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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Dr. Cortes studied the factors that contribute to a successful integration of mental health mobile applications into psychotherapy. Her research contributes to the understanding of how to best use this kind of technology in the counselling field. | Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Rochussen studied direct-injection gaseous fuel combustion in heavy-duty engines using high-speed imaging inside the combustion chamber. He identified how in-cylinder phenomena impact efficiency and pollutant emissions. This work guides the development of future high-efficiency and low-pollutant engine technology using renewable gaseous fuels. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Maryam Shirmohammad conducted research on development of novel methods of Raman spectroscopy. She made a discovery in enhancement of intensity of the acquired Raman signals. This can revolutionize the practice of cancer screening/diagnosis through analysis of VOC biomarkers of breath. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Baker examined how Dr. Sultan Somjee and the Community Peace Museum Heritage Foundation in Kenya utilize the African Humanist philosophy of Utu to resolve conflict in civil society and the environment. Her findings contribute to understanding the value of teaching Indigenous peace heritage traditions to promote peace in a modern world. | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Gonzalez examined the use of the sostenuto pedal in the piano works of the Italian pianist and composer Ferruccio Busoni. He argues that Busoni expanded the pedalling technique of the piano by finding new ways to sustain and release tones. | Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano (DMA) |
| 2021 | Dr. Mohammed Redha studied methods to improve the co-firing of coal with biomass to reduce the environmental impact of fossil fuels using computational fluid dynamics. These techniques include unsophisticated modifications of the furnace geometry, particle shrinkage due to densification of biomass, and thermogravimetric analysis of biomass and coal mining waste. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Cleveland studied the natural diversity of the structure and function of fungal enzymes called copper radical oxidases. This research was motivated by the potential applications of these enzymes in biocatalysis for bio-product manufacturing. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Marjan Ebneshahidi examined how immigrant women experience residential neighbourhoods and what makes a neighbourhood more livable for them in multicultural cities. This research highlights the important role that the social and physical features of a neighbourhood play in shaping immigrant women's perceptions and experiences of neighbourhood livability. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Gladish studied how epigenetics could be involved in the relationship between health disparities and adversity, such as abuse and low socioeconomic status throughout life. She found that several measures of life-long adversity associate with DNA methylation providing insight into the molecular pathways potentially linking adversity and health. | Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Schinnerl examined the nexus between education and immigration and the role of higher education institutions as both migration gatekeepers and community migration hubs. Her work deals with the influence of universities and colleges on immigration policy in Canada and what this means for future international student recruitment. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Sheikh studied lung viral infections caused by influenza and how the cytokine IL-7 contributes to immunity against it. His work identified new roles for IL-7 in enhancing the function of immune cells in response to lung influenza infection. His findings provide insights into development of clinical interventions in lung inflammation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Mo developed a novel radical cyclization for the synthesis of nitrogen heterocycles and new synthetic methods using sulfuryl fluoride and thionyl fluoride. These new processes are more efficient and milder than the existing protocols for the synthesis of organic molecules. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. White investigated the psychological causes and consequences of belief in karma and belief in God. She studied how diverse supernatural justice beliefs can be produced by the combination of intuitive cognitive tendencies and cultural factors, and she documented how these beliefs shape social cognition, moral psychology, and prosocial behaviour. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Wang built a novel reactor system to produce torrefied biomass with a high energy density and a long shelf life. The reactor technology developed is proven to be efficient in biomass thermal treatment and has the potential to be commercialized to promote the utilization of local renewable biomass resources and contribute to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions via displacing fossil fuels. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Saffer's research found that thoughts of suicide emerge due to people experiencing psychological pain and hopelessness, and that suicide attempts are far more likely to occur when a person has knowledge and access to lethal means. His research provides important treatment implications for helping people with suicidal thoughts and behaviours. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Haney studied Canadian abortion nursing from 1960-1999. Her analysis of previously untold stories of Registered Nurses revealed their key contributions to developing and providing safe abortion services amid significant legal, clinical and cultural challenges. Her study adds new insight into abortion, women's health, and nursing history. | Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Tyrvainen examined stability and robustness in Machine learning. They collected a novel image dataset that includes new information about the images, and trained neural networks that were more immune to errors and malicious attacks. The findings yield insights for developing more secure Machine Learning applications. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Cockram's research explored the relationship between epistemic contextualism - roughly, the view that the word 'knows' is context-sensitive - and testimony as a source of knowledge. He argued that adopting a contextualist view of testimonial knowledge can help us solve outstanding puzzles in the epistemology of testimony. | Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Reed asked, how do U.S. citizens compare to U.S. policymakers and scientific experts on nuclear weapons policy debates since 1985? He found that U.S. citizens are more capable at contributing to nuclear debates than generally recognized, but they are limited by a failure to appeal consistently to the best available information. | Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Iyaniwura developed novel mathematical techniques for calculating the time it takes for a Brownian particle to reach a target location and he analyzed mathematical models of intracellular communication between biological cells owing to a diffusion field. The models and analysis are relevant to studying microbial communication. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Hicks studied the growth of China's modern tax system and the effects of this system on economic activity. The work demonstrated how enforcement and information frictions shape policy design and the effect on economic behavior. His work improves our understanding of taxation in emerging economies and is relevant to tax policy practitioners. | Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Akinbo investigates the co-occurrence of vowels in Fungwa, an endangered language spoken in Nigeria. The patterns of vowel co-occurrence are intertwined with a pattern of prefixation showing partial copying. This study suggests that the vowel co-occurrence is conditioned by word size, syllable structure and intrinsic loudness of vowels. | Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Behar elucidated the evolutionary origin and biological role of the plant cell wall enzymes endo-glucanase 16 in two distantly related plant species, spreading earthmoss and poplar. In the process, she also discovered a new group of proteins that are prevalent in green algae. Her work contributes to the understanding of land plant evolution. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. May studied quantum gravity, which is the theory describing black holes and the big bang. He made contributions in understanding the role of quantum entanglement in the emergence of space and time from a quantum mechanical description. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2021 | Built form, health, housing, and demographic indicators are explored in Dr. Shulman's research. While results point to gentrification, they do not indicate displacement of low-income households. Findings are particularly important to policymakers and planners in facilitating a discussion about accessibility and social inequality. | Doctor of Philosophy in Planning (PhD) |