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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Dr. Southcott designed new compounds that bind radiometals with high affinity and stability which can have applications as diagnostic imaging agents or therapeutics in cancer treatment. She developed an array of compounds which were tested with relevant medical isotopes and help progress the next generation of radiopharmaceuticals. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Bradley explored mathematical properties and solution methods for large-scale linear systems arising in problem in multiphysics and constrained optimization. Her research provides a theoretical framework for the development of efficient and robust computational methods. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Vanzella Yang investigated how different socioeconomic resources shaped the mental health of Canadian adults. He found that resources in adulthood mattered more than parental resources earlier in life. His findings suggest that interventions in adulthood can potentially mitigate socioeconomic inequalities in psychological distress. | Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Hu's research integrates AI and statistics. Given a short form of a test, an AI was trained to guess what the results would have been had the respondents finished the full test. Traditional statistics was used to visualize how the AI made its decisions. Using the combined method, anyone interested can use AI to shorten a test and know why. | Doctor of Philosophy in Measurement, Evaluation and Research Methodology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Monnet studied the mechanisms of growth variation in fish. His work demonstrates the role of physiology and behaviour in differentiating growth trajectories in fish that have specialized to different freshwater habitats. This research provides insight into the evolutionary mechanisms that allow organisms to coexist in nature. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Brown explored the practices and policies surrounding homeless shelters in the U.S. and the ways different levels of policy are understood, constructed, and navigated in people's day-to-day lives. This research challenges how urban governments are managing homelessness, and the resultant stigmatization and criminalization of poverty. | Doctor of Philosophy in Planning (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Farooq developed a system of sensors connected via the Internet of Things to detect flood damage at the bridges. His research would help prevent a catastrophic collapse of bridges, thereby saving lives and resources, and is a major step in safeguarding our infrastructure against the effects of climate change. | Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Moscoso-Garay studied the literature of the Rubber Extraction Time in the Amazonia (1879-1914). He examined how the industrial modernization helped to perpetuate stereotypes of gender and nature in the Amazon. His research challenges assumptions about discourses of modernity in the Amazonia | Doctor of Philosophy in Hispanic Studies (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Dashti examined how computer programs are affected when run on different types of heterogeneous hardware with complex memory hierarchies. He proposed solutions that alleviate performance degradation and discussed challenges for adapting applications to run on such complex systems. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Hamadeh studied how DNA repair is perturbed in selected cancers. He used single-cell methods to better characterize the function of several DNA repair enzymes and identified regions of the genome that are prone to abnormalities in the absence of those enzymes. This knowledge will aid in the future design of targeted cancer therapies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Sharma characterized three new disorders in patients presenting with immune defects since birth. His research will improve the care and management of these patients, as well as that of future patients diagnosed with these disorders. This work also provides insight into the mechanisms of more commonly occurring immune regulatory diseases. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Koch used brain imaging techniques to study the movement disorder, Huntington disease, in mice. She identified altered motor behaviour that was associated with neural signaling in a brain region called the striatum. This research provides insight into the neurological changes in Huntington disease, that should one day help us develop a cure. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Zhang defined the mechanisms underlying the transcription, modification, and degradation of a critical molecule in autism. She discovered that impaired modification of the molecule contributes to autism pathogenesis. This research provides novel insights into potential targeted therapy for autism. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Ievdokymenko investigated molecular mechanisms that help microorganisms in terrestrial, aquatic, engineered and host-associated environments to survive in the presence of toxic chemicals. Her research identified novel tolerance genes relevant for developing biological processes for bioremediation and biotechnological applications. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Lachance analyzed how campaign information influences voters in Canada, U.S. and Germany. Her research shows that policy matters for voters, even when affect plays a significant role in their decision. In sum, her work shows that campaigns give voters the information they need to choose the alternative that will best represent their interests. | Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Fan studied mathematical optimization techniques for large-scale data-driven applications. He explored how the duality theory can help to develop scalable optimization algorithms. His works provide state-of-the-art solutions to many challenging optimization problems arising from machine learning, signal processing and data mining. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2022 | The prevailing theory of particle physics has been immensely successful but is known to be incomplete. Many of its extensions predict modifications to the rate at which Higgs bosons are produced in pairs. Dr. Gubbels analyzes data collected by the ATLAS detector to search for this process, placing strong constraints on any such new theories. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2022 | Viral myocarditis is the leading cause of sudden death in young children and youth. Dr. Zhao's study shed light on the mechanisms underlying how coxsackievirus induces viral myocarditis by both direct cardiac injury and perturbation of innate immune response, and thus provided potential therapeutic strategies against virus-induced heart diseases. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Chewinski examined rural people's participation in environmental politics following the 2014 Mount Polley mining disaster. He focused on how meaning-making processes, emotions, and cultural contexts produced inequalities in public consultations and incited community mobilization in response to mounting environmental risks. | Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Nasseri has developed new methods to facilitate 3-D microscopy of tumour organoids and make their use more feasible in cancer drug screening. He has also done several proof-of-concept studies using tumour organoids that make the case for using image-based microfluidic screening platforms for finding new cancer drugs. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Pushak studied the recipes computers use to solve problems. Computational recipes, or algorithms, are similar to baking recipes, which can be adjusted by modifying parameters such as temperature. He showed that computer parameters contain simple, exploitable patterns that can substantially reduce the time needed to solve computational problems. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Fu studied three kinds of numerical schemes for phase field models and proved that they preserve intrinsic properties including the maximum principle and the energy dissipation law. This research offers high-order structure-preserving numerical solutions for phase field models and other gradient flows with special structures. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Togunov developed statistical tools to study behaviour using tracking data for animals in moving environments. Using these tools, he identified temporal and environmental conditions that drive polar bear behaviour, which appeared to be tied to the behaviour of ringed and bearded seals, the main prey of polar bears. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Hall's research synthesized health economics with learning health systems to support strategic management of care portfolios. Through the development and implementation of his 'Economic Learning Health System' framework, he assisted a health authority with the optimization of care delivery for seniors receiving home health services. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Moore-Maley showed how wind-driven ocean currents in the Strait of Georgia transport nutrients from deep water to the surface where photosynthesis occurs. This nutrient pathway is important for summer growth of phytoplankton and their zooplankton grazers, and may help explain observed ecosystem and fisheries trends such as salmon declines. | Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD) |