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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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Dr. Vallejo studied the mechanisms of breast cancer progression. She discovered a new protein complex important for the survival of cancerous cell and for metastasis. Her findings identified a new target for breast cancer therapy. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Pourghiasian studied two common forms of cancer: breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. Cancer imaging can assist us to detect tumors earlier, so different targets in these cancers were studied and evaluated for new ways of cancer imaging. It is expected that patients with breast or prostate cancer will benefit from this research. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Oncology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Albrecht's research addressed the mechanisms behind the development of Diabetes. He showed that endosomes of the beta-cell can direct insulin signalling and contribute to the regulation of cellular calcium content. Understanding these processes helps to develop therapeutics directed towards the treatment of Diabetes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Li identified a novel phosphorylation site on a protein, Gp78. In response to cellular stress signaling, it regulates its ability to degrade various proteins, including itself and a cancer suppressor. These studies further our understanding of the Gp78 function in cancer progression and metastasis. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. De Souza studied the mechanisms regulating the expression of the huntingtin gene. This is the gene that causes Huntington's Disease, a genetic disorder with no cure. This research allows us to better understand the role huntingtin plays in normal cellular functions and may assist in the development of future treatments for Huntington's Disease. | Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Lim developed a new method of stimulating and imaging brain networks in an animal model of stroke. This research demonstrated that a small stroke can have wide-spread consequences on the brain network. Network-wide changes were observed in the early and late stages after stroke, suggesting that the process of spontaneous recovery occurs over time | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Aftab studied ways in which a protein that mediates cell-to-cell communication influences the migration of brain cancer cells. She showed that reducing cell-to-cell communication increases the rate and pattern of brain cancer cell migration. Since migration of these cells created a barrier to treatment, her findings may lead to improved therapies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Chiang identified a gene called GATA2, and showed that it plays a key role in human prostate cancer metastasis. She subsequently demonstrated that this gene could be used for potential treatment and prognosis of metastatic prostate cancer. This study may contribute to considerable improvements in the management of prostate cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Oncology (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Wong developed a model of chronic jaw muscle pain that used nerve growth factor, a key mediator of pain, to induce muscle tenderness. He found that it works, in part, via activation of a specific glutamate receptor on nerve fibers. The effect is also greater in females than in males. These findings may lead to new treatments for this disorder. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Jett studied a mouse model of the human genetic disorder, neurofibromatosis 1. Her research demonstrated that the product of the gene, neurofibromin, has an important role in normal function of the blood vessels and heart. These studies provide novel insights into the cardiovascular disease that occurs in people with neurofibromatosis 1. | Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD) |