Applicants to master’s and doctoral degrees are not affected by the recently announced cap on study permits. Review more details
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. Namjoshi studied traumatic brain injury. He showed that enhancing the function of the brain's lipid transport system helps in recovery from head injury. He also developed a novel model of brain injury, which may help us better understand the effects of head injury and lead to the development of effective treatments for this silent epidemic.?. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2015 | Dr. Wang studied the causes of an autoimmune hair loss disease called alopecia areata. He discovered the triggers of the immune attack leading to hair loss, linked the disease with heart tissue damage, and created a new disease model. His research advanced our understanding of the development and adverse outcomes of alopecia areata. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Marwaha established a previously unknown role for a new subset of immune cells in children with type 1 diabetes. This work has led to trials of a new therapy that will target these cells in the diesease. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Benton studied biomarkers in two serious pregnancy complication: pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction. Her studies identified a protein in the mother's blood that identifies placenta dysfunction, a critical cause of these complications. New blood tests for diagnosing placental dysfunction will improve clinical care of mothers and babies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Reproductive and Developmental Sciences (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Leung studied a new drug delivery system for gene therapy, called lipid nano-particles. His research revealed the structure of these nano-particles and explained the mechanism of their formation. This has strong implications in the rational design of nano-medicines aimed at silencing specific genes for treating various diseases, including cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Hosking's doctoral studies focussed on decision making: why some individuals choose differently from others, and the neuro-biology underlying those differences. His research revealed brain regions and neuro-chemistry responsible for our "worker" or "slacker" preferences, and suggests that therapeutic interventions will not be one-size-fits-all. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Poon studied the generation of new brain cells in the adult brain. She discovered genes that modify how frequently adult stem cells in the brain divide to give rise to new brain cells. These genes may be targeted to promote stem cell division and combat cell loss in brains that are injured, or suffering from neuro-degenerative diseases. | Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Cheng created a microarray of tissue samples taken from over 700 patients being treated for melanoma in Vancouver, from 2009 to 2012. Using this platform, he identified biomarkers that can predict patient survival and help clinicians to design personalized treatment. Dr. Cheng's research opened new horizons in the management of human melanomas. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Pancaroglu conducted research into how we recognize faces. Her study showed that patients with particular types of brain lesions, who are unable to recognize familiar faces, have specific problems in identifying the eye region. These findings will help therapists to design rehabilitation strategies for face-blind people. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Vucic examined the molecular biology of lung cancer. Her work revealed that distinct genetic patterns occurred in lung tumours from patients with chronic inflammatory disease and different smoking histories. These findings may be applied to development of prevention or treatment strategies for people at high risk for lung cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |