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. Sun investigated energy storage applications. She developed a privacy protection solution for end consumers, a frequency regulation scheme for system operators, and a market participation strategy for storage owners. Her algorithms provide meaningful insights for the application of energy storage to support the paradigm shift to smart grids. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Dupuis used computer simulations to better understand how an antimicrobial potato protein interacts with model cell membranes, and the role of its disulfide bonds. His research highlighted regions of the protein most likely to mediate membrane interactions, and that the disulfide bonds may aid in membrane targeting specificity. | Doctor of Philosophy in Food Science (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Durney used mathematical and biophysical modelling to show how the individual and collective motion of cells cause a variety of mechanical behaviors of tissues during development. His work provides understanding to the mechanisms that are responsible for the correct development of form during organ development. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Dixon studied the molecular basis of inherited cancer predisposition. Using novel sequencing technologies, her work demonstrated that specific genetic changes influence normal cell and tissue function to increase disease risk. This research provides insights into the challenges of genetic diagnosis and may improve the care of affected families. | Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD) |
| 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. Mehrtash developed computer algorithms to assist doctors and improve outcomes for patients undergoing image-guided procedures. He devised novel machine learning methods for improving prostate cancer diagnosis and interventions. His work led to the development of new methods for uncertainty estimation in clinical decision-making systems. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Jafer explored politics of victimhood and agency in the everyday lives of a religious minority community in BC. She demonstrated that subtle acts of resistance, when motivated by religious convictions, create religio-political identities that insist on active citizenship and equal recognition, providing a new interpretation of victimhood. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (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. 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. Adeyeye examined conflicts and likely solutions to improve access to forest and water resources for Indigenous and local communities. By analyzing how diverse actors seek to influence decision-making at regional, national and international scales, he recommends, among others, participatory decision-making with indigenous and local leadership. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Ryan used analyses of rocks from dome-building volcanoes in tandem with high-temperature, high-pressure experimentation to show that crystalline granular materials in volcanic environments heal on short timescales. This research demonstrates that the healing of crystalline granular materials can trigger cyclical explosive eruptions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Yuskiv investigated management practices and treatment outcomes of phenylketonuria, a rare, treatable genetic metabolic disorder. She identified needs for improvement in the areas of diagnosis, management practices, treatment outcomes, and parental quality of life. Her work will benefit families with phenylketonuria. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Ashkani developed a methodology for seismic assessment of reinforced concrete bridges. He also investigated the role of soil-structure interaction in the probability of collapse of reinforced concrete bridges and studied variation of the bridge foundation motions from the earthquake ground motions at the ground surface. | Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Docking studied acute myeloid leukemia, a blood-based cancer with very poor outcomes. Using genome sequencing technology, he developed a test that can determine whether patients are likely to respond to therapy, and identified patients who may respond to existing cancer drugs, which has the potential to significantly improve patient outcomes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Alexander examined the molecular basis of two mechanisms of antibiotic resistance found in the bacterial pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. His characterisation of protein-antibiotic interactions using x-ray crystallography and kinetics contributes insight into how resistance occurs and could guide the development of new and improved antibiotics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Choi investigated speech perception in preverbal infants. Her behavioural and neuroimaging research demonstrated that infants integrate information from their articulatory movements during speech perception. These studies advance understandings of how infants may acquire speech, the complex perceptual and motoric skill essential for language. | Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Kim studied particle breakage in sorption-enhanced chemical looping, which produces H2-enriched synthesis gas while capturing CO2 from fuels. He examined the breakage of oxygen carrier and CO2 sorbent particles and developed a model to improve the efficiency and stability of the process to reduce the impact on public health and the environment. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Nguyen developed efficient algorithms for pricing and resource allocation in edge computing. This research assists service providers and network operators to optimize the operation and planning of edge networks. It also facilitates the development of new marketplaces for fair and efficient allocation and trading of edge resources. | Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Warfield created a new research methodology for exploring how young people produce and distribute images of themselves on social media. This methodology examines the varied forces at play, allowing a richer and more complex understanding of emotions, interfaces, and scripts such as those influenced by gender, race and religion. | Doctor of Philosophy in Language and Literacy Education (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Lin studied the evolution of rare cases when the roles are reversed, and plants consume animals or parasitize fungi. He discovered a new carnivorous plant lineage, and addressed species boundaries in it. He also resolved relationships of monocot which parasitize fungi, and uncovered an unusual gene transfer from soil fungi to plants. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (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. Peiris explored a drumming tradition in Sri Lanka, looking at how people have thought of it before, during, and after the encounter with European colonial rule. He used musical change as a lens to examine changing social contexts in South Asia, contributing to broader discussions about the reach and impact of ideas that cross national borders. | Doctor of Philosophy in Music, Emphasis Ethnomusicology (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. 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. Chan's research considered problems with certain mathematical structures known as tableaux. He proved results which relate to enumerative and structural aspects of these problems. His work could aid in understanding inherently complex problems relating to tableaux and in establishing connections between different areas in combinatorics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |