Faculty of Medicine

Every day across British Columbia, trainees and researchers at the UBC Faculty of Medicine are turning skills into jobs, investments into discoveries, and discoveries into solutions that are transforming health for everyone.

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.

 

Research Facilities

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.

Research Highlights

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.

Graduate Degree Programs

Research Supervisors in Faculty

or browse the list of faculty members in various academic units. You may click each unit to view faculty members appointed in that unit. View the full faculty member directory for more search and filter options.
Name Academic Unit(s) Research Interests
Nolan, Seonaid Division of Social Medicine Substance use disorder; Access to evidence-based medications for incarcerated individuals
Norman, Wendy Department of Family Practice Health equity; Health care effectiveness and outcomes; Fertility and maternal health; Knowledge translation and implementation science in health; Population health interventions; Health services and systems, n.e.c.; Family planning; Health services and policy research; Contraception; Abortion; Population health equity research; Applied public health and population health intervention research; Health professional scope of practice research
Nunez, Desmond Department of Surgery Sensory systems, auditory; Otorhinolaryngology; Age Related Hearing Loss; Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss; Recurrent Acute Otitis Media
Nygaard, Haakon Division of Neurology potential role for anti-convulsant drugs in treating Alzheimers disease, which have shown promise in preclinical models of the disease
O'Connor, Timothy Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences Identification of small molecules that stimulate neurite outgrowth and regeneration Examination of the role of semaphorins during embryonic development
O'Donnell, Maureen Department of Pediatrics Pediatrics, children with disabilities, prenatal antidepressant exposure, cerebral palsy, austism, purple crying, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, social disparities
Oberlander, Timothy Department of Pediatrics, School of Population and Public Health Population epidemiological studies that characterize neurodevelopmental pathways that reflect risk, resiliency and developmental plasticity
Oberle, Eva Public and population health; Other education; Adolescent Mental Health/ Social-Emotional Wellbeing; Positive youth development; Promoting mental health and wellbeing through schools; Risk and resilience; Research with population-level data; Social and emotional learning in schools
Ogilvie, Gina School of Population and Public Health Sexually transmitted infections, human papillomavirus, HIV in women and care for marginalized populations
Ogrodniczuk, John Department of Psychiatry Mental Health and Society; Psychodynamic Psychotherapy; Personality Disorders; Group Psychotherapy; Men’s Mental Health; Alexithymia; Athletes
Oldani, Graziano Department of Surgery
Olson, Robert Department of Surgery Clinical oncology; Clinical trials; Radiotherapy; stereotactic radiotherapy; patient reported outcomes; Head and Neck Cancer; Breast Cancer; Epidemiology; Community Health / Public Health; Social Determinants of Cancer; health services delivery; Lung cancer
Ong, Christopher Department of Urologic Sciences Prostate cancer growth; Treatment resistance; Cell signalling pathways; SEMA3C
Oruc, Ipek Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences visual recognition of high level forms such as faces, letters and objects
Oviedo-Joekes, Eugenia School of Population and Public Health Psychosocial, sociocultural and behavioral determinants of health; Substance Use; person-centered care in addiction; injectable opioid agonist treatment; Harm reduction
Oxland, Thomas Department of Orthopaedics, Department of Mechanical Engineering Spinal Cord Injury, Aging Spine, Orthopaedic Implants
Palepu, Anita Division of General Internal Medicine Health services and systems; homeless; Addiction; housing; Epidemiology; health care utilization; safe medication prescribing
Panenka, William Department of Psychiatry Brain, Behaviour & Development
Pang, Catherine C Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics Cardiovascular pharmacology, education, hypertension
Park, Yongjin Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Department of Statistics Other basic medicine and life sciences; High dimensional data analysis; Biostatistical methods; Bioinformatics; single-cell genomics; Computational Biology; Causal inference; Bayesian machine learning
Parker, Seth Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Metabolomics; Cell metabolism; Pediatric cancer; mass spectrometry; Childhood disease; Cancer; Solute carriers; Metabolism; Mitochondria; Stable-isotope tracing; Functional assay development
Paterson, Ryan Department of Urologic Sciences medical and surgical management of kidney stone disease, laparoscopic urologic surgery, and the surgical treatment of benign prostatic enlargement
Patrick, David School of Population and Public Health Health sciences; Public and population health; Antibiotics and Resistance; Pharmacoepidemiology; Responding to the Threat of Antimicrobial Resistance at Population Level; Response to Emerging Infectious Diseases
Pavlidis, Paul Department of Psychiatry, Michael Smith Laboratories Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Engineering and technology; genomics; Bioinformatics; cellular and molecular neuroscience; Genetics; disorders of the nervous system; single-cell genomics; Computational Biology; Gene regulation
Pelech, Steven Division of Neurology Neurological disorders (except neuromuscular diseases); Mechanisms of carcinogenesis; Adaptive immunity; Medical virology; Protein Microarrays; Protein Kinases; Protein Phosphatases; Protein phosphorylation; Cell signalling; Signal transduction; Cell division; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Neurological Disease; Cancer; Immunology

