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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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Dr. Chang showed that growth factors derived from the ovary may regulate theovarian function by cell to cell interaction. He found that these factors play significant roles in the regulation of human ovulation. These findings provide important insights into ovarian biology, and may lead to the development of new approaches for increasing fertility. | Doctor of Philosophy in Reproductive and Developmental Sciences (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Ma studied how cellular activities in the anterior cingulate cortex in rat brain represent behavioral events during action sequences. She identified the distinct ways in which quantitative and qualitative information is encoded simultaneously. The findings contribute to our knowledge of how the brain monitors and evaluates our ongoing experience. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Meredith discovered the links between proteins in the blood and structural changes within the heart in acute heart failure patients. The proteins she identified were related to patient outcomes and response to treatment. This work adds to our understanding of heart failure development, and the processes involved in recovery from cardiac injury. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Asghari examined the distribution and function of Ryanodine Receptors, which are calcium channels in heart muscles. Her work provided a new mechanism by which the contraction of heart may be regulated. These findings might open up new avenues to heart disease therapies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Stukas studied novel therapeutic treatments for Alzheimer's Disease. Her research leveraged knowledge of the beneficial effects of high density lipo-proteins, also known as the good cholesterol, to impede or reverse progress of the disease in the brain. Her findings demonstrate that what is good for the heart is also good for the brain. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Bernhard studied the regulation of HIV-1 latency. She characterized an important mechanism involved in repression of HIV-1 and identified and characterized small molecules that purge cells latently infected with HIV-1. These findings increase our understanding of how HIV-1 expression is regulated and move us closer to a cure for HIV-1/AIDS. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Zhang studied Alzheimer's disease at UBC`s Townsend Family Laboratories. She found that, in mouse models, a protein called UCHL1 delays Alzheimer's development, by reducing the formation of plaque in the brain. Dr. Zhang's work highlights the potential of UCHL1 to treat Alzheimer's disease. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Williams examined the interactions between the digestive enzyme, human pancreatic alpha-amylase, and various inhibitors, to determine how they reduce the rate of starch digestion. She discovered a new binding motif that blocks substrate access to the enzyme's catalytic site. These studies may lead to new treatments for type 2 diabetes and obesity. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Dunn studied the structure of human genes. She developed a method for isolating multi-component particles that are involved in the expression of genes. This tool will allow scientists around the world to better understand and treat a wide variety of human diseases, including various cancers, cystic fibrosis and multiple sclerosis. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Zhang investigated the role of blood platelets in causing heart disease. He developed and applied novel bioinformatic and mass spectrometry tools to identify drugs that might potentially prevent inflammation resulting from platelet activation. This research contributes to the development of intervention strategies for cardiovascular diseases. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |