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 | NID |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Dr. Rosenman studied social finance, a form of investing that tries to generate benefits for society alongside private profits. She found that social finance depends on public subsidies, but gives investors more control over the governance of anti-poverty services. The study illustrates some of the limitations of market-based poverty solutions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD) |
| 2017 | Focussing on seahorses, Dr. Kuo studied how fisheries and trade of marine fishes changed with international export regulations. Her work helps improve the way we quantify seahorse catch and trade, and helps identify the countries that need more conservation efforts. Her study has implications for the management of sustainable wildlife trade. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2017 | What is meant when we promote the idea of development? Dr. Murray explored political meanings of "development" in one site of social struggle-a public hearing on building heights in Vancouver's Chinatown. She offers an activist method for unpacking the social, material and historical dynamics through which such clashing public truths are produced. | Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Vavlekas studied the polytetrafluoroethylene paste extrusion, to explain the role of structure formation on the Poissons ratio of final products such as stents and other implants. He used a model to simulate the transient tensile results. This work increases our understanding of potential treatments for atrial fibrillation or esophageal diseases. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Cochrane examined the relationship between structural and electronic properties of materials used for organic photovoltaics on the single molecule level with scanning probe microscopy. This work results in information that can lead to development of more efficient solar cell devices. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Laver studied stem cell treatments for retinal degenerative diseases. He developed a cell-based therapeutic approach for regenerating co-dependent layers of the retina. His work will have significant impact on treatment for patients that suffer from advanced retinal degeneration. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Amini Niaki studied computational mechanics and structural analysis. He developed a multi-phase, integrated model to simulate the processing of composite materials. His work will provide engineers and researchers in the composite manufacturing industry with a fast, convenient, and accurate simulation tool. | Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Mohibullah examined how legacies of the 9/11 attacks, particularly Islamophobia, affected the senses of self and place of Muslims living in New York City. Her research linked questions of citizenship, identity, place and affect, and challenged the misconceptions that Muslims are monolithic and that Islam is an inherently violent belief system. | Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Beauvais studied the importance of talking for democratic politics, and the problem of inequality. Her work revealed that women participate in in political talk at lower rates than men, and have less influence than men when they speak. Her research clarified how inequality can undermine discursive political participation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Davis' study uncovers the procedures and policies governing the military's acquisition and ongoing control of vast tracts of national territory in Canada and the United States. In examining how emergency war powers and land use practices took hold and were given permanent spatial arrangements, this study provides a critical overview into origins and functions of North American defense lands. | Doctor of Philosophy in History (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Meng developed new methods for image-based learning for mobile robot localization, achieving state-of-the-art performance. She also developed an integrated software and hardware framework for autonomous navigation of mobile robots in uneven and unstructured environments and demonstrated the system through real-world experiments. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Tseng examined bone health in women who had been treated for breast cancer. She showed that some breast cancer therapies are associated with higher fracture risk, and examined the effect of educational materials discussing bone scans, exercise, and calcium intake, on bone health in these women. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Oncology (PhD) |
| 2017 | Wood and plants release inhibitors that prevent enzymes from breaking them down into valuable chemicals. Dr. Zhai developed a feasible way to eliminate these inhibitors and boost the function of enzymes. This work showed how a likely industrial bioconversion process could be enhanced. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Galway examined how radical intellectuals in the developing world engaged with Mao Zedong Thought and how they became Communists as responses to crises in their homelands. His research explored how outside ideas are received and adapted to both respond to and cope with the intense pressures of economic, industrial, and political modernization. | Doctor of Philosophy in History (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Pakula's research provided the first national estimates for mental health disorders among gay, lesbian, bisexual and heterosexual Canadians. Her analysis revealed sexual minorities face a disproportionate mental health burden, linked to stress and isolation. Her research is informing the elimination of mental health disparities. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Mohamadi designed and developed a collection of novel algorithms and software tools for the analysis of massive bioinformatics data. Theses algorithms and software tools are publicly available for free to facilitate research at health and life sciences laboratories and other organizations worldwide. | Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Robbins examined attitudes towards contentious animal welfare issues. He also experimentally explored how ordinary people understand the concept of animal welfare. His research highlights the vital role social science and philosophy play in the debate about farm animal welfare. | Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Maier studied the experience of therapists when providing counselling about the human journey of spiritual development. The results show how spiritual counselling looks for an enlivening thread in life and fits with counselling theory. Her research contributes to knowledge for psychologists about working competently with spirituality in clinical practice. | Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Globa's work has demonstrated that drugs of abuse, such as cocaine, impact how brain cells communicate with one another at specialized points of contact called 'synapses'. Her work specifically shows that synaptic connections must be malleable or 'plastic' to promote behaviours associated with addiction in mice. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Mehr looked at the dynamic nature of atomic connectivity and electron distribution in a family of organic compounds. He showed that the insights gained can be used to design new compounds with unusual and potentially useful properties. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2017 | The world is full of mixtures of unobserved source signals. Dr. Zou's doctoral studies focused on recovering the underlying source signals from a limited number of observations. His proposed methods can be utilized in a wide class of physiological signals for artifact removal and for better interpretations of these signals. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2017 | Knee osteoarthritis, or OA, is prevalent and disabling, and for many, OA begins behind the knee cap. Dr. Macri studied knee alignment using MRI. Results showed knee caps are malaligned in knee cap OA, and are more malaligned when standing compared to laying supine. Results will inform the development of effective strategies for treating knee OA. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Shi created computer methods that identify which DNA sequence alterations impact the on/off switches for gene activity. This research will help us understand how each person's DNA increases or decreases the risk for health problems. | Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Tavassoli developed novel data mining methods to study a range of complex materials, from pulp samples to cancer cells. This work has applications in many industries, particularly benefiting pulp makers as the unique combination of techniques offers insights to improve the accuracy of predicting product properties of the variety of raw materials. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Byun examined the philosophical origin of agnosticism by analyzing underappreciated works of the inventor of the word "agnostic." Thomas Huxley, also known as "Darwin's bulldog," proposed agnosticism as a guide to knowledge. This research shows that it is not a passive, wishy-washy stance, but a constructive, confident position on evidence. | Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy (PhD) |