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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Dr. Ennis determined the dietary requirements for amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine in human pregnancy, while comparing findings to current management practices of maternal phenylketonuria patients. These studies will improve dietary recommendations during pregnancy that have the potential to positively impact birth outcomes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Reproductive and Developmental Sciences (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Hofman examined the relationship between privacy and transparency, finding that recordkeeping mediates that relationship. She developed a framework for records professionals making decisions weighing privacy, transparency, and secrecy based on archival principles. Her research can improve digital technology to better protect privacy. | Doctor of Philosophy in Library, Archival and Information Studies (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Jabalee examined the molecular changes that occur during cancer progression. He identified silencing of the SMPD3 gene as a driver of cell motility and demonstrated the presence of morphological alterations in non-cancer cells adjacent to tonsil tumors. This work opens the door to development of novel tests for early tumor detection. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Oncology (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Mathae discovered the role of an immune cell population in sex bias in asthma prevalence. She also found that these cells migrate from the lung to the liver upon activation, linking the lung and liver immunity. Her work highlights the complexity of the local and systemic immune regulations. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Oncology (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Mabi investigated the role of information and identity for African Immigrants seeking equitable employment in Vancouver. She demonstrated that the multifaceted identities of immigrants had a significant impact on access to settlement support and employment outcomes, highlighting the value of an intersectional approach to immigrant settlement. | Doctor of Philosophy in Library, Archival and Information Studies (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Tembrevilla documented an expansion in rural high school science teachers' knowledge related to technology, pedagogy, and content through science video production. This work underscores the importance of centering investments for science teachers and integrating technology and local knowledge in science education, particularly in rural areas. | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Mitra examined the effect of separate refining and co-refining of mixtures of softwood and hardwood pulps in terms of paper tensile strength. He developed a scaling law for tensile strength increase during refining of pulp mixtures, which will help use NBSK pulp to the highest potential and achieve target strengths depending on grades of paper. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Giannone studied identity development in young adults and student-athletes. She found that group interventions that brought young people together to talk about identity helped them develop a stronger sense of who they are and where they are heading. Enhanced identity improved participants' sense of hope, motivation, and self-efficacy. | Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Brenner examined how teacher candidates' personal characteristics and features of learning environments shaped their motivation to develop self-regulated learning practices. She identified affordances and constraints for the development of these practices, and identifies how teacher educators may include them in their curricula. | Doctor of Philosophy in Human Development, Learning, and Culture (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Sadiq explored language and literacy practices of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, one of the largest, yet understudied, displaced populations. He found that families engage in various literacy practices. At school, females experienced more success than males, as the latter lacked available guardians and schoolwork was beyond their level. | Doctor of Philosophy in Language and Literacy Education (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Yee examined how Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators and advocates came together in a Community of Inquiry to support Indigenous (and all) students. Based in research on colonialism and decolonization, her study traced how diverse participants co-constructed practices to enact a shared vision of education based on respectful relationships. | Doctor of Philosophy in Special Education (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Standing presented a new historical interpretation of the early modern English Chancery's role in relocating moral obligation from a spiritual to a temporal jurisdiction. Arguing that this shift is registered in the period's drama, she has contributed to an important ongoing conversation about personal interiority, state values, and conscience. | Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Graham examined the pedagogical benefits of learning and performing a musical genre known as complexism - a style that has received much criticism over the years. He presented interviews with well-known performers, analysis of his own experience, and highlighted the benefits the musician will see as a result of an experience with this genre. | Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Instrument (DMA) |
| 2020 | Dr. Shilling spoke with urban Indigenous youth to explore how they use technology to connect to identity, language, and culture, finding that social media acts as a place for learning and engaging with community. Her results have implications on community-building, language revitalization, and education outreach throughout Turtle Island. | Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies (PhD) |
| 2020 | Through a comparative historical analysis, Dr. Wells found that sex testing policy remains resilient over time because it operates as an actor-network - a loose coalition of human beings, ideas, and technologies - which links biological knowledge about sexual difference with cultural values about competitive fairness, even as those concepts evolve. | Doctor of Philosophy in Kinesiology (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Lo explored Chinese heritage maintenance in identity and language practice in BC. Findings illuminate perceptions shaped by migratory trajectory, immigrant generation, and embodied racialized identity. Her research enriches the theoretical discourse in heritage maintenance with language as a conceptual link between heritage and identity. | Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Qiu used computer simulations to explain the motion of drops made from a magnetic liquid, and developed a general computational method to study liquid crystals with a free surface. His research helps understand the physics of complex fluids under surface tension, and design new materials for many possible applications, such as medical care. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Day analyzed contemporary media artworks that interrogate the socio-political issues of data and algorithms. The research argues that these artworks subvert the exploitation and encoding of information capitalism through amplifying data that has been suppressed, offering critical ways to engage with information and communication technologies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Cui developed comprehensive approaches to interpreting deep learning models in visual understanding. These approaches provide explanations from diverse aspects for the black-box deep learning models. His work will help build trust in end-users for those deep models and contribute to the model deployment. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Hofer found that a romantic partner may improve health even when not physically present. Olfactory cues from a romantic partner improved people's ability to cope with stress and the likelihood of a good night's sleep. Her work suggests simple strategies that promote health and can be readily applied to a range of people and situations. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Ren proposed architectural supports for efficient synchronizations in both single-Graphics Processing Units and multi-GPU systems. His work can simplify GPU programming, increase performance, and extend hardware scalability to large-scale systems, thereby attracting more programmers and extending GPU to a wider range of application domains. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Palis studied cocaine use among patients receiving treatment for opioid addiction at North America's first injectable opioid agonist treatment clinic. Her dissertation quantified and explained variation in patients' patterns of cocaine use. These findings can inform treatment and service provision for people who use both cocaine and opioids. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Martinez-Dibene laid the foundations for the uniform spanning forest model with uniform drift in one coordinate. He studied basic statistics such as the number of visits to a point as well as the geometry of the resulting forest. This helps understanding better the models of random forests in graphs which have applications in the design of networks. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Yue developed economical, high-throughput research techniques to track hundreds of cell signalling proteins in biological models with high sensitivity. He then applied these to map the architecture of signalling systems involved in cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease to uncover potential therapeutic and diagnostic opportunities. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Talebian developed a comprehensive cost optimization model to design a hydrogen fueling supply chain for British Columbia. Her work is the first contribution in assessing the incentive effectiveness and emissions mitigation policies for the accelerated adoption of low-carbon hydrogen in the transportation sector. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering (PhD) |