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Ranked among the world’s top medical schools with the fifth-largest MD enrollment in North America, the UBC Faculty of Medicine is a leader in both the science and the practice of medicine. Across British Columbia, more than 12,000 faculty and staff are training the next generation of doctors, health care professionals, and medical researchers, making remarkable discoveries to help create the pathways to better health for our communities at home and around the world.
The UBC Faculty of Medicine offers a diverse array of training opportunities including cutting-edge research experiences in the biosciences, globally recognized population health education, quality health professional training, as well as several certificate and online training options. The Faculty of Medicine is home to more than 1,700 graduate students housed in 20 graduate programs (14 of which offer doctoral research options). Year after year, research excellence in the Faculty of Medicine is supported by investment from funding sources here at home and around the globe, receiving approximately more than $1.8B in total research funding since 2016.
We value our trainees and the creative input they have to scholarly activities at UBC. Our priority is to enable their maximum potential through flexible opportunities that provide a breadth of experiences tailored to their own individual career objectives. We maintain high standards of excellence, and work to create a community of intellectually and socially engaged scholars that work collaboratively with each other, the university, and the world, with the overarching goal of promoting the health of individuals and communities.
Most Faculty research is conducted under the auspices of 23 centres and institutes that are part of UBC or affiliated with it, in collaboration with our health partners.
UBC Faculty of Medicine provides innovative educational and research programs in the areas of health and life sciences through an integrated and province-wide delivery model in facilities at locations throughout British Columbia.
The Life Sciences Centre is the largest building on the UBC Vancouver campus. Completed in 2004, the $125 million, 52,165 sq metres building was built to accommodate the distributed medical educational program and the Life Sciences Institute.
The Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health (DMCBH), a partnership between the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health, unites under one roof research and clinical expertise in neuroscience, psychiatry and neurology in order to accelerate discovery and translate new knowledge into better treatment and prevention strategies. DMCBH has both laboratory and clinical research areas within the Centre proper and in the UBC Hospital Koerner Pavilion. Our core facilities are essential to ongoing collaboration, teaching, and research.
The BC Children's Hospital Research Institute is it the largest research institute of its kind in Western Canada in terms of people, productivity, funding and size. With more than 350,000 square feet of space, the Institute has both 'wet bench' laboratory and 'dry lab' clinical research areas, and other areas to facilitate particular areas of research and training.
New knowledge and innovation are crucial to successfully identifying, addressing and overcoming the increasingly complex health-related challenges that influence the lives of all of us – in British Columbia, in Canada, and in countries and communities around the globe.
The UBC Faculty of Medicine is recognized nationally and internationally for research innovation that advances knowledge and translates new discoveries to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities. Research opportunities feature extensive collaborations across other faculties, health institutions and health partners across British Columbia, Canada and internationally.
The Faculty provides and fosters research excellence across the full continuum, from basic science to applied science and then to knowledge implementation, with a focus on precision health; cancer; brain and mental health; heart and lung health; population health; and chronic diseases.
This is an incomplete sample of recent publications in chronological order by UBC faculty members with a primary appointment in the Faculty of Medicine.
| Year | Citation | Program |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Dr. Bashash studied factors that affect the survival of gastric and esophageal cancer patients. He described the epidemiology of gastric and esophageal cancer incidence and survival for BC and other parts of the world. Additionally, he showed that ethnicity and genetic makeup affects the survival of gastric and esophageal cancer patients. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Oncology (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Riffell studied a previously uncharacterized cellular response to cancer therapy drugs that block cell division. Using state-of-the-art microscopy techniques, she identified chemicals that stimulate this response and showed that this response increases the efficacy of the therapeutic agents. These findings may lead to new approaches to treat cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Shadgan developed a noninvasive optical method for monitoring changes in muscle oxygenation and blood flow. This new method will improve speed and accuracy of diagnosis of ischemic conditions in the limb muscles of high-risk patients, leading to improved care for patients and substantial cost savings. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr Harris tested the relationship between exposure to whole body vibration at work and Parkinson's disease. Her study was the first to examine this question and found that high-intensity vibration exposure was associated with increased disease risk. These findings support future work on the role of vibration as a possible cause of Parkinson's disease. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2011 | Synaptic transmission, the process in which cells in the brain communicate with each other, is highly sensitive to changes in local acidity. Dr. Diering's work, which identified a new protein responsible for controlling synaptic pH - the NHE5 sodium proton exchanger - offers new insight into fundamental brain function. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Rogers has identified human proteins targeted by a specific Salmonella factor termed SopB. These studies have assisted us in understanding how Salmonella bacteria manipulate human cells, and also how human cells respond to infection. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Randhawa showed that brain stimulation at 5 Hz is beneficial, at least in the short-term, in people with Parkinson Disease. Brain stimulation improved accuracy, handwriting and brain activity in people suffering from Parkinson Disease. This thesis contributes to future research for the development of brain stimulation as a therapeutic option for Parkinson Disease patients. | Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Schutz examined the potential of ketone bodies, an energy substrate alternative to glucose, to protect the developing brain from injury during hypoglycemia. These studies help us in designing better and preemptive treatment strategies for children at risk of repeated episodes of hypoglycemia. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr Kulic identified RBPJ as a protein that is able to suppress tumor growth. This research shows that RBPJ is inappropriately absent in breast cancer and other cancer types and that loss of this protein aids cancer growth by increasing survival of tumor cells. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Gao demonstrated the importance of a protein degradation pathway in the replication process of a virus. Blocking this pathway can decrease inflammation of the heart muscle caused by viral infection in mice. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |