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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. Setiaputra used electron microscopy to study the structures of protein complexes that control gene expression. He explored the architecture of these molecular machines and shed light into their mechanisms of action. These findings provide insights into fundamental processes found in all eukaryotic life. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2017 | Viruses rely on cellular resources to propagate. Dr. Au investigated how agriculturally important viruses hijack and manipulate host ribosomes by the use of an RNA element. Her research further sheds light on how viruses have evolved clever strategies to overcome the limited sizes of their genomes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2017 | Using laboratory models, Dr. Toren investigated novel combination treatment strategies against prostate cancer that is resistant to the best current treatments available. His work identified two promising strategies, which subsequently progressed to clinical studies in patients with treatment-resistant prostate cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Liu's doctoral studies focused on further uncovering the underlying causes of chronic myeloid leukemia. He discovered a novel protein complex in the leukemia cells and investigated the functional roles of the protein complex in disease development. His research advances our knowledge and understanding in leukemogenesis of chronic myeloid leukemia. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Vidler examined community perceptions of the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy through ethnographic studies in Nigeria, Mozambique, Pakistan and India. She further explored these perceptions using two methods of evidence synthesis. Her work aims to improve detection of these disorders and ultimately reduce maternal and perinatal mortality rates. | Doctor of Philosophy in Reproductive and Developmental Sciences (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Pokrishevsky developed an innovative method for studying protein misfolding and aggregation in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). He then used it to identify novel pathological mechanisms in ALS which may lead to the generation of new drugs. His studies may also provide a framework for understanding other neurodegenerative diseases. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Chen's work focused on understanding the role of a protein called HMMR in cancer cell division. She demonstrated that HMMR integrates structural and biochemical pathways to ensure the fidelity of cell division. These findings contribute to a better understanding of cancer cell biology and may assist the design of next-generation anti-tumor drugs. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Kaurah's research forms the basis for the management of families susceptible to an inherited stomach cancer. Her results not only provide more precise risk figures to improve genetic counselling, but also demonstrate the importance of long-term symptom management. Both findings have influenced the care of families internationally. | Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Cohen studied rare genetic syndromes causing generalized overgrowth. She expanded the spectra of genetic mutations and physical characteristics observed in patients affected with one of these disorders, called Weaver syndrome, and took the first steps in investigating the mechanism of disease at the molecular level. Dr. Cohen also identified a new cause of syndromic overgrowth, which will lead to more diagnoses of rare overgrowth patients in Genetics clinics across the world. | Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Lai investigated an acute myeloid leukemia model to identify and characterise key regulators of leukemia. She determined regions of an oncogene responsible for leukemic initiation, growth and drug resistance, and identified a new gene critical to these properties. Her work provides new insight into leukemia and potential treatment targets. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |