Review details about the recently announced changes to study and work permits that apply to master’s and doctoral degree students. Read more
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 | One out of every five deaths in Canada is caused by heart attacks. Dr. Riazy studied the molecular mechanisms by which the bad cholesterol and its oxidized form contribute to this process. His results can be used to identify prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for heart attacks and other chronic inflammatory diseases. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Wong identified the first natural marine compound that can enhance axon outgrowth in the adult central nervous system. Using motile cells to model the neuronal growth cone, the basic machinery underlying axon outgrowth, she designed a high-throughput screen to identify the first cyclic dipeptide that promoted axon regeneration in vitro, as well as axon sprouting and behavioural improvements in vivo. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2010 | Through functional magnetic resonance imaging, Dr. Zwicker showed that children with developmental coordination disorder use different brain areas from typical children to perform a motor task. Her work is one of the first studies to show that children with this common childhood disorder are neurobiologically different from their peers. | Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Patchell identified and characterized the role of annexin II in airway epithelial cell biology. His results expand our understanding of how the airway epithelium repairs itself and may lead to new approaches for treatment of conditions, such as asthma, where damage to the airway epithelium is present. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Antignano studied immune cell biology at the Terry Fox Laboratory where she identified new molecular mechanisms controlling the development and function of the immune system's dendritic cells. This work has important applications in the understanding of human infectious disease, autoimmune disorders, cancer and clinical treatments such as organ transplantation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Hewapathirane created a novel experimental model to study the effects of seizures on brain development. Using this system, he found that early-life seizures inhibit the structural maturation of neuronal cells within the brain. His findings uncovered a potential mechanism through which childhood seizures may induce neurological deficits. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Yang investigated the possible mechanistic roles of the enzyme lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 in regard to its association with cardiovascular disease. Specifically, the results of his work describe the influence of this enzyme on lipid and lipoprotein metabolism in human cell culture systems. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Forouzandeh has developed a naturally driven non-rejectable skin substitute. This novel engineered skin whas shown to successfully promote wound healing in experimental models. this innovation has therefore opened new horizons in the assistanceof patientssuffering from wounds that are difficult to heal, especially burn victims. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Locke demonstrated that resistant prostate cancer tumour cells are capable of making their own androgens. Androgens are responsible for the survival, growth and progression of prostate cancer and therefore this research provides a mechanistic basis for the development of novel therapeutics targeting this disease. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Lee developed viral-based therapies to specifically target and kill prostate cancer cells. She demonstrated that genetically modified viruses can be utilized to eliminate tumour cells without causing collateral damage to normal tissues. This research provides a new promising approach for the treatment of advanced cancers. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |