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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Dr. McAuliffe studied speech perception, the field in linguistics that focuses on how listeners are able to perceive and understand speech. Specifically, he focussed on perceptual learning, which refers to how listeners update their perceptual system in response to hearing speech. His findings contribute to cognitive models of speech perception. | Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Why are particular plant species found only in particular places? To answer this question, Dr. Lee roamed the Rocky Mountains of North America in search of Townsend's Easter Daisies. Using genetic and climate modelling techniques, he improved our understanding of plant speciation and how climate and asexual reproduction affect plant distributions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2015 | Looking at even the most ordinary objects at the tiniest of scales, we see particles that behave in strange, un-intuitive ways, according to quantum mechanics. Similarly, if matter cools to very low temperatures, its behaviour may become strange and quantum. Dr. Blois derived rigorous formulas aimed to describe this low-temperature quantum behaviour | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Mehranpour created a model to identify which proteins are better targets for drugs, and which part of each protein interacts with drugs and enzymes. This model can be used by biochemists and biologists to probe the behaviour of proteins in different diseases, with the goal of controlling the progress of diseases such as Cancer and Alzheimer's. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Bean studied the factors that move proteins to the correct places in yeast cells. He discovered a new transport protein and suggested a process by which other proteins are brought to their functional location in our cells. The findings from these studies may improve our understanding of hemophilia, Parkinson disease and Alzheimer disease. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Welsted developed a model to explain the excessive accumulation of objects by individuals with hoarding disorder. Her results suggest that these individuals are particularly adept at finding value in items others consider worthless. This work contributes to a better understanding of this complex and little studied form of psychopathology. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Ramogida developed new medical imaging agents for positron-emission tomography scans, to detect cancer and heart disease using radioactive metals. She studied methods to safely incorporate the metals into pharmaceuticals. These non-conventional metals have the potential to mitigate the global shortage of the metal used in current imaging agents. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Qian investigated the mechanisms of enzymes involved in the synthesis of important natural products called ergot alkaloids, including the anti-migraine drug ergotamine. His novel work showed how these enzymes synthesize precursors from an amino acid. This research triggered the discovery of innovative approaches to synthesizing similar compounds. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2015 | Songbirds exhibit an extraordinary amount of diversity. Dr. Delmore showed how differences in seasonal migration could contribute to the generation of this diversity. Using state of the art genetic sequencing techniques she also provided novel insight into the genetic basis of songbird diversity and seasonal migration. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Meyers completed her doctoral research in the field of Physics. She developed a tool to measure water and myelin in the brain with magnetic resonance imaging. She used this technique to study changes in brain water due to dehydration and multiple sclerosis drugs. This tool will be useful for evaluating the effects of treatments for brain disease. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Toloui developed a model to evaluate changes in the microstructure of oil and gas pipelines designed for the Arctic. His studies focused on the welds that are critical for the integrity of pipelines. His findings may contribute to improve safety of pipelines by providing deeper insight into microstructure changes at weaker areas of pipelines. | Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Tomberg's research in probability and statistical mechanics focused on applying a rigorous renormalisation group method to compute critical correlation functions. This research contributes to our understanding of statistical properties of interacting systems in the vicinity of a critical point. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Burns conducted his research on the extraction and purification of metals. He developed a new process for extracting uranium from mined ore using a novel electrochemical technique. This process has the potential to both lower the cost of uranium production at a mine site, and reduce the amount of waste generated. | Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Cassels studied the ways in which we measure children's ability to understand what other people are thinking and feeling. Her research revealed how elements of the measurement process can bias this assessment. Her research highlights changes that can be made to improve the accuracy of measurement instruments for children. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Boulton-Funke completed her doctoral research in the field of Curriculum Studies. Focussing on teacher education, she explored the practices of teachers of visual arts. Her findings will help us understand how creative thought, intuition and memory can influence the approaches used in the practice of visual arts teachers. | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Brimacombe studied genetic exchange elements in bacteria called gene transfer agents. He discovered that those gene transfer agents are functionally a blend of two different bacterial genetic exchange processes: natural genetic transformation and virus-mediated transduction. These findings have important implications in bacterial evolution. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Ice streams are narrow, fast-flowing regions within an ice sheet, and they account for the majority of the Antarctic ice loss. Dr. Haseloff studied the migration of ice streams. Her work allows us to include this process in models of the Antarctic ice sheet, and improves our ability to predict Antarctic ice loss and contribution to sea level rise. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Malan examined resource management, using two tans-boundary conservation case studies in southern Africa. Using a governance and a collaboration capability model, she found that the lack of formal trans-boundary institutions impede decision-making. Her findings improve our understanding of failures in trans-boundary natural resource governance. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Kasaian studied the molecular cause of several head and neck endocrine malignancies. While the commonly diagnosed papillary thyroid carcinomas harbored very few mutations, the rare but deadly anaplastic thyroid cancers were found to have accrued numerous genomic alterations. Molecular analysis hinted to potential drug targets in some patients. | Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Wheeler completed his doctoral studies in the field of Chemistry. He investigated the formation conditions of ice in the atmosphere. Through controlled laboratory studies he improved the ability to predict ice formation in atmospheric models. This research will enable more accurate prediction of atmospheric processes and climate. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Biln studied how molecular barriers between cells are assembled and maintained. These barriers are essential to organism development. She identified novel roles for a critical protein in barrier organization and epithelial cell survival. This advances our knowledge of how cellular barriers are developed and provides insight into therapeutic targets. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Air quality models help scientists to study how air pollution depends on weather and harmful emissions. Dr. Shi explored novel statistical approaches to evaluating air quality models. The application of these methods revealed fresh insights, linking the predictions from the model performance to specific weather and emission conditions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Alipour studied events that happened billions of years ago when the Universe was very young. She investigated the effects of these events on the evolution of the Universe, and proposed satellite missions to deepen our understanding of the young Universe. Her results improve the current theories, to better test cosmology with the upcoming data. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Sterling completed her research in Materials Engineering and studied magnesium-neodymium alloys for use in automobiles. She found that neodymium drastically alters the behaviour of magnesium during forming, when the initial heat treatments are varied. These results show new ways to use magnesium to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of vehicles. | Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering (PhD) |
| 2015 | Can combinatorial models be used to study linear polymers? Dr. Wong used mathematical models to predict the physical behaviour of linear polymers confined in a slit, concluding that the results realistically mimic experimental findings. The methods in this project can be used to study a variety of other problems both within and outside mathematics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |