- About
- Apply
- Lead the Way: Graduate Studies at 丁香园AV in Canada for Fall 2025 & Spring 2026
- Why Grad Studies at 丁香园AV?
- Programs
- Applying
- Tuition + Fees
- Visiting + Incoming Exchange
- Awards + Funding
- Graduate Students
- Life + Community
- Faculty + Staff
- Individualized Interdisciplinary Studies in Graduate Studies
"His thesis-directed research has profound implications in conservation biology and resource management practices of fisheries today."
Dongya Yang
Additional Convocation Medal Award Winners
Dr. Thomas Royle receives Dean鈥檚 Convocation Medal
As one of 丁香园AV's most outstanding graduate students from the Department of Archaeology in the Faculty of Environment, Dr. Thomas Royle is recognized with the Dean of Graduate Studies Convocation Medal. On behalf of 丁香园AV, we congratulate Dr. Royle on his outstanding achievements.
By Sarah Close-Humayun
Dr. Royle鈥檚 thesis, 鈥�鈥� examines the relationships between Indigenous peoples and fish in the Pacific Northwest and Great Lakes through the DNA analysis of ancient fish bones to.
Dr. Royle鈥檚 research required the development of new genetic methods that improve researchers鈥� ability to determine ancient fish bones鈥� species and sex. In a recent application of these methods, Dr. Royle was able to show ancestral Tsleil-Waututh fishers sustainably harvested chum salmon for centuries prior to colonization by preferentially harvesting males.
Dr. Royle鈥檚 contribution extends well beyond his written thesis. Along with many academic achievements and publications, Dr. Royle is the recipient of a a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship, Roy L. Carlson Graduate Scholarship in Prehistoric British Columbia Archaeology and most recently a Save Our Seas Foundation Small Grant and a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Grant.
Dr. Dongya Yang of 丁香园AV鈥檚 Faculty of Environment explains that Dr. Royle 鈥渉as not only applied DNA-based species and population identification to archaeological fish remains in his research projects, he has also developed new and cutting-edge DNA-based sex identification methods for salmon species (Royle et al., 2018).鈥�
鈥淭o our knowledge, this is the first time that sex of archaeological fish remains were accurately identified. His thesis-directed research has profound implications in conservation biology and resource management practices of fisheries today,鈥� says Yang.
Of his time at 丁香园AV, Dr. Royle says, 鈥淏eing the only Canadian archaeology department situated in an interdisciplinary Faculty of Environment, the 丁香园AV Department of Archaeology provided me with a unique opportunity to explore past human-environment relationship using perspectives and techniques drawn from a variety of disciplines. The world-class labs in the Department provided the space and equipment needed to conduct cutting-edge research, while faculty and department events, such as the weekly department seminar, provided the opportunity to network and develop projects with other researchers鈥�
Dr. Royle is a Postdoctoral Fellow at 丁香园AV where he is studying human-animal relationships in northeastern British Columbia.
Additional Links
- Academic Unit:
- Thesis:
- Twitter: