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 | NID |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Dr. Parmasad studied Type 2 diabetes among Indian Trinidadians in Debe, Trinidad and Tobago. She examined reasons people did not follow medical advice. These included structural inequities in healthcare access and incompatibilities with local sociocultural contexts. Her findings highlight the importance of tailoring standardized treatment regimens. | Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Belliveau developed algorithms that produce three-dimensional images of the interior of the earth from remotely collected electrical and magnetic measurements. These images help scientists understand the Earth's interior. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Yousefi developed mathematical tools for formal safety verification of autonomous systems. Using this technique, he demonstrated the safety of automated anesthesia drug delivery systems. The proposed tools may facilitate the process of obtaining regulatory approval for automated drug delivery systems and their emergence in hospitals | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Ashtari evaluated the performance-based seismic design provisions of the 2014 Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code for reinforced concrete bridges. She identified, for the first time, the challenges of implementing the provisions in practice and addressed them with regards to design framework, performance criteria, analysis, and performance verification. | Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Lam investigated how post-childhood linguistic experience affects the way bilingual adults perceive speech sounds. In a Cantonese word identification experiment, Cantonese speakers who grew up in Canada used different listening strategies from those who grew up in Hong Kong. These results advance our understanding of bilingual competence. | Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics (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. Brown studied the interaction between tumours and the immune system in thousands of cancer patients. He used computational genomics methods to make predictions about how immune cells may recognize and attack these tumours, relating this to patient outcomes. This work identified patients most likely to benefit from immunotherapies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Ugarte examined the evolution of Indigenous policy in Chile, and how it has enabled Indigenous dispossession and ignored Indigenous legal orders. Her research suggests that the tensions between the state and Indigenous peoples today are the visible face of different legal orders clashing, making a call for planners to engage in legal pluralism. | Doctor of Philosophy in Planning (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Fenneman revised the taxonomy of two genera of plants in the sunflower family, and developed novel criteria for the defining of these species in British Columbia. These developments will help to better understand the biodiversity of the province, and provide a stronger framework for species conservation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (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. Keshavarzfathy developed a computational model to simulate the performance of ultraviolet light emitting diode (UV-LED) reactors for water treatment. He subsequently applied the model to several UV-LED reactor concepts. His work increases our understanding of the design and optimization of UV-LED reactors. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Pan's research focused on the management of electronic records as evidence and information in Chinese enterprises in the cloud context. She found that, while there are issues with the methods used for evidence protection and verification, efforts to exploit the informational content of records for business needs are increasing. | Doctor of Philosophy in Library, Archival and Information Studies (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Chern studied the chemotherapy resistance mechanisms in colon cancer. She found that HSP47 proteins promote drug resistance, and the interaction between SPARC and GRP78 proteins enhances the stress level and increases cell death in cancer cells under chemotherapy. Her findings provide insights into overcoming chemoresistance in colon cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Oncology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Safety is a primary issue of driverless cars. Dr. Alahmad advanced new mathematical models and cost effective methods to enable both safety integrity and timing predictability for real-time computer systems. His work will continue to advance safety in emergent intelligent systems that are becoming ubiquitous in our daily lives. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Li investigated the important issues of resource allocation and content caching in 5G mobile Internet and beyond. He subsequently proposed a series of frameworks for effectively enhancing network performances on network traffic offloading, mobile users' quality of service, and service request satisfaction. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Rugel created a model of natural spaces such as parks, street trees, and beaches across Vancouver. She applied it to prescription and survey data to identify how specific forms of nature influence our mental health and social connections. Her work advances our understanding of how best to integrate nature into healthy urban policies and designs. | 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. Yumagulova examined how cities and regions can build their resilience to disasters and climate change using the Metro Vancouver region as her case study. Her research shows the importance of collaboration and learning to ensure coordinated, multi-level governance of risk. | Doctor of Philosophy in Planning (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. Lambert investigated causes of pain in fibromyalgia and determined that specialized immune cells in the brain may play a critical role. She also created two novel molecules which act on the endocannabinoid system to reduce the pain-causing actions of these immune cells. Her work may form the basis of a new therapeutic strategy for chronic pain. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Akhtari studied bioenergy and biofuel production using forestry by-products in British Columbia. In her work, she developed decision making models that inform decisions related to designing a supply chain. This is aimed at generating additional revenue for the forest industry, and replacing fossil fuels with bioenergy in forest-dependent communities. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (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. Rozworska's research showed that mothers who support their daughters emotionally and can manage their own emotions, have daughters with fewer eating disorder difficulties. She concluded that teaching mothers strategies for emotional support can be a beneficial addition to traditional therapies for eating disorders in youth. | Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Goodbody analyzed the potential of digital photogrammetry to provide data products and analytical methods to enhance forest inventories. With reference to its areas of success, limitation, and future directions, digital photogrammetry is justified as a technology capable of and improving forest resources monitoring and management. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Cutts used novel radiometric dating methods to study the dynamics of Himalayan-style mountain building and the role of the mantle in preserving Earth's oldest crust. His results provide key insight and predictions into the uniformity of continental collision through time and on the feedbacks and interactions between the crust and mantle and the other Earth systems. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD) |