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. Bjorkman studied the ecological and evolutionary impact of climate change in the Arctic tundra. She showed that Arctic plants will respond to warming temperatures through both plastic and adaptive changes, and that local environmental conditions other than temperature will also influence the direction and magnitude of these changes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Osten's research focused on developing new catalysts for making biodegradable plastics. The results of her study will help future researchers to make new environmentally-friendly plastics for a variety of applications. It is hoped that these plastics will help to contribute to a cleaner environment. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Mallick developed new schemes to improve the performance of wireless networks. By allocating the radio resources efficiently, his proposed schemes can reduce the power consumption of relay-based cooperative networks. This would result in improved spectrum and power utilization, leading to more efficient and cost-competitive wireless networks. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Ma conducted her research on the pathology of breast cancer at BC Cancer Research Centre. She studied the importance of the protein B55-alpha in preventing the development of breast cancer and the outcomes of its mutations. Her research contributed to the knowledge on cancer preventing genes and provided data for future cancer drug development. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Lee studied HIV drug resistance. She evaluated current clinical laboratory tests to see whether they could be applied to African patients who are infected with different HIV strains, compared with North American patients. She concluded these tests remain useful, although there are some limitations of which physicians should be aware. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Hoos examined the impacts of climate change on kelp along the Pacific coast of North America. Experimental increases in temperature, carbon dioxide, and UV radiation reduced growth and reproduction at each stage of their life history cycle. This research works towards building a predictive model for future populations impacted by climate change. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Menzel-Jones developed systematic methods for extracting molecular information. This research utilized spectroscopic data to better understand the internal structure and dynamical processes within molecules. The work can be applied by physicists to investigate a broad range of problems where detailed knowledge of the system is required. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. MacLennan studied instrumental music students and their conceptions of physical movements not directly involved in sound production. He suggests ways that educators might develop more embodied approaches to teaching, after finding that these ancillary movements hold important meanings for students and reflect their engagement with music-making. | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Prest examined the ways in which music education partnerships between school and community have contributed to the vitality of three rural BC communities. Her multiple-case study assists us in understanding the process by which the social capital operating in these partnerships plays a role in rural community sustainability. | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Costa proposed a mechanism for predicting the performance of storage systems, given a specific configuration and computing platform. With this predictor, the users of high-performance computing can assess trade-offs in terms of time or energy consumption that a given configuration has over another, without needing to re-execute an application. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Padilla studied the corrosion behaviour of galvanized steel in infrastructure applications, focusing on the effect of field conditions relevant to cold climates. He worked on developing a numerical model to easily calculate the corrosion rate by considering key parameters. His work will benefit the transportation and energy sectors in Canada. | Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Alrowaie developed a novel algorithm for diagnosing chemical processes. The algorithm can rapidly detect and isolate any abnormal conditions in a process, before those conditions degrade the process and lead to catastrophic incidents. This will help to maintain high safety and reliability standards in the chemical industry. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Wambach completed his research in the field of Chemistry. He synthesized reactive molecules containing transition metals and probed their potential to catalyze reactions that involve addition and release of hydrogen. The reactivity of these compounds with hydrogen revealed a unique way protons from hydrogen can transfer to and from metals. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Black investigated how online students search for information. She found creative strategies were used to manage information searching, evaluate the information retrieved, cope with competing priorities, and resolve difficulties. Her study sheds light on an under-investigated phenomenon and will influence online learning practice and delivery. | Doctor of Philosophy in Library, Archival and Information Studies (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Best studied how adults living in the community use their wheelchairs. She contributed to our understanding of the challenges of using a wheelchair, and why improved wheelchair skills and confidence are important for achieving successful wheelchair use. Her findings support a new rehabilitative approach that may benefit adult wheelchair users. | Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Welsh explored student perceptions of teaching and learning in an introductory chemistry course at UBC. Most students viewed high stakes examinations as overshadowing their engagement with resources designed to improve how they learn. This research highlights the important role that assessment and study strategies play in student learning. | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Wager investigated a theatre production by street youth in Vancouver. The performance documented their struggles to survive during cuts to public health resources. Outcomes of the research advance qualitative research methodologies, and underscore ways in which alternative learning spaces and youth resistances contribute to the education system. | Doctor of Philosophy in Language and Literacy Education (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Yang studied the ways in which families change their work patterns after receiving cash. He showed that married women would temporarily leave their jobs right after receiving a tax refund. He concluded the lack of borrowing opportunity may play important roles in his findings, which have important implications for the design of fiscal policies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Price examined how molecules called polymers can alter the immune system. She showed that polymer-modified cells evade immune detection, and defined several mechanisms responsible for the decreased immune response. These findings demonstrate the therapeutic potential of polymers to prevent rejection in transplantation and transfusion medicine. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Topley conducted research in the field of Electric and Computer Engineering. His innovations focus on new methods for use in dynamic distributed systems. His work contributes to the research in the field and promises to be beneficial for industry. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Chandgotia completed his doctoral work in mathematics, focusing on research in the field of probability theory and dynamical systems. He studied conditions under which a model from statistical physics called Markov random fields, which might have an infinite description, can be decomposed into simple building blocks called Gibbs interactions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. McNair studied cellulose, the major component of wood that gives it strength. He investigated how plants make cellulose, a biopolymer made up of long chains of glucose molecules. He found that a protein, Cobra-like4, is responsible for ensuring the synthesis of these long chains of glucose, which are important in the commercial use of cellulose. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Sukava explored the development of anatomical terminology in classical Greece, and its mixed reception by non-medical authors. He offers the most complete assessment of classical Greek body terms to date, and contributes to our understanding of the dissemination of specialized medical knowledge in antiquity, from Homer to the 4th century BCE. | Doctor of Philosophy in Classics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Webb conducted research into the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning for post-secondary educational leaders. She examined threshold concepts, the name given to concepts that change our understanding of a new field. Her research informs new interdisciplinary threshold concepts and faculty development programs at research intensive universities | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Levy-Booth demonstrated that measuring the abundance of functional groups of microorganisms in soil can help us to better understand greenhouse gas emissions in managed forests. Characterizing soil microbial communities in those forests showed that management can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase soil carbon sequestration. . | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |