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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Dr. Cayley's research explored narratives of people who identify as non-binary, highlighting errors of the female-male gender system. Included were stories of violence, resistance, intersectionality and systemic oppression. This project represents trans voices and offers inclusive language, which widens the space of belonging for people of all genders. | Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Maity studied the situation of women and a historically marginalized group called the Scheduled Tribes in India. She found that women's participation in workfare and historic property rights enhance women's and children's well-being at present. Her research shows the need to improve healthcare delivery to reduce health inequality faced by tribes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Frey investigated the relationship between poverty reduction policies and local politics in Brazil. His research shows that cash transfer programs can effectively empower the poor, reducing their vulnerability to vote buying, and also create incentives for politicians to increase the provision of public goods. | Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Davidson's work focused on the effects of disturbances, such as wildfires and large floods, on mountain rivers. She developed numerical models to predict the effects of these events on stream dynamics and fish habitat. Her work is now being used in hazard prediction and management. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD) |
| 2016 | People often behave in ways that are predictable, but which standard economic theory would call "irrational". Dr. Wright showed how to apply recent ideas from machine learning to this problem, developing algorithms that are optimized for people, rather than perfectly rational theoretical agents. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Davidson combined Indigenous and non-Indigenous methodologies to explore how art and narrative writing can strengthen adolescents' writing and support their emerging identities. Her research helps educators to better support Indigenous students in school and proposes a framework for enhancing ethical conduct in research practices. | Doctor of Philosophy in Language and Literacy Education (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Michaelsen studied lipid-based drug delivery systems to examine the mechanism behind increased drug absorption. Digestion was not found to play a role with regard to absorption however, drug load was. Her findings may provide guidance for future development of drug delivery systems for poorly water-soluble drugs. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Chen studied Bioinformatics to examine gene regulation as it applies to biological hypotheses. Her work contributes to a better understanding of the hierarchical regulation of genes and the differential expression between the sexes. This work will further our understanding of diseases and phenotypes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Guiry studied the historical implications of animal trade and husbandry. His research showed how dietary analyses at the atomic level can be used to reveal new insights into the social and economic roles of domesticated animal species in colonial trade systems of North America and Australia. | Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (PhD) |
| 2016 | Software tools mediate and shape users' behavior, constraining the way that people accomplish their tasks. Dr. Haraty studied and designed mechanisms that empower people to personalize their software by changing its functionality. Her design and the results of her empirical studies provide insights into the design of highly personalizable tools. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Racovita identified more than 15 new classes of chemical substances in the surface wax mixtures covering aerial parts of three plant species: candelabra aloe, fishpole bamboo, and bread wheat. These findings reveal the diversity of ways in which plants produce chemicals that help sustain their water reserves or defend themselves from herbivores. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Pesquita investigated human sensitivity to subtle differences in bodily cues that occur when someone else's attention is controlled by an internal choice versus an external cue. Her work brings a longstanding distinction between voluntary and reflexive attention into the realm of a modern topic: reading other's minds through action observation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Lore explored when, how, and why women in politics act to represent women's interests. Her findings revealed that the presence of women matters more in presidential than parliamentary systems and when electoral systems encourage personal rather than party votes. This has important implications on promoting a diverse representation in government. | Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Goeders developed new techniques to allow computer chip designers to observe their systems and locate bugs. His techniques target emerging design methods, allowing for the development of more complex circuit systems than previously possible. Ultimately this will allow for new computers capable of meeting the growing demands of future applications. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Grist developed a new device to recreate aspects of the environment in tumors that can affect cancer cells' behavior and response to drugs. By growing cells on a 3D scaffold and precisely controlling the oxygen level, her device has the potential to better predict patient response in the early stages of testing cancer treatments on cells. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Fox investigated the brain's ability to self-generate its own mental content independent of the external environment. His work illuminates how specific brain networks are differentially involved in generating particular types of mental content. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Hoellering showed how Turkish-German ethno-comedians occupy a social position similar to medieval jesters, and how their distinctive humor deflates stereotypes that have developed over centuries. His work helps to understand ethno-comedy as an effective platform for the cultural participation of marginalized groups. | Doctor of Philosophy in Germanic Studies (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Saghafi studied business information modelling. He investigated approaches that could improve the performance of users in business analytics, and enhance their overall understanding of the application requirements. His research has important implications for both researchers and practitioners in the area of information systems development. | Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration in Management Information Systems (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Kang examined the lives of undergraduate exchange students between Canada and Korea through the lens of globalization, imagination, and space. She found that current exchange programs have reinforced contemporary social inequality. This study recommends creating more inclusive exchange programs by offering shared spaces between exchange and local students. | Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Narimani studied different theories of gravity and used cosmological data for testing those theories. His research helps physicists gain a better understanding of how gravity works on the largest scales that we have ever reached. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2016 | Cardiovascular diseases remain the number one killer around the world. Dr. Li studied protein oxidation in blood cells in cardiovascular diseases. He developed and applied a widely applicable tool to quantify protein oxidation in a model system, and found innovative regulation mechanisms of key proteins in the disease development. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Sielmann studied solid-state energy conversion technologies. He examined how nanostructuring and electrochemical growth affect the ability of zinc oxide thin films to convert a thermal gradient into electrical power. His work yielded new insights into heat flow and thermal conductivity that ultimately impact power generation and refrigeration. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Meisam Farajollahi studied linear and trilayer conducting polymer-based actuators and developed time domain non-linear model to predict their behaviors. His thesis addresses challenges in fabrication and modeling of this type of actuators and provides insight into design, prediction and optimization of actuators for different applications. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Amouroux studied and developed cancer targeting agents mimicking kinins, in order to be used for non-invasive imaging in patients using Positron Emission Tomography. He successfully established the most favorable features for this purpose, which carries great promises for cancer diagnostic and therapy. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Oncology (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Gravelle studied the politics of international financial market integration, and explained why some cross-border mergers between financial service firms are blocked by authorities while others are approved. This research sheds light on the independent role of financial market regulators in making important political decisions about the integration of the global economy. | Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD) |