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Recent Publications

This is an incomplete sample of recent publications in chronological order by UBC faculty members with a primary appointment in the Faculty of Medicine.

 

Publication: Annals of Thoracic Surgery
UBC Author(s): Jonathon Leipsic (Radiology / Faculty of Medicine), John Webb (Divisions of Cardiology & Cardiovascular Surgery / Faculty of Medicine), Philipp Blanke (Radiology / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 00034975
Volume: 117
Page Range: 1164-1171
Publication Date: June 2024

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Publication: Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy
UBC Author(s): William Mortenson (Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 00084174
Volume: 91
Page Range: 116-123
Publication Date: June 2024

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Publication: Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy
UBC Author(s): Jill Zwicker (Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy / Faculty of Medicine), Skye Barbic (Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 00084174
Volume: 91
Page Range: 149-159
Publication Date: June 2024

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Publication: The Lancet Neurology
UBC Author(s): Silke Cresswell (Division of Neurology / Faculty of Medicine), A Jonathan Stoessl (Division of Neurology / Faculty of Medicine), Carles Vilarino-Guell (Medical Genetics / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 14744422
Volume: 23
Page Range: 603-614
Publication Date: June 2024

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Publication: Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology
UBC Author(s): Sonia Yeung (Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 00084182
Volume: 59
Page Range: e200-e205
Publication Date: June 2024

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Publication: European urology oncology
UBC Author(s): Alexander Wyatt (Urologic Sciences / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 7
Page Range: 344-354
Publication Date: 1 June 2024

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Publication: Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology
UBC Author(s): Ying MacNab (School of Population and Public Health / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 18775845
Volume: 49
Publication Date: June 2024

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Publication: Medicine and science in sports and exercise
UBC Author(s): Kristin Campbell (Physical Therapy / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 56
Page Range: 1186-1195
Publication Date: 1 June 2024

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Publication: Nature Microbiology
UBC Author(s): Josef Penninger (Medical Genetics / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 9
Page Range: 1499-1512
Publication Date: June 2024

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Publication: Molecular biology of the cell
UBC Author(s): Elizabeth Conibear (Medical Genetics / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 35
Page Range: ar76
Publication Date: 1 June 2024

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Publication: Eye (Basingstoke)
UBC Author(s): Mahyar Etminan (Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 0950222X
Volume: 38
Page Range: 1616-1617
Publication Date: June 2024

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Publication: Vaccine: X
UBC Author(s): Devon Greyson (School of Population and Public Health / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 18
Publication Date: June 2024

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Publication: International Journal of Drug Policy
UBC Author(s): Thomas Kerr (Division of Social Medicine / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 09553959
Volume: 128
Publication Date: June 2024

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Publication: Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy
UBC Author(s): Susan Forwell (Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 00084174
Volume: 91
Page Range: 194-202
Publication Date: June 2024

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Publication: Sexually Transmitted Infections
UBC Author(s): Mark Gilbert (School of Population and Public Health / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 13684973
Volume: 100
Page Range: 208-215
Publication Date: 1 June 2024

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Publication: Aging Cell
UBC Author(s): Michael Kobor (Medical Genetics / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 14749718
Volume: 23
Publication Date: June 2024

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Publication: Clinical Genetics
UBC Author(s): Jehannine Austin (Psychiatry / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 00099163
Volume: 105
Page Range: 630-638
Publication Date: June 2024

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Publication: Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders
UBC Author(s): Helen Tremlett (Division of Neurology / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 22110348
Volume: 86
Publication Date: June 2024

