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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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Dr. Thompson studied a class of enzymes called KMTs, which regulate the expression of our genes. He discovered a novel protein co-factor that supports the function of KMTs in gene regulation by helping them recognize specific DNA sequences. His work has implications for developing therapies for genetic disorders and cancers in which KMTs are disrupted. | Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Price developed tools to analyze millions of chemical marks on human DNA. She showed that such analyses should include factors like experimental conditions and a person's sex and age. Dr. Price used these tools to study babies with birth defects. Her thesis contributes to understanding how to apply modern DNA tools to study human development. | Doctor of Philosophy in Reproductive and Developmental Sciences (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. O'Hara conducted a record linkage and large cohort study to estimate the rate of tuberculosis in health workers in the Free State province of South Africa over a decade. Her results show that the risk of TB in health workers is up to 3 times greater than the general population. Her findings will be used to improve infection control in hospitals. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Daniels studied public involvement in decisions to remove funding for health services in the British National Health Service. His investigation, focusing on the views of health professionals, found that there is a role for citizens in such decisions, but the nature of this role should depend on the scale and scope of the decision being taken. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Ghaffari has studied the role of Hedgehog pathway in prostate cancer. Reactivation of this developmental pathway enhances progression and metastasis of this disease. His research has led to insights in utilizing novel therapeutic approaches in inhibiting this pathway in combination with chemotherapy to hinder the advancement of prostate cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Sharma studied the development of the innate immune system in preterm neonates. His research will help in the creation of new strategies to fight infections in this highly vulnerable subset of human population. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Gusscott investigated molecular signaling pathways in T cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. He was able to characterize multiple mechanisms by which the IGF1R pathway is controlled and further establish its importance in this disease setting. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Oncology (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Templeman examined the lifelong effects of lowering insulin in mice, a commonly used mammalian model organism. Her studies demonstrated that slightly reducing circulating insulin levels can lead to enhanced insulin sensitivity and improved metabolic health with aging, and is sufficient to extend mammalian lifespan. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Hosseini-Beheshti investigated the role of extracellular-vesicles in progression and development of prostate-cancer. Her results demonstrated that exosomes secreted from prostate-cancer cells carry protein and lipid biomarkers. She further has established that these vesicles influence surrounding normal cells, contributing to cancer progression. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Ngoh examined the role of a protein called Interleukin-1 in intestinal inflammation. He found that a subgroup of Crohn's disease subjects develop intestinal auto-inflammation because they fail to regulate this particular protein. Dr. Ngoh's research demonstrates that these subjects could benefit from therapy that targets Interleukin-1. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |