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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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Dr. Alwan's research in the area of birth defects epidemiology showed that maternal use of some common antidepressants in early pregnancy may increase the risk for certain birth defects in the infant. Her work also demonstrated that restricted fetal growth in the first trimester of pregnancy may adversely affect subsequent pregnancy outcome. | Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Vrljicak examined how formation of the heart is regulated in the mouse embryo. He identified a set of genes critical for proper development of the heart valves. This research will assist us in the prevention and treatment of heart defects present at birth. | Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Hutton examined the role of inflammation in diabetes. Her research provides new insight into how a specific part of the immune system that recognizes infections and causes inflammation may play a role in the development of diabetes and in the rejection of transplanted organs. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Perez systematically reviewed randomized trials of anti-hypertensive drugs that were administered shortly after an acute cardiovascular event. He found a previously unrecognized mortality reduction associated with nitrate administration after acute myocardial infarction. His research emphasizes the value of checking all-cause mortality the timing of drug administrations. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Chin studied the mechanical properties of airway smooth muscle in health and disease, and the mechanisms underlying smooth-muscle contraction, an area that has been poorly understood. His research provides insight into the cause of asthma by demonstrating that asthmatic airway smooth muscle has altered mechanics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Epp examined the impact of spatial learning on the generation of neurons in the adult mammalian brain. He demonstrated that spatial learning influences the survival and integration of new neurons in the hippocampus. These studies help shed light on the function of adult neurogenesis and have clarified numerous conflicting studies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2010 | Using population-based health data from BC Ministry of Health, Dr. De Vera conducted pharmacoepidemiologic studies of statins in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis. Applying state-of-the-art methods, she demonstrated statins cardioprotective effects in preventing heart attacks. She also showed that discontinuation of statins adversely affected clinical and mortality outcomes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Liu studied the function of a newly identified inflammatory gene and showed how it promotes cell survival during viral infection as well as under cell stress conditions. The finding may improve our understanding of virus-host interaction and the pathogenesis of viral myocarditis. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Robillard studied the impact of aging on a cellular model for learning and memory in the brain. She found that oral supplementation with an antioxidant can restore some of the plasticity deficits observed in aged animals. Her research gives new insights into healthy aging. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Wong has developed a model system with yeast for studying the combinatorial effects of two human proteins involved in iron export. She confirmed that the two proteins physically interact and found that they may also be involved in the transport of other essential trace metals in the body. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |