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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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Dr. Hill studied the plasma protein CBG, which is responsible for transporting the stress hormone cortisol. She investigated the impact of DNA variations on CBG protein function, laying the foundation for further clinical investigations. Furthermore, her research revealed that CBG plays a vital role in mediating our bodies' response to inflammation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Reproductive and Developmental Sciences (PhD) |
| 2017 | Knee osteoarthritis, or OA, is prevalent and disabling, and for many, OA begins behind the knee cap. Dr. Macri studied knee alignment using MRI. Results showed knee caps are malaligned in knee cap OA, and are more malaligned when standing compared to laying supine. Results will inform the development of effective strategies for treating knee OA. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2017 | Blood clots affect millions of people every day. Through her research, Dr. Carter identified a novel mechanism by which new generation anticoagulants enhance the breakdown of clots. Her findings are of particular interest in the treatment of thrombosis. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Fidanza studied how immune responses to common infections, primarily those occurring early in life, can be protective against leukemia development. This work provides meaningful insight into the natural history of childhood leukemia and helps explain a number of long standing epidemiological associations. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Qiu studied the interplay of heart cells and coxsackievirus B3, a virus causing lethal heart diseases. He clarified the modulation and role of two cardiac proteins in supporting viral survival. His research advances our understanding of viral infection in the heart and provides potential drug targets for the treatment of infectious heart diseases. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Burrows identified and characterized a vitamin A responsive transcription factor expressed in immune cells of the intestine and uncovered its role in the development of inflammatory bowel disease. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Ukah assessed the validity of the fullPIERS model, a clinical risk prediction model, for women admitted with pre-eclampsia and other hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and showed that it can be used to guide effective management of such women to prevent maternal complications. | Doctor of Philosophy in Reproductive and Developmental Sciences (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. McKay studied the epidemiology and impact of psychiatric disorders in multiple sclerosis. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. D'souza examined the role of the hormone leptin on body weight and blood glucose levels. She assessed the role of leptin signalling on insulin secretion and the significance of insulin levels when leptin is absent. These studies have further expanded our knowledge of leptin function in the context of obesity and type 2 diabetes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2017 | The interplay between ETS transcription factors and DNA is tightly regulated to maintain our normal daily life, and misregulation often leads to disease such as prostate cancer. Dr. Lau investigated the mechanism that regulates the activity of ETS factors. He also worked to develop new molecules that inhibit ETS-DNA interaction. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |