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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Dr. Hardman listens to stories from Indigenizers applying Indigenous Storywork principles and her own Sto:lo teachings to understand deeply and interact with these stories. Storywork Listening shines light on six themes for Indigennizing. We learn that it is not easy but it is possible to Indigenize the Future: One Heart at a Time. | Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Hardman studied immunity to intestinal viruses. By contrasting related viral strains, subtle factors could be characterized which balance immunity between controlling infection and limiting inflammation. This work contributes to future vaccine efforts, and treatments for inflammatory disorders. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Dort studied the genetics and genomics of plant pathogens. She used comparative genomics to discover patterns of plant pathogenicity in fungi and established CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in an oomycete forest pathogen. Her research provides a foundation for future studies of forest pathogens and the improvement of disease surveillance strategies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Gupta investigated the rheology and flow dynamics of wormlike micellar gels. His experiments revealed previously unknown complex features in the flow of such fluids and will aid the synthesis, design and manipulation of similar soft matter. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Heaslip examined the unsolicited help receiving experiences of persons with visual impairments, targeting what is and isn't helpful during these interactions. The prominent themes identified were consent, assumptions, courtesy, consideration and respect. Findings were used to generate recommendations for navigating these complex interactions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Trainor explored elite athlete well-being. Her research demonstrates the critical role of sport culture and the high-performance environment in comprising athlete well-being. After interviewing Olympic and Paralympic athletes, she identified eight sport-specific components that make up athlete well-being, which can help support elite athletes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Kinesiology (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Mirza explored connections between gut bacteria and multiple sclerosis (MS) in children and youth. He identified differences in gut microbes and genes between those with and without MS, noting a potential link between MS and high-fiber diets. His findings offer insights for future MS research and possible treatment or prevention strategies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Alaeiilkhchi explored the effects of ketogenic diets, ketone esters and metformin on mouse models of multiple sclerosis. He discovered that these metabolic treatments could enhance cell repair processes, offering promising avenues for new MS treatments. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Allanach focused on determining how viral infection influences autoimmune disease in a newly developed humanized mouse model of multiple sclerosis.She observed that Epstein-Barr virus worsened disease by altering the balance of beneficial and detrimental immune subsets in the brain. These findings have implications for how infections should be targeted in diseases like MS. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Hasan studied the electrodeposition, corrosion, and catalytic behavior of molybdenum coatings. Despite the challenges associated with molybdenum and water, the work has produced nanostructured molybdenum coatings which demonstrates good corrosion resistance and catalytic performance. | Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Gist explored how high school teachers who teach online build positive relationships with their students. This research informs both policy and practice by providing schools and teachers a deeper understanding of the factors that help, hinder or are needed for supportive student-teacher relationships online. | Doctor of Philosophy in Human Development, Learning, and Culture (PhD) |
| 2024 | Coexisting with flood-adapted forests can be a challenge for communities that are built within historical floodplains. Dr. Moran's research revealed conditions under which cottonwood forests might thrive in the presence of flood control infrastructure, and suggested workable restoration strategies for highly developed riverscapes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Tai developed a hybrid physics and data-driven method for spindle health monitoring. He combined digital spindle twins with a machine-learning method to make machine tools more intelligent in health diagnosis. These comparative studies assist machine tool manufacturers or spindle repair companies in increasing their maintenance efficiency. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Shrestha studied the insertion of needles into soft solids, the injection of fluid through microneedles and the detection of diseases like sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia. The findings can help optimize drug or vaccine delivery through microneedles, and can provide a low-cost automated tool to detect diseases in low-resource settings. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Maragha uncovered the various domains that contribute to students' wellbeing, in addition to the challenges they experience and their support needs. These studies can guide educators, administrators, and students themselves in examining the curriculum and the learning environment in dental education, using a wellbeing lens that can support students. | Doctor of Philosophy in Craniofacial Science (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Li made a groundbreaking discovery in cancer research, identifying a unique metabolic pathway that mediates chemoresistance in cancers. This potential druggable target could revolutionize the approach to overcoming chemotherapy resistance, offering new hope for effective cancer treatment. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Baidya's research explored the potential of flue gas injection in mine wastes for large-scale carbon capture. His innovative approach optimized energy usage and proposed a cost-effective solution, advancing sustainable practices in the mining industry. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mining Engineering (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Yip's thesis examined how our human tendency to mind-wander impacts our negative moods, and how this tendency helps to explain the clinical challenges of depression and ruminative thinking. Her insights show how regulating our emotions may impact our awareness, intention, and control over our thoughts. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Smith found that specific HIV medications cause damage to human embryonic stem cells cultured in a dish. These findings strongly suggest that certain HIV medications are safer than others for a developing baby during pregnancy and may help inform and guide future human trials for the safest treatment of HIV in women of reproductive age. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Kalia devised computer vision techniques for augmented reality in robotic surgery, aligning patients' MRI or Ultrasound images with the surgical camera view. This enables clinicians to do a real-time assessment of cancer margins and anatomy, to optimize clinical decisions and thus, reducing the incidents of incomplete cancer removal. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Gheorghiu has made a contribution to algebra. One of the simplest algebraic structures are groups. Cohomology is an algebraic tool that can discern geometric objects by looking at their "holes". Then group cohomology is a tool that can discern different groups. Dr. Gheorghiu has developed a generalization of a specific form of group cohomology. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Montgomery studied the effect of different milks on the nutritional status of toddlers and the foods that contribute to the intake of nutrients required for early growth and development. Her work contributes new knowledge that will serve for the derivation of age-specific feeding recommendations and dietary guidelines. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Shamei demonstrated that humans employ posture within the vocal tract when speaking, and that the control of posture is similar across gross and fine motor skills. These findings help to unify our understanding of human motor control across different domains. | Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Jawahar explored how deep learning models in natural language processing could be more efficient. He introduced new, cutting-edge methods using neural architecture search, improving efficiency and performance tradeoffs in tasks like autocomplete, machine translation, and language modeling. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Hamidi studied elliptic curves over quadratic imaginary fields. Using a new and robust technique, Dr. Hamidi proved significant results about the vanishing and bounding of certain invariants. His results could have applications in number theory, cryptography, and other areas of mathematics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |