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. Seyed-Ahmadi investigated how particle shape influences the behavior of suspensions, and developed a novel data-driven model for the prediction of forces and torques in particulate flows. His model serves as the first step towards bringing simulations of industrial-scale systems within reach. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PhD) |
| 2021 | Finding and understanding new ways to target cancer is crucial for developing successful treatment strategies. Dr. Wang's research focused on optimizing a new anti-cancer therapy based on a malaria protein that targets unique glycan modifications on cancer. His work provided knowledge that will aid the design of novel drug conjugates. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Dancsok investigated the immune response to agressive cancers of the bone or soft tissues known as sarcomas. Her findings were used to help design clinical trials for sarcoma patients receiving a new type of cancer treatment called immune therapy, which works by igniting an immune system attack on cancer cells. | Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy (MDPhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Yang studied how bacterial enzymes have evolved the ability to degrade novel man-made pesticides. She identified the key mutations responsible for the acquirement of the new function, and uncovered how these mutations change protein structure and function. Her research contributes to our understanding of protein evolution. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Marchant demonstrated the respective roles of the calcium and membrane clocks in cardiac pacemaking of the zebrafish, and determined important genetic distinctions in pacemaking function between mammals and zebrafish. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Pena studied the bacteria that causes tuberculosis and how it interacts with the human host cell, the macrophage, during infection. Her research resulted in the discovery of a group of compounds that help the macrophage eliminate the tuberculosis bacteria. These compounds could potentially be developed into a novel therapy for tuberculosis. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Aghigh investigated the response of specific excited molecular systems to different time-varying electric fields and showed experimentally that electrons in such systems approach an immobilized state. This research constructs the building blocks of many important future applications in areas such as Quantum Computing, and Astronomy. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Chu showed that a cell division protein called Aurora kinase A modifies the cellular cytoskeleton to enable cell invasiveness and breast cancer metastases, and that high levels of this protein predicted survival rates for patients with aggressive breast cancers. These findings have therapeutic and prognostic value for breast cancer metastasis. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2021 | Tayler Clarke studied the impacts of ocean warming and deoxygenation on marine fish. Her findings particularly help understand how climate change will impact fisheries in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Nguyen investigated the characteristics of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells, which are believed to play a significant role in maintaining and regulating blood stem cells. Deletion of the Hic1 gene was found to expand these cells and further increase the number of blood stem cells, findings that offer great promise to stem cell therapy. | Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Deng designed the wide-bandwidth, cloverleaf-shaped antenna array for the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME). She helped calibrate the experiment by simulating its beam response, and conducted a wide-band survey of the north celestial cap to better understand our galaxy and cosmic signals. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Canals Hernaez examined the therapeutic potential of targeting podocalyxin, a protein present in aggressive cancers. She found that this protein displays a unique modification on tumors and developed an antibody-based drug that can kill cancer cells while sparing normal tissue. This research highlights a new and promising target for cancer therapy. | Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Lecorps investigated the effects of some common stressful and painful procedures on dairy cattle welfare. He found that some procedures likely induce negative mood and that some personality traits (e.g. pessimism) may render calves more vulnerable to stressors. His work shows that more research is needed to improve the welfare of dairy cattle. | Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD) |
| 2021 | Inflammatory Bowel Disease is incurable and affects 1 in 140 Canadians. Dr. Vent-Schmidt found a new mechanism for how inflammation-stopping cells work and genetically changed these cells for potential disease therapy. His surveyed patients showed willingness to try this therapy, highlighting the need to include patients early and throughout research. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Mills studied farmer decision-making and the role of their advisors to improve the welfare of dairy cows. The goal of this work is to help farmers better manage their businesses and improve the lives of the animals under their care. | Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Ma studied wavelength and polarization control for on-chip communication systems such as mobile network servers. He presented novel silicon photonic integrated circuit designs, from components to sub-systems, as well as intelligent control techniques. His studies facilitate developing fully integrated, high-speed, data-processing systems. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Soto Gomez used genomics to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the three major plant groups Pandanales, Dioscoreales and the Dioscorea yams, shedding light on their relationships, genomes, biogeography and morphology. She also developed methods to uncover wild yam species of utility for improving crop yams, which feed millions globally. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Irwin studied the molecular biology and evolution of the cell nucleus by examining how nuclear processes function in diverse organisms. His work revealed the capacity for viruses to shape cellular evolution, identified novel nuclear mechanisms, and highlighted the utility of new model organisms for future research. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Sun investigated energy storage applications. She developed a privacy protection solution for end consumers, a frequency regulation scheme for system operators, and a market participation strategy for storage owners. Her algorithms provide meaningful insights for the application of energy storage to support the paradigm shift to smart grids. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Jing developed high-throughput methods for the analysis of trace compounds in complex matrices. He coupled novel sample preparation methods to direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry, placing particular attention to the extraction and ionization processes. This work provides strategies for environment monitoring and quality control. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Alexander examined the molecular basis of two mechanisms of antibiotic resistance found in the bacterial pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. His characterisation of protein-antibiotic interactions using x-ray crystallography and kinetics contributes insight into how resistance occurs and could guide the development of new and improved antibiotics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Oluic dissertation focuses on the creation of an imagined European community in the nineteenth century as posited by four thinkers and essayists from Spain and Italy. His research elaborates a link between nineteenth century Europeanism and the present, exploring the relations that define national and supranational sovereignty. | Doctor of Philosophy in Hispanic Studies (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Mitelman developed an analogous method for solving ground-support problems, having an impact on the obligation for civil and mining engineers to ensure the stability of underground excavations. His proposed method requires less simplifying assumptions than analytical solutions and less computational resources than numerical methods. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mining Engineering (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Namae explored why some secondary school teachers in Uganda choose to adopt technology and others do not. Her findings revealed that skills training and sheer attitude influenced technology use in schools. Her study also reveals that the presence of technology in school does not guarantee teacher change of attitude and use. | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Al-Sahan identified that the integration of five biopsychosocial theories can help explain how people cope and adapt to loss of visible body parts. She subsequently applied the theories in the context of coping with complete tooth loss thereby proposing a model that explains the process of coping with tooth loss. | Doctor of Philosophy in Craniofacial Science and Diploma in Prosthodontics (PhD/Dip. Prosthodontics) |