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 | The placenta is an essential organ in pregnancy but much is unknown about how epigenetics contributes to its function. Dr. Yuan studied how epigenetic marks like DNA methylation are important to the placenta. This understanding of fundamental placental biology will be important for understanding and improving pregnancy-related health. | Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Macdonald's research shows the importance of parole incentives in the prison system. He finds that their absence led to greater misconduct and lower rehabilitative effort by prisoners who returned to prison at higher rates as a result. His findings contribute vital evidence relevant to current efforts to reform and reduce prison populations. | Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Voon studied the issue of pain among people who use drugs and its implications for health, risk behaviours, and clinical care. She identified different patterns of substance use among people who use drugs, and found relationships between pain, substance use, depressive symptoms, and barriers to accessing health services and addiction treatment. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Bayly studied large protein complexes called polyketide synthases, some of which produce widely-used therapeutics. Dr. Bayly used PKS12 from M. tuberculosis to explore and demonstrate new approaches for engineering these complexes. Her work contributes to ongoing efforts to engineer polyketide synthases to produce new therapeutics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Delaidelli investigated novel mechanisms contributing to the progression of aggressive childhood brain tumors, such as medulloblastoma. His research uncovered new therapeutic vulnerabilities and clinically applicable biomarkers for this disease. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Pestonji examined how the experience of repeatedly seeing a person or hearing a song affects how much we like them/it. Her research gives insight into the cognitive processes that underlie how we make liking and similar holistic preference decisions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Fritzlan studied elementary mathematics teachers' experiences of relationship with community and place in the Lower Mainland of BC. Her work illuminates practices of developing culturally responsive ways of reaching out to families, examining socio-cultural values embedded in curriculum, and making connections with cyclical patterns of place. | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Christopherson developed novel polymer nanomaterials with biological relevance and subsequently used these polymers to sense the temperature of systems and to visualize cancer cells. Her research illuminated new ways of developing nanoparticles for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2022 | Analyzing data stored in a distributed fashion requires new statistical strategies. Dr. Zhang developed novel approaches to combine summary information from separate locations under finite mixture models. Her work is useful for combining information in the data collected from and stored at different health centres and government agencies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Acquah assessed the effects of thinning on the dynamics of uneven-aged interior Douglas-fir stands in central British Columbia over a 21-year period. She found that the treatments enhanced the rate of stand development in a number of ways compared to unthinned controls. This study helps in planning future thinning treatments in this stand type. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Howatt examined how physical oceanic processes influence the distribution of zooplankton. She found that stratification and flows with different geographic origins had more influence on zooplankton, but flow around a submarine canyon and turbulence had little influence. These findings are important for understanding and predicting ocean habitat. | Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Chakraborti examined families involvement in adapted physical activity programs for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. She found parents formed peer support networks, promoting a sense of community. This demonstrates a potential innovative approach to overcome social isolation among families while supporting child development. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Pedroza studied the encapsulation of cell-based therapies for treating diabetes. He introduced methods to improve immobilization of insulin-producing cells in alginate microspheres and fibres. His research advanced our knowledge on optimization of cell encapsulation processes and will improve the quality of alternatives for diabetes reversal. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Bagatini-Cachuço developed and implemented a seismic performance assessment framework for pre-engineered steel buildings in Canada. His findings significantly improved the design method for pre-engineered steel buildings thus making the Canadian infrastructure more resilient towards future earthquakes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Moore developed new theory to explain the nature and causes of a phenomenon among Japanese-English bilinguals in which they distance themselves from their Japanese first language and culture. Terming the phenomenon first language dissociation, he identified a complex set of psychological and social factors that contribute to its emergence. | Doctor of Philosophy in Teaching English as a Second Language (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Karamouzian characterized polysubstance use practices among people with opioid use disorder and the increased risk of overdose among certain subgroups of the population. The findings provide practical implications for measuring and addressing polysubstance use in substance use research, clinical decision-making, and policy development. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Eng Stime explored how public health practitioners examining mining impacts on Indigenous health in Canada are drawn into ignoring health inequities associated with dispossession while presenting a veneer of benevolent care. The research illuminates storylines and assumptions of inevitability, offering relational consent as an alternative. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Larocque characterized soil chemistry and soil biological communities in the salmon forests of British Columbia. These studies advance our understanding of the interconnection between marine and terrestrial environments. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Alsaleh developed novel artificial intelligent based microscopic simulation models for vulnerable road user interactions. His models showed high accuracy in predicting road user evasive action mechanisms. His research will aid in developing better understanding of road user behavior and studying various applications, including road user safety. | Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Dehn used short-lived elementary particles called muons to study the magnetic and electronic properties of transition-metal compounds. His studies demonstrated that bound states comprised of a positive muon and an electron exist in magnetic materials, and explored the implications of this discovery for the study of magnetism with muons. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Balthazaar longitudinally examined cardiac alterations of individuals in the months following spinal cord injury. He also investigated the impact of exercise modalities on cardiac adaptations in this population. His work brings to light the cardiac changes after spinal cord injury and can help guide clinical practice and future research. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Ge studied novel ways to make polymeric micro sensors and actuators. He successfully developed a platform technology to fabricate capacitive microelectromechanical systems using photoresist. His technology is useful to emerging applications such as Internet of things and wearable electronics | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Sandeep's dissertation showed considerations of just energy transition for fossil fuel workers and their communities. This knowledge will aid in a more holistic understanding of the implications of fossil fuel industry declines on communities, by incorporating spatial, temporal, and justice aspects of transition. | Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Shahriari developed a control algorithm to maintain a constant electric field in the cavity resonators that accelerate electrons. This controller predicts and corrects field fluctuation due to previous particles in the electron beam. Her research results in improved electron beam quality which can be used for various scientific research topics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2021 | In our changing climate, floods and landslides are likely to be more frequent in mountainous regions. Dr. Leenman studied how such changes could influence the steep streams on alluvial fans, which are depositional landforms in these areas. Her work shows how the frequency and magnitude of natural hazards on fans may respond to climate change. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD) |