increased competition, and that longer and broader buyer-supplier relationships can improve the performance of importing firms. | Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Schwartz developed methodology for inference in models with many simultaneously interacting agents, allowing us to better exploit the rich information contained in data on social networks and two-sided matching markets. The tools are applied to study how information frictions affect the decisions and job outcomes of workers in labour markets. | Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Pan's PhD dissertation is the first detailed study of the effects of long duration earthquakes on the collapse risk of timber buildings. This research is very timely for building developments in southwestern British Columbia. The study is expected to have a significant impact on future building codes for timber structures. | Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Sanjuan studied project management best practices in construction projects and their relationship with project outcomes. He developed an integrated framework of standards to build an assessment tool. Results show that the stronger the adherence to best practices the better the projects' outcomes in terms of scope, cost, time and client satisfaction. | Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Chan studied differential equations, refining an existing method and developing new techniques for finding solutions, which, as an application, provides a counter-example in an open problem known as fractional De Giorgi conjecture. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2018 | Several microorganisms use elasticity to creep around, evade a predator, and to interact with their environment in fluids. Using mathematical models, Dr. Nasouri examined the effects of elasticity on the behaviors of microorganisms and showed that, indeed, elasticity can play a key role in motion of a cell in fluids. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Brown examined appeals to personal responsibility in public health campaigns. Personal responsibility is essential to public health, but its encouragement also has serious consequences, some of which this research documents. Four case studies illuminate the need for contexts supportive of personal responsibility, to ensure the health of all. | Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Cleworth studied how a threat, such as standing near the edge of an elevated surface, influences the perception of balance-related movements. He found that when threatened, our balance perceptions during various tasks are amplified. His findings can assist clinicians and researchers in developing rehabilitation programs and reducing fall risk. | Doctor of Philosophy in Kinesiology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Bass studied the fate of upstream migrating adult Pacific salmon that encounter fishing nets but escape or are released. He found that some net types cause higher mortality than others and that biological factors may have a large impact on survival. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Lushchenko has shown how medieval historical texts were used to create guides to leadership in seventeenth-century Japan. He examined the content and context of several previously unstudied commentaries that offer advice to rulers on governance and ethics. His findings clarify new aspects of pre-modern statecraft, education, and scholarship. | Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Studies (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Hickmott worked towards the development of new gene-based therapies for the rare genetic blindness known as aniridia. He developed new DNA elements to direct the expression of new therapies, further characterized a mouse model of aniridia, and used that mouse to show that PAX6 gene therapy can, at least, temporarily improve the aniridic cornea. | Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Marshall developed a technique to study how human mitochondria trigger cell death. Using this technique, she found new events implicated in cell death as well as unique events triggered during bacterial infection. This work addresses a technical gap in studying the 'powerhouse of the cell' and its control over human cell death. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Shrestha developed computational algorithms to identify and prioritize cancer driver genes. He identified a novel molecular subtype of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, potentially vulnerable to immunotherapy. His work helps clinicians contextualize genomic information in clinical decision making, thus enabling precision oncology. | Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Koenig explored the process of creating a musical representation of the emotions experienced from the perspective of a child who has become lost. The various emotional stages were transformed into musical ideas, motifs, and phrases for full orchestra. The subsequent work was able to express this narrative without specific program notes. | Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition (DMA) |
| 2018 | Dr. Nayebzadah studied the representation of Afghan-Canadian Muslim diaspora in postcolonial fiction through the practice of a/r/tography. Her work raises questions about biases, presuppositions, and world-views on Muslims. This research informs discussion around the role of authors as constructing and consolidating notions of "self" and "other". | Doctor of Philosophy in Language and Literacy Education (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Chen investigated how natural languages vary in expressing temporal and modal information. Through fieldwork on Atayal, an endangered Austronesian language of Taiwan she uncovered new ways in which meaning components can be combined. Her work contributes to modifying current theories and typology and provides valuable language documentation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Zhao developed methods to design switching gain-scheduled controllers for dynamic systems with significant dynamic variations in their operating range. He subsequently applied the developed methods to engineering systems such as optical image stabilizers and offshore wind turbines, resulting in improved control system performance. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering (PhD) |