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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. Miller developed two models to study the gene Meis1 in adult blood. She found that Meis1 is required for the hematopoietic stem cell, as well in more mature subsets of cells that generate red blood cells and platelets. As Meis1 is involved in leukemia, the model systems will serve as a tool to study both normal and malignant hematopoiesis. | Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Hosseini-Farahabadi discovered the important roles of a secreted protein called Wint5a during normal beak development in chickens. She showed how changes in the amount of this protein in chickens can cause several facial defects, such as loss of skeletal tissues.The findings of this study can benefit biological science and clinical studies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Wong studied the blood pressure lowering effects of beta blockers, which are used to treat chest pain. He showed that different sub-types of beta blockers lower blood pressure by different amounts and generally have no effect on pulse pressure. His research provides new information to assist physicians and patients in clinical decision-making. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. McVea studied brain activity in the newborn and adult brain. He found new, previously unrecognized patterns of activity in the newborn brain that may help prepare the brain for more mature patterns in later life. Knowledge of this activity may help develop treatments for those with brain injuries, as well as disorders of brain development | Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy (MDPhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Ang studied abdominal aneurysms at the James Hogg Research Centre. She found that elevated levels of the enzyme Granzyme B contribute to the weakening of the abdominal aorta, and increased susceptibility to rupture and death. Her findings may lead to development of a novel drug strategy for treating aneurysms and other inflammatory diseases | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Bao studied the uptake of maltose, a malt sugar, into the E. coli bacterium. His research revealed how maltose import is regulated by cellular proteins. His findings provide significant insights into the way maltose is transported into cells and the implications for multi-drug resistance. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Cheng investigated cell migration which is crucial for normal growth and cancer development. She discovered novel mechanisms that co-ordinate key molecules regulating cell movement. Her research enhances our understanding of the complex signalling network governing cell motility and will help to identify novel targets for treating metastatic tumors. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2014 | The 21st century marked a shift in the perspective of care for people with disabilities. Dr. Mousavi explored the views of Canadian occupational therapists on this Capabilities Approach. The study concluded that this approach could help to align rehabilitation services with human rights initiatives of the World Health Organization. | Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Ng studied the factors that determine whether cancer cells live or die following the initial step of detaching from the primary tumor site and metastasizing to other organs. He found that tumor cells are in a state of stress and reduced energy levels during this process, and depend on mechanisms to overcome this stress to survive. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Choi completed her research in behavioural neuro-science, with a focus on substance abuse. She used a model of drug dependency to investigate plasticity in the brain and a neuro-biological substrate that contributes to the development of addiction. Her findings lead to the potential development of novel targets in the treatment of addiction. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |