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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Dr. Jain's work in carbohydrate chemistry involved the development of several molecular tools that facilitate the discovery of industrially applicable enzymes that can break down carbohydrates. Such enzymes have applications in biofuel production from renewable sources and in understanding mechanisms of carbohydrate digestion in humans. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Hernandez Torres studied two probabilistic models that emulate phenomena in physics and biology. She focused on understanding the behaviour of these models at a large-scale. Her results add to our mathematical understanding of the relation between microscopic and macroscopic descriptions of natural processes within probability theory. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Ebneyamini's research focused on the regeneration of limestone-based particles as sorbents for the capture of CO2 via calcium-looping. His work introduced a novel technology, capable of efficient sorbent regeneration at relatively mild temperatures. The process also benefits from CO2 utilization, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (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) |
| 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. Maharaj found evidence for the impact of climate change on coral reef ecosystems in the Caribbean, showed that coral habitats are important for protecting resident fishes from these impacts, and demonstrated that multi-scale comparisons of ecosystem models help reconcile the differences in climate impacts expected at global and regional scales. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Amundrud combined machine learning, observational surveys along environmental gradients and controlled experiments to demonstrate that the processes that shape species distributions and ecological communities depend on spatial scale and environmental context. This research sheds new light on how ecosystems will respond to climate change. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 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. | |
| 2020 | Dr. Alotaibi examined the roles of molecular targets in endometriosis cell invasion and nerve growth. He found that protein IL-1 beta enhances invasive capacity of endometriosis and is associated with nerve growth and worse sexual pain reported by patients. His findings suggest a novel therapeutic target for treatment of endometriosis related pain. | |
| 2020 | Dr. Gavrilovic examined the lifecycle performance of buildings that have been damaged during earthquakes. Simulating the repair of damage on a computer, new results provide insights into the costs, repairability, and sustainability of several structural materials. This research will assist in the design of more resilient and sustainable buildings. | Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Vitale studied how everyday technology users curate their personal data, such as photos, documents, or mobile apps, by deciding what to keep or discard. His work characterizes the strong individual differences that users display in their decisions and provides implications for designing personalized tools that can meet different user needs. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Blundon showed that hearing may be one of the last senses to remain active before death. Some hospice patients may still be able to hear sounds, especially music, when they become unresponsive just before they pass away. These results broaden our understanding of what happens to us as we die and how best to care for our dying loved ones. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Wei studied how mortgage market fluctuations in the early 2000's affected long-term labor market outcomes in the US. Her work also investigated the impact of tax incentives on small business growth. These findings have policy implications for labor market recoveries after a financial crisis and the promotion of small businesses. | Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Finlay studied the markers of sustained success in high performance sports organisations, proposing two conceptual models on how leaders managed processes of change management and performance management. The research informs high performance sports organisations, and the leaders working within them, in relation to best practices in these areas. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Bulaeva developed a new model of acute myeloid leukemia by overexpressing a gene called MYC in normal human blood cells. Using this model, she found that these cells require signals also present during inflammation to initiate leukemia and behave normally in their absence, suggesting that inflammation may play a role in human leukemogenesis. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Canning studied how people living with advanced dementia in long-term care continued to experience meaningful engagement. Despite significant losses they demonstrated a range of enduring abilities and skills. Her findings support ways for caregivers to connect with residents during both structured activities and informal interactions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Bowles investigated an axiomatic framework for problems concerning optimal ways to transport a distribution into another. In his work, he focused on an associated class of non-linear operators and developed their invariant properties. This research contributes to our understanding of common structures that persists across such problems. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Lee used novel techniques and various modelling approaches to evaluate impacts of nitrogen fertilization at a coastal forest and provide better estimates of photosynthesis and respiration. These results help us understand more about the role of temperate forests in climate change mitigation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Namae explored why some secondary school teachers in Uganda choose to adopt technology and others do not. Her findings revealed that skills training and sheer attitude influenced technology use in schools. Her study also reveals that the presence of technology in school does not guarantee teacher change of attitude and use. | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Wang studied baroclinic critical layers, thin layers in fluids with pronounced wave amplitudes. His research theoretically revealed the evolution of the critical layers and the potential mechanism through which they replicate. These discoveries advance our understanding of transition to turbulence in ocean, atmosphere and astrophysical disks. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Kwon examined how characteristics in outpatients with atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat, could be used to inform tailored interventions and patient education strategies. He revealed that rather than conforming to a single uniform pathway, patients could be statistically sorted and classified into distinct health trajectories. | Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Hughes studied mathematical models for random spatial populations which arise in a variety of settings, including ecology. His work focused on fractal properties of the population densities. This research sheds light on how these populations, and other important stochastic models, are locally distributed in space. | 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. Jing developed high-throughput methods for the analysis of trace compounds in complex matrices. He coupled novel sample preparation methods to direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry, placing particular attention to the extraction and ionization processes. This work provides strategies for environment monitoring and quality control. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Duncan found that, compared to accelerometry, self-report questionnaires misrepresent the amount of time individuals with schizophrenia spend physically active. His study suggests that scientists and clinicians should rely less on questionnaires and use technological approaches to track behaviours, inform decisions, and evaluate interventions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Kinesiology (PhD) |