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. MacDonald completed her doctoral program in the field of Experimental Medicine. She developed a new therapy to prevent transplant rejection by genetically modifying the immune system to protect transplanted tissue. This research could allow wait-listed patients to receive transplants sooner and reduce their need for immunosuppressive drugs. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2015 | Social networks have grown dramatically, Facebook has over a billion users and 150 billion friendship connections. It is expensive to analyze such large networks, e.g., to aid marketing by identifying influential users. Dr. Gharaibeh designed and developed low-cost, yet powerful parallel computing framework for analysing such large-scale networks. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2015 | People in conversation tend to adopt each other's speech patterns. Dr. Abel explored whether working on a difficult task would affect that tendency, and found that partners building a more difficult Lego construction showed less convergence than those building an easier one. This research gives insight into the mechanisms behind speech convergence. | Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Have you ever tried to do so many things at once that you couldn't get anything done? Dr. Rogers' research into designing computer hardware demonstrates that computer processors suffer from a similar problem. His work on scheduling mechanisms to reuse data in computers improves the speed and energy usage of both smartphones and large scale data centres. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2015 | The safety of wood structures relies on the strength of the lumber products used in the construction. Dr. Cai developed statistical models for the relationships between lumber strength properties. Her methods enable strength prediction, and can be used to reduce monitoring costs for the lumber industry, while ensuring product quality. | Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Liu completed his studies in Chemistry. He conducted research on DNAzymes using modified deoxyribonucleotide. He selected DNAzymes that have high activities and can be potentially used in cancer or antiviral treatment. This research improved the functionality of DNAzymes and provided potential candidates for cancer or antiviral treatment. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Stykow completed his doctoral research in the field of mathematics. He studied the nature of topological spaces and computed important invariants that help distinguish them from one another. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Socholotiuk examined how parents of adolescents with anorexia worked together in family-based treatments. She found that the process was influenced by the parents' sense of identity, their beliefs about anorexia and family relationships. This research also showed how social and structural resources could facilitate the joint actions of parents. | Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Raj investigated whether the human enzyme known as GAP-DH is important for the lifecycle steps of human viruses that cause serious illness. She discovered that the enzyme is needed for hepatitis C virus and dengue virus infections in human cells. This research may lead to development of new antiviral drugs to fight the infections. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Leung studied how East Asian artists in Canada and Britain started theatre companies to create opportunities for Asian Canadian and British East Asian cultural expression. Comparing Toronto's fu-GEN theatre and London's Yellow Earth, she juxtaposes two ethno-national sites not often paired together, revealing remarkable, shared vocabularies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Theatre (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Tu's research focuses on using sound waves to detect the internal structure of the earth. He developed a method that uses echoes from the sound waves to reveal more details of the shallow earth structure. By producing a more accurate prediction of geological hazards near the surface, this new approach will lead to much safer drilling operations. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Voth's research helps to explain the political divisions between Métis and First Nations peoples living in Manitoba's Red River Valley. Dr. Voth traced the roots of Métis-First Nations political tensions, and developed a framework for building a de-colonial political movement that includes both First Nations peoples and the Métis. | Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Malik investigated channels that allow calcium entry into brain cells. Her work provided a new mechanism by which these channels contribute to signal transmission in the hippocampus. Her findings have advanced our understanding of information processing in a brain region associated with learning and memory functions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Rezadehbashi has spent the past five years studying sustainable methods for the treatment of wastewater. She investigated micro-organisms and mechanisms involved in the removal of contaminants. As an environmental engineer, she has contributed to the design, modeling and optimization of biological systems that degrade contaminants. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Tewari completed his doctoral work in mathematics, focusing on research in the field of combinatorics, and spending many hours counting. He studied a prominent analogue of the ubiquitous Schur functions. These functions show up and have applications in fields as diverse as Informatics and Quantum theory. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Tito examined the impact of international trade on the way in which firms select their workforce. She documented that exporting firms tend to select workers who are better qualified for the job, compared to similar non-exporting companies. This suggests that opening up to trade reduces the revenue losses due to mismatches between workers and firms. | Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Engwayu studied the interaction between quartz and hematite particles during the processing of iron ore. He focussed on mineral flotation systems and applied novel tools to identify optimum conditions for mineral separation. These tools will help improve the efficiency of iron ore processing and the mining industry | Doctor of Philosophy in Mining Engineering (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. McGovern studied separatism in Québec, Scotland and Ireland. She found that separatists often participate peacefully in political institutions and co-operate with governments. This research shows how democracy can work, even when there are fundamental divisions within a country, and that separatism does not inevitably lead to violent conflict. | Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Lee studied the neural basis of stress and emotional behavior in adolescence. She found that neural and behavioural responses to stress exposure differ across the life span. Her research enhances our understanding of how stress and cannabis exposure affects the developing brain, behaviour, and the development of stress-related disease. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Paris argues that the early modern theatre and early modern church were both concerned with keeping the attention of their audiences. One of the ways that dramatic interest in the tragedies of Marlowe and Shakespeare was generated was by staging acts that can be read as ambiguous, interrupted, failed or parodic confessions, prayers, and sermons. | Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Willard examined how basic cognitive functions and cultural environments come together to create complex, supernatural belief systems. She found that some people are more likely than others to see the world as supernatural. Still, cultural learning explained the most of the variance in who adopted or abandoned a specific religious belief system. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Ruan completed doctoral studies in the field of Botany. She explored the function of microtubules in root development in plants, and investigated how microtubules and hormones coordinate, to control root growth. Her findings contribute to a better understanding the evolution of land plants, and can be applied to important agricultural questions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Li studied lignin, an organic substance found in trees that binds the wood fibres. She demonstrated that lignin can be used as a substitute material in electronic products, lithium-ion batteries and sensors. Her findings contribute, not only to the scientific understanding of biomaterials, but also to the growth of the bio-economy in Canada. | Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Muthukrishna developed theories to explain the evolution of the human brain and human social networks. He used mathematical and computational modeling techniques to construct theories, then tested them using psychological experiments. His findings suggest that human "smarts" are acquired, not hardwired, and the key lies in our social networks. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Guillén Torres researched the miniaturization of optical rotation sensors using silicon, the top material in electronics. His devices outperform those created in other materials, and the test platforms he created are being used across Canada. His research shows that with proper integration, mini-optical-gyros can be used in consumer electronics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |