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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. Freeman collaborated on projects with the University of Calgary and The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto to understand how cells interact and interpret their surroundings. His work uncovered mechanisms that control thresholds for cellular responses in normal and cancer cells. These findings will inform vaccine design and cancer therapies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Kimlicka examined how disease-causing mutations affect the structure and stability of Ryanodine Receptors, calcium channels with primary roles in muscle contraction. This research furthered our understanding of the mechanisms underlying inherited cardiac arrhythmias and skeletal muscle disorders. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2014 | A hallmark of diabetes is the loss of insulin producing beta-cells in the pancreas. Dr. Yang discovered and characterized novel factors that promote the survival of beta-cells under conditions found in diabetic patients. Her studies have important implications for the development of novel therapies for the treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Sparling studied Schwann cells generated from stem cells found in the skin of mammals. He demonstrated that those cells promote repair and functional recovery when transplanted into the spinal cord of an injured rodent. He showed that those cells are a suitable treatment alternative to Schwann cells harvested directly from peripheral nerves. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Ellis studied how cells interact with their environment to form tissues and organs during animal development. Her work characterized molecular mechanisms that ensure each cell is in the right place at the right time. Her findings have implications for our understanding of how tissues form, and how these processes may be altered during disease. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Nguyen studied newborns whose mothers had taken the anti-depression drug, Fluoxetine, during pregnancy. She found that the problems these babies experienced were due to alterations in fetal brain development, rather than the toxicity of the drug. This research provides information about the effects of depression medication taken during pregnancy. | Doctor of Philosophy in Reproductive and Developmental Sciences (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Cetinbas completed her doctoral studies in the field of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. She examined how cancer cells use certain nutrients for protection against oxidative stress. These studies identified novel strategies for effective elimination of cancer cells. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Shin uncovered a new mechanism of lipid-mediated signal transduction where certain signaling lipids are capable of sensing changes in intracellular pH. These findings increase our fundamental understanding of how cells regulate their many cellular