There's more than one road to a PhD
Jessica Hogan
'09 BScN, Surgery PhD candidate
The first University of Alberta nursing graduate to embark on a PhD in surgery, pediatric flight nurse Jessica Hogan, is focusing on the development and implementation of a trauma registry in Western Kenya.
"In trauma registry development, with a few fundamental changes, you can see major increases in meaningful data," says Hogan. "When you realize what is threatening a population and how the system can improve, you can target public policy and resources to reduce those risks and improve lives."
In 2019, Hogan received the Trauma Association of Canada's Best Trainee Research Poster award for "Trauma Registry Implementation in a Western Kenya Referral Centre: Highlighting the Quality Improvement Approach."
Author: Nicholas Wilson
Photo: Supplied
Ashley Radomski
Pediatrics, '19 PhD
After an undergraduate degree in psychology and a master's in psychiatry, an interest in children's mental health led Ashley Radomski to work with pediatric researcher Amanda Newton, PhD.
Radomski evaluated youth's experience with Breathe, an internet-based cognitive therapy (iCBT) program developed by Newton's research team and funded in part by the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation through the Women and Children's Health Research Institute to empower youth with anxiety-management skills. Radomski also examined how interactions between youth, technology and therapeutic content of iCBT programs might reduce users' anxiety.
"We can apply these insights to better develop treatments to improve outcomes for youth," she says.
Author, photo: Judith Chrystal
Darpan Malhotra
Biochemistry, '19 PhD
Darpan Malhotra came to the U of A from Delhi, India to commence his PhD, focusing on the corneal endothelial transport protein SLC4A11.
Malhotra discovered that the protein's extracellular loop serves as an adhesion site for cells. Mutations in the loop contribute to compromised endothelial cell adhesion and the loss of these healthy cells leads to loss of vision.
Winner of the prestigious Canadian Vanier Scholarship, which totalled $150,000 over three years, Malhotra now splits his time between postdoctoral research on therapeutics for endothelial corneal diseases and consulting for U.S.-based firm PreScouter, saving money to put his sister through graduate studies of her own one day.
Author: Sasha Roeder Mah
Photo: Jordan Carson