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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Dr. Bauer studied the geochemistry of chromium and iron in modern and ancient rock and sediments. He created new knowledge about the implementation of these two transition metals as paleoredox proxies that will allow for more nuanced reconstructions of the complex history of oxygen in Earth's surface environments. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. MacKenzie investigated the processes that control bank erosion in steep, gravel-bed channels. She found that a small number of large grains stabilize the channel regardless of the amount of water and sediment supplied to the system. These results have implications for hazard mitigation and infrastructure design in mountainous regions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Livernois examined the theoretical foundations of market-based policies and cost-benefit analysis, arguing that both fall short of delivering results that could forge sound environmental policy. The outcome of this research was to clarify misguided economic concepts with the aim of contributing to the improvement of environmental policy. | Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy (PhD) |
| 2019 | Upgrading bio-oil to a viable transport fuel requires de-oxygenation. Dr. Liu developed an inexpensive catalyst for removing oxygen in bio-oil. He examined the catalyst both experimentally and theoretically and found that its performance is comparable to customary metal catalysts used in bio-oil upgrading. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Chavardes explored how drought influenced fires over time and space in western Canadian forests. He used weather and climate records, statistical models, tree-ring science, and fire-scar records to understand historical associations between droughts and fire. This work helps landscape managers foresee how future fires can be impacted by climate change. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Dawson's doctoral studies focused on refining a new cellular therapy for organ transplant recipients. His work will support a future clinical trial that aims to improve organ longevity and patient quality of life by re-educating the immune system to accept the organ. This will reduce the need for immunosuppressive drugs. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Wall studied parents' relational involvement in competitive figure skating. She conducted a study of the parent-coach relationship and a second study of parent-skater interactions that extended across a year. Her findings showed unique aspects of these relationships and illuminated how parents nurture their child's personal development in sport. | Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Nolan studied the contradictory relationship between terrorism prevention and multiculturalism in Australia. She argued that combining the two can undermine positive community relations and service delivery for marginalised communities. Her research illuminates the unique role of local council workers to resist these effects. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Santarrosa studied the causes of widespread ethnic conflicts across Africa and Asia. His research shows why some leaders share power with representatives of other ethnic groups, while others opt for exclusion and hence advance conflict. His analysis also evaluates potential policies aimed at mitigating civil wars. | Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Kovalchik developed computational tools for the analysis of high-resolution mass spectrometry data relating to oil sands process-affected water and cancer biology. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Eriksson studied how standing behaviour around calving relates to hoof lesions in dairy cows. She found that both long daily standing time, and long standing bouts were related to a higher risk of these lesions. This knowledge will help farmers to evaluate what management practices can affect the claw health of their animals. | Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Franke conducted a study on the mobility experiences of active older adults with low income in Metro Vancouver. She developed a framework that advances our understanding of how low income older adults overcome disparities and maintain their mobility. Her research will help inform decision making to improve the health and mobility of older adults. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Fournier's research builds upon well established imaging technologies used by earth scientists to better understand the sub surface and interior of our planet. He focused on the processing of surface gravity and magnetic field data -- an active field of research in applied geophysics. His work is frequently used in the scientific community. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Stojkov studied the management of vulnerable dairy cows. His findings improve our understanding of how dairy cows are managed once they leave the farm. This will help to guide future research, policy and development of better industry practices. | Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Aleksandrova studied ketamine, a rapid-acting antidepressant. Her research suggests that ketamine may have pro-cognitive effects due to its ability to restore normal synaptic plasticity, the ability of the brain to adapt and change, in the hippocampus. The hippocampus is a key brain region implicated in depression. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Gambarage studied the determiner systems of the Nata (Bantu) and Lilloet (Salish) languages. He concluded that common semantic features of definiteness and specificity found in other well-studied languages are missing in these languages. His work opens up the notion of existence as it relates to the article systems of these languages. | Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Vranic explored the terracotta sculptures from Northern Italy of life-size groups representing the Lamentation over the Dead Christ. This established a history for these works and provides a technical explanation of how they were created. Her work shows that the technology of making terracotta sculpture was a highly specialized practice in the Renaissance. | Doctor of Philosophy in Art History (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Beattie examined how nickel, a sustainable and cheap metal element, can activate carbon-hydrogen bonds, including effects of different reaction variables. His studies inform the inorganic and organic chemical communities on the mechanism of how nickel can be used for sustainable chemical transformations. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Cromwell built a whole disease health economic decision model to better inform health system decision makers of the influence of different policies in oral cancer. His work demonstrated that the whole disease model approach enables decisions to consider both upstream and downstream policies. The work has implications for and beyond oral cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Hsu constructed a categorical action of the shifted q=0 affine algebra on the derived categories of coherent sheaves on partial flag varieties. Then he applied this action to obtain an action of the q=0 affine Hecke algebra on the derived categories of coherent sheaves on the full flag variety. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Younk examined the process by which a group of educational leaders from BC co-constructed their understandings of competencies in K-12 education. This study provides insight into how two current learning theories, activity theory and expansive learning theory, help us understand the complexities of systemic change. | Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy (EdD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Holman studied social behahaviour and its underlying neurobiology during adolescence using a well-established animal model of prenatal alcohol exposure. He found that prenatal exposure to alcohol impairs development of adolescent social behaviour, which was associated with altered neural activity and development of the oxytocin/vasopressin systems. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Lima studied logging activities in the Brazilian Amazon. She assessed selective logging patterns using remote sensing tools and was one of the first studies to analyze the new European satellite Sentinel-2. Findings will inform the academic community and governmental institutions concerned with forest monitoring and law enforcement. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Wu investigated whether people are trusting because of how they are raised or if they constantly adjust their trust in response to life experiences. He examined moving from a high to a low trust place and how mothers and fathers play different roles in shaping trust of their children. This research shows that people learn to trust early in life through socialization and that learned trust persists into adulthood. | Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Colalillo examined how characteristics of mothers, such as memory, self-control, personality, and attitudes toward parenting, are linked to their parenting behaviors. She found that these relations differ depending on the nature of the childrearing context. This research sheds light on the complexity of parenting and parent-child interactions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |