Doctoral Citations

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
2022 Dr. Ryoo studied the question of what it means to act for amor mundi, the love of the world, at the intersections of art, aesthetics, education, philosophy,and politics. Her study invites us to examine commonly held conceptions in these disciplines and in our daily lives to understand our ethical, educational, social, and political responsibilities. Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD)
2022 Dr. Javed has developed breast cancer models to target primary and metastatic tumors at distant sites. She also explored the role of finger like projections-invadopodia in helping tumor cells movement through the lymphatic system. The findings from these studies will be helpful in providing an in-depth insight into targeting tumor metastasis. Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD)
2022 Dr. Zeitouny assessed key dimensions in access to medicines in Canada and globally. Her research examined primary non-adherence in primary care. It uncovered changes in drug use and costs in British Columbia and investigated global vaccine availability during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her findings contributed to constructive health systems research. Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD)
2022 Dr. Amini developed methodologies to investigate earthquakes related to oil and gas industry activities in North America by integrating empirical analyses, machine learning and advanced numerical modelling. The results of this research help to better understand these phenomena and design effective mitigation plans. Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Engineering (PhD)
2022 Dr. Wickham investigated modifiable risk factors associated with recurrent adverse drug events, and examined how well these events are captured in health care data. These studies have implications for patient safety, and for drug safety research, as the documentation of these events is crucial in understanding and preventing their recurrence. Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD)
2022 Dr. Cooney produced molecular data for rare and understudied dinoflagellates, substantially expanding data availability for this important group. She identified several new species along the way and revealed new insights about dinoflagellate biology and evolution. Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD)
2022 Dr. Yen studied drug resistance mechanisms in chronic myeloid leukemia by identifying predictive microRNA biomarkers and exploring the role of the translation initiation complex. This research will help stratify drug-insensitive patients and develop alternative combination treatments to treat them. Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD)
2022 Dr. Rice examined the developmental trajectories of young athletes to understand multi-sport vs. single sport approaches to sport. He found that athletes value and are trying to participate in multiple sports through seasonal specialization, but greater cooperation and harmonizing of messaging is needed between sport bodies. Doctor of Philosophy in Kinesiology (PhD)
2022 Dr. Ritchie's research provided new archaeological evidence and perspectives for better understanding how the ancestors of the Sts'ailes - Coast Salish lived and related to other people and the land around them, how this changed over time, and how it continues to influence contemporary territoriality and identity. Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (PhD)
2022 Dr. Zhu advanced the human computer interaction method on ultrasound machines with the help of the gaze tracking technology, and devised automated medical image analysis approaches with deep learning. This research unveils the usefulness and importance of taking human attention factors into system design and machine learning research. Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering (PhD)
2022 Dr. Smith investigated how settler forestry and conservation management in British Columbia impact Lil'wat First Nation's processes to recover food sovereignty. Through collaborative community-based research with Lil'wat, Dr. Smith's research produces insights and potential pathways forward for supporting and enhancing Lil'wat Nation food sovereignty. Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
2022 Dr. Sandhra studied museums as spaces of belonging through the experience of three Asian Canadian migrant communities in BC - Sikhs, Chinese and Japanese. Her research and findings centred racialized voices only as a means to demonstrate the power of margins as the site of solidarity and belonging in public history discourse. Doctor of Philosophy in History (PhD)
2022 Dr. Breckenridge's research revealed that zooplankton in the Fraser River Estuary are limited by how quickly water moves through the system; channelization of the delta may therefore have reduced zooplankton production. Her modelling suggests that warming and early snowmelt may lead to changes in the abundance of zooplankton in the estuary. Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD)
2022 Dr. Kanagasingam interviewed social justice-oriented clinicians and their patients to examine how social justice is understood, enacted, and experienced in weight-related clinical care. The study presents an alternative to the dominant approach of treating obesity and offers practice-oriented insights for weight-inclusive and equitable care. Doctor of Philosophy in Kinesiology (PhD)
2022 Dr. Hall's research synthesized health economics with learning health systems to support strategic management of care portfolios. Through the development and implementation of his 'Economic Learning Health System' framework, he assisted a health authority with the optimization of care delivery for seniors receiving home health services. Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD)
2022 Dr. Nasseri has developed new methods to facilitate 3-D microscopy of tumour organoids and make their use more feasible in cancer drug screening. He has also done several proof-of-concept studies using tumour organoids that make the case for using image-based microfluidic screening platforms for finding new cancer drugs. Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering (PhD)
2022 Dr. Pushak studied the recipes computers use to solve problems. Computational recipes, or algorithms, are similar to baking recipes, which can be adjusted by modifying parameters such as temperature. He showed that computer parameters contain simple, exploitable patterns that can substantially reduce the time needed to solve computational problems. Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2022 Driven by the demand for improving fuel efficiency, the automotive industry has been committed to reducing vehicle weight. Many casting technologies have been employed to produce aluminum automotive parts. Dr. Wei has worked to optimize the process parameters and die tooling design to improve cast quality for lightweight aluminum components. Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering (PhD)
2022 Dr. Silva studied an immune cell type called patrolling monocytes, which are important in maintaining vascular health. She identified a beneficial role for these cells in obesity, Alzheimer's disease, and tumour metastases. Her work contributes to the potential of harnessing these cells in novel disease therapies. Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD)
2022 Dr. Southcott designed new compounds that bind radiometals with high affinity and stability which can have applications as diagnostic imaging agents or therapeutics in cancer treatment. She developed an array of compounds which were tested with relevant medical isotopes and help progress the next generation of radiopharmaceuticals. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2022 Dr. MacLeod helped lead a team of scientists and engineers that built the world's first self-driving laboratory for optimizing thin-film materials. This autonomous robotic laboratory accelerates the development of new and improved materials for clean energy applications. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2022 Dr. Wolf developed an affective conception of thinking through the work of Gilles Deleuze as a new theory and practice of an education for thinking. Especially in relation to Matthew Lipman's philosophy for children approach, the pedagogical consequence is a thinking that is more inclusive and sensitive to context leading to a richer sensibility. Doctor of Philosophy in Human Development, Learning, and Culture (PhD)
2022 Imagine disasters and laughing and making meaning through humor in the face of the rubbles. Dr. Maestrini's work is a comic poetic collection of stories, poems and theories written to understand the social, political, cultural and pedagogical functions of humor after earthquakes in Mexico, in life and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies (PhD)
2022 Dr. Treleaven examined how younger adult eldercare providers navigate work and care. She extends theories of mental labour to better understand and reflect the reality of providing eldercare in the COVID-19 pandemic. Her dissertation analyzes the stories, experiences, and implications to illuminate the relational nature of care within families. Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology (PhD)
2022 The prevailing theory of particle physics has been immensely successful but is known to be incomplete. Many of its extensions predict modifications to the rate at which Higgs bosons are produced in pairs. Dr. Gubbels analyzes data collected by the ATLAS detector to search for this process, placing strong constraints on any such new theories. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)