Doctoral Citations

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
2015 Dr. Sopinka showed in Pacific salmon how maternal stress and changes in concentrations of egg cortisol influence offspring survival, physiology and behaviour. Her experiments on intergenerational effects help us understand how stressors that salmon face during homeward migration modify the subsequent generation of this iconic natural resource. Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
2015 Dr. Namjoshi studied traumatic brain injury. He showed that enhancing the function of the brain's lipid transport system helps in recovery from head injury. He also developed a novel model of brain injury, which may help us better understand the effects of head injury and lead to the development of effective treatments for this silent epidemic.?. Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD)
2015 Dr. Ahmadi Motlagh developed a new computer model which uses fewer resources to predict the flow in reactors producing gasoline from heavier hydrocarbons. Lab-scale experiments were conducted, as well as numerical simulations. The study sheds light on the complexities of gas/liquid/particle flow in the liquid injection zone of these reactors. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PhD)
2015 Dr. Colleter studied the impacts of fishing on food chains in marine ecosystems. He developed new tools, notably an online database to gather and communicate information from ecosystem models. He used that database to perform a large meta-analysis, and identified typical ways in which marine food chains are affected by fishing activities. Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
2015 Dr. Porteus studied red fox culling in Britain, which aims to keep fox density low on specific sites during the bird nesting period. He developed a local-scale population dynamics model to determine the effectiveness of culling. The model was then used to evaluate alternative culling strategies to reduce potential impacts of fox predation on birds. Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
2015 Dr. Fan developed a simple method to rapidly decrease the amount of a given protein in the brain or body. This method can be used by scientists to study the function of proteins. It may be further developed as a new therapeutic that eliminates disease-causing proteins, such as those involved in Huntington's or Parkinson's disease. Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD)
2015 Dr. Jett studied a mouse model of the human genetic disorder, neurofibromatosis 1. Her research demonstrated that the product of the gene, neurofibromin, has an important role in normal function of the blood vessels and heart. These studies provide novel insights into the cardiovascular disease that occurs in people with neurofibromatosis 1. Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD)
2015 Dr. Robinson wrote a memoir about caring for her daughter who had an eating disorder, the impact on her family, and her encounters with health-care professionals. The findings of an online focus group with pediatric nurses, who read her memoir, pointed to the lack of knowledge of the disorder and the need for education and changes in care protocols. Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy (EdD)
2015 Dr. Breton's work focused on people's attitudes toward immigration and the context in which they emerge. His research demonstrates that immigration policies affect the attitudes of both mainstream society and immigrants. Concentrating on Canada, he also showed that Canadian national identity has the potential to increase positive views on immigration. Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD)
2015 Dr. Wang examined the connection between corporate behaviour and macroeconomic phenomena. He found physical investment is decreasing with outsourcing, which contributes to the general downward trend of investment in the US. His research also includes connection between macro volatility and micro volatility, and the effect of monetary policy. Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (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. Zhu studied the manufacture process of advanced high-strength steels used in the automotive industry. He developed a computer model to simulate the processing of automotive steels. His research provides the steel industry with guidance in designing optimal processing routes to manufacture advanced high-strength steels. Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering (PhD)
2015 Dr. Hossain advanced our understanding of how the connectivity in the brain of a vertebrate develops. By using tadpoles as a model system for brain growth, she observed growing brain cells. Dr. Hossain detected features that have been grossly overlooked previously, and which may hold the key to understanding brain formation. Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD)
2015 Dr. Ebrahimnejad studied how the presence of impurities and other particles affects the motion of electrons in solids. He proposed an accurate solution that challenged the current understanding of high-temperature superconductors. His findings has paved the way for a complete solution to the problem of superconductivity in these complex materials. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2015 Dr. Salnykova demonstrated that ethnic conflict is associated with the level of deliberative capacity. She studied this relationship on the cases of post-Soviet Ukraine and Georgia. She explored the factors of deliberative capacity and the types of deliberative systems that may exist. Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD)
2015 Dr. Vandenberg studied the history of Chinese and Japanese hospitals in British Columbia, from 1880 to 1920. She contributes significant new insights into Canadian nursing and hospital history. She argues that these hospitals not only met local health and cultural needs, but also played an important role in broader issues of social justice. Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD)
2015 Dr. Gong studied the controlled release of drugs that treat osteoporosis. These anti-osteoporotic drugs come from calcium phosphate silicate bone cement. His research proved that this drug delivery system could effectively restore osteoporotic bone fractures, and is therefore beneficial for bone restoration of patients suffering from osteoporosis. . Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering (PhD)
2015 Dr. Fabbi developed an innovative initiative to support Arctic Studies and Indigenous language programs at the Canadian Studies Center at the University of Washington. Considering the Arctic as a distinct world region, informed by Inuit concepts of territory and sovereignty, reconfigures the approaches used for research and practice in the area. Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy (EdD)
2015 Dr. Duncan completed her doctoral program in the field of Experimental Medicine. She studied signalling pathways in innate immune cells exposed to bacterial products. Her research revealed a novel pathway for pathogen recognition and has implications for human health and disease, most particularly the development of sepsis and septic shock. Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD)
2015 From the Process Automation and Robotics Laboratory at UBC, Dr. Einafshar conducted research on satellites within a network. She proposed and developed networked control schemes to enable the systems to continue operating properly in the event of failures. Her work will contribute to the advancement of networked reconfiguration in the space industry. Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering (PhD)
2015 Dr. Young developed an Indigenous teaching and learning approach with Anishnabe-Cree Elders. The study outlines the teaching methods that strengthen peoples' holistic health and maintain sustainable ecologies. The research benefits educators working with Indigenous contexts, land-based education and those interested in social justice leadership. Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies (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. Wall completed his doctoral studies in the field of Geography. He used GPS tracking data to study the movements of elephants across the African continent. In addition to developing new geospatial methods and software, he used the tracking data to characterize the ways in which elephants use the landscape, so that they can be protected. Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD)
2015 Dr. Valerio studied food greenhouses that admit light in the day, but lose heat at night. He designed a greenhouse cover that behaves like a window when it's sunny, but become thermally-insulated when it isn't. This Light Valve has the potential to make winter agriculture feasible in cold climates, by increasing the thermal properties of greenhouses. Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD)