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. 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) |
| 2020 | Dr. Evoy studied the physical properties of organic aerosols, which are known to be important for environmental and human health. She evaluated the accuracy of different equations used to describe the diffusion of molecules within aerosols. The results improve our ability to understand and quantify the effects of organic aerosols in the atmosphere. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Petel studied the transport of molecules and ions in innovative materials to improve our understanding of the mechanisms behind their unique physical and electrical properties. Her research assists in the development of applications such as artificial muscles, electro-optical devices, and recyclable polymers. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Murch investigated the psychology of slot machine gambling. He found behavioural and physiological markers of a highly-focused attentional state called immersion in play. These findings clarify the role of slot machine design in the development of gambling problems, providing new guidance for treatment professionals and gambling regulators. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Hersh studied why asexual plants are often more widespread than their sexual relatives using Easter daisies, and found that asexuals are aided by particularly successful clones and seed traits that help promote colonization. This work challenges the assumption that asexuals' only advantage is the ability to reproduce without mates. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Paterson explored and modelled the dynamic response of papermaking fibre suspensions undergoing compressive dewatering operations. His research advanced traditional deformable porous media models by including effects of the fibres' complex structure. The findings are valuable for optimizing designs of pulp and paper industrial equipment. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Astic coupled multi-physics simulations with data science to develop a new methodology to image the subsurface and map underground resources from geophysical data with an improved resolution. This new approach will help locate and estimate the resources available for a sustainable future, such as minerals, water, and CO2 storage capacity. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD) |