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Publication: Prostate International
UBC Author(s): Connor Forbes (Urologic Sciences / Faculty of Medicine), Ryan Paterson (Urologic Sciences / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 22878882
Volume: 12
Page Range: 57-64
Publication Date: June 2024

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Publication: Drug Safety
UBC Author(s): Bruce Carleton (Pediatrics / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 01145916
Volume: 47
Page Range: 521-528
Publication Date: June 2024

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Publication: Health Promotion International
UBC Author(s): John Ogrodniczuk (Psychiatry / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 09574824
Volume: 39
Publication Date: 1 June 2024

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Publication: Diabetes
UBC Author(s): James Johnson (Cellular & Physiological Sciences / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 73
Page Range: 837-843
Publication Date: 1 June 2024

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Publication: Injury Prevention
UBC Author(s): Mariana Brussoni (Pediatrics / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 13538047
Volume: 30
Page Range: 206-215
Publication Date: 1 June 2024

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Publication: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
UBC Author(s): Stuart Turvey (Pediatrics / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 00916749
Volume: 153
Page Range: 1546-1547
Publication Date: June 2024

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Publication: Nature Reviews Genetics
UBC Author(s): Carl de Boer (School of Biomedical Engineering / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 14710056
Volume: 25
Page Range: 378
Publication Date: June 2024

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Recent Thesis Submissions

Doctoral Citations

A doctoral citation summarizes the nature of the independent research, provides a high-level overview of the study, states the significance of the work and says who will benefit from the findings in clear, non-specialized language, so that members of a lay audience will understand it.
Year Citation Program
2022 Dr. Magee examined the epidemiology of schizophrenia spectrum conditions and access to psychiatric services among adolescents in British Columbia. Her findings can be used to plan for adequate mental health supports for young people in BC. Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD)
2022 Dr. Closson explored the validity evidence of a commonly used measure of gender equity in sexual and reproductive health research among South African youth. She demonstrated that measures need to be adapted to be more inclusive, contemporary, and strength-based to better reflect gender equity and the positive elements of youth relationships Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD)
2022 Dr. Mo investigated the mechanisms of leukemogenesis in AML driven by genetic mutations. The research identified a novel genetic driver of AML, FBXO11, as well as a new link between two cellular systems, the ubiquitin pathway and mitochondrial function. Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD)
2022 Dr. Strilchuk leveraged RNA and lipid nanoparticle technologies to create agents that control the stability of blood clots. She showed that this strategy could help restore hemostasis in models of coagulation disorders, providing the foundation for a new generation of therapeutics to protect people against thrombosis and bleeding. Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD)
2022 During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Messing showed that blood immune biomarkers at time of ICU admission predict COVID-19 clinical outcome. She also studied immune responses in other conditions including muscular dystrophy and childhood allergic disease where she demonstrated important immunological mechanisms that underlie disease development. Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD)
2022 Dr. Xiuyun Wu studied the relationship between human visual perception and motor action. She examined how perception and eye movements respond to different visual objects and tasks. This research provides new insights into how visual information is utilized by perception and action, and informs our understanding of the underlying brain mechanisms. Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD)
2022 Coxsackievirus B3 shows therapeutic potential towards lung cancer but with evident organ toxicity. Dr. Liu's study on the genetically miRNA-modified virus provides insightful information on optimizing the viral backbone for balanced oncolytic potency and safety with enhanced genomic stability, as well as maximum capacity to carry therapeutic genes. Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD)
2022 Dr. Lyons studied the virulence associated Type 3 Secretion System from pathogenic E. coli using structural biology techniques. Her research on this system assists with our understanding of how this vital system functions, in addition to the future development of therapeutics that help neutralize this important toxin delivery system. Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD)
2022 Dr. Tse evaluated shoe orthotic insoles as a novel complementary treatment for individuals with progressive knee joint degeneration. These works highlight how shoe orthotics alter movement patterns and knee joint load transfer during walking, and provide a prediction tool to match insole designs to individual presentations knee joint degeneration. Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD)
2022 Multiple factors play a role in endometriosis pain, ultimately impacting treatment decisions. Dr. Orr found a clinically practical tool to identify central sensitization in endometriosis and found that KRAS mutations were related to endometriosis severity. Her findings will contribute to a new classification system for endometriosis care. Doctor of Philosophy in Reproductive and Developmental Sciences (PhD)

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