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. Chang examined the subjective experiences of musicians engaged in free improvisation where conventional musical elements are largely forsaken. Her findings bring novel insight into how musicians navigate these performances and how free improvisation can be applied in therapeutic settings. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. MacRae examined facial expression, vocalizations and changes in eye temperature as potential indicators of pain in harbour seals. This work represents some of the first research on pain and pain indicators of the harbour seal. Her research contributes to the welfare of seals by improving understanding of their pain responses. | Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Myxoid liposarcoma is a type of cancer that predominantly affects young adults. Dr. Yu's doctoral studies examined the role of how a mutant protein functions as the main cause of myxoid liposarcoma. Her research uncovered a new function of the mutant protein that can form the basis of future treatment strategies for this disease. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Oncology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Gignac studied a rare genetic disease called Robinow syndrome that is caused by mutations in the Wingless or WNT signaling pathway. Her work demonstrated how WNT5A and DVL1 genetic mutations disrupt formation of the skeleton. In future, these studies will lead to therapies for WNT diseases in humans such as cancer or bone related disorders. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Fortune discovered that bowhead whales feed year-round in the Eastern Canadian Arctic, and use flexible feeding strategies that may help them adapt to climate induced changes in their prey. She also found that bowheads slough their skin and rub against rocks to exfoliate - providing a new understanding of bowhead whale biology. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Li focused on building fault-tolerant software in commodity computer systems. He proposed an analytical model to guide developers to improve the resilience of their applications at low cost. His technique allows people to continue enjoying fast computers without sacrificing their reliability. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Lever developed methods to extract biomedical knowledge from published academic papers. Working at BC Cancer's Genome Sciences Centre, he used machine learning approaches to find genetic information useful to clinicians treating cancer patients in a personalized way. His results are accessed daily by cancer researchers around the world. | Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Lopez studied the real time simulation of complex systems, focussing on disaster response scenarios. He explored critical infrastructure interdependencies, machine learning, and parallel processing and was able to test over hundreds of scenarios within a couple of minutes. This research provides first responders with a tool to help them save lives. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2019 | Success in employment for people with disabilities is often hampered by the negative attitudes of others within the workplace. Dr. Breen's research has resulted in his development of a questionnaire to measure these attitudes. The results of these measurements will aid in planning and determining the success of workplace training interventions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Velasquez Garcia made use of novel methods to estimate the causal effects of breast density on breast cancer risk, and to determine whether genetic mutations related to breast cancer act through breast density. His findings provide insights regarding potential future methods of breast cancer prevention. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Marquez used a mouse model to study the relationship between Epstein-Barr Virus (the virus that causes Infectious Mononucleosis) and the development of Multiple Sclerosis (or MS). She found that B cells infected with the mouse version of Epstein-Barr directly contribute to the worsening of the mouse version of MS. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Manav studied the mechanics of polymeric soft active materials using a combination of theory, molecular simulations, and experiments. His research established a relationship between the molecular scale properties of these materials and their macroscale mechanical properties. His work enables the application of these materials in the biomedical industry. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Campbell investigated the role of the Trithorax Group (TrxG) protein complexes during pancreas development. She discovered that loss of TrxG epigenetic activity resulted in fewer insulin-producing beta-cells and diabetes. Her research may improve the generation of functional pancreatic beta-cells from stem cells as a potential diabetes therapy. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Martens studied the surface chemistry of platinum catalysts inside hydrogen fuel cells. A better mechanistic understanding of corrosion and degradation in these devices is critical for the development of economically viable clean power systems. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Granados studied the formation of Jupiter sized planets that are very close to their host star. Using numerical simulations, she found that under certain conditions, these 'close-in Jupiters' can form in the region we observe them today through multiple planet-to-planet collisions while there is still considerable amount of gas present in the protoplanetary disk. | Doctor of Philosophy in Astronomy (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Charette studied pattern formations on evolving surfaces. He provided new findings on the bifurcations of reaction-diffusion systems and developed a numerical method to demonstrate his findings using the Closest Point Method. His work can be extended to many other evolving domain problems. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Celiberto investigated how good bacteria in the gut protect against Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and the role of intestinal mucus in providing protection against bacterial infections. Her research may help in the development of new therapies for patients suffering acute infectious and chronic inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Hirsch Allen produced the most comprehensive and robust series of studies to date on the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea and the risk of occupational injuries. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2019 | Researchers today are able to study the behaviour of deep diving animals via sensors that generate high volumes of data. Dr. Fu developed automatic data analytic methods to group dive depth trajectories of southern elephant seals by dive shape. His methods help researchers understand seals' foraging and resting behaviour. | Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Chen's research aimed at optimizing sensor deployment locations for environmental monitoring. He developed information-based sampling techniques so that sensor nodes can retrieve maximum information from the environment. This research can lead to better sampling strategies and result in reduced costs and increased efficiency. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Woods researched factors influencing low breast cancer screening in British Columbia. He examined characteristics from both family physicians and patients, looking at immigration factors as well as different measures of patient-physician relationships to identify under-screened populations of women. This work helps focus intervention strategies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Hund investigated the impacts of climate change and population growth on water supplies in the seasonally-dry tropics. She monitored streams and groundwater, modelled future climate scenarios, and worked with communities to develop novel tools to support adaptation to drought. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Cook monitored a set of parameters that evaluate the external condition, stress, and immune function among non-target salmon species that are discarded as bycatch. This research improves our understanding of the effects of acute stress on the physiology and survival of fish, and can be applied to improving the welfare of fishes discarded from fisheries. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2019 | Myelin is a material in the brain which is damaged by certain diseases. Dr. Manning researched techniques to better detect myelin with an MRI scan. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2019 | With participation of 121 homecare nurses, Dr. Al-Masslawi studied barriers to their work, their problem solving strategies, and developed new patient documentation software that was inspired by their creative problem solving. The software used speech recognition, wearable technology, and smart phones, which nurses found very useful and easy to use. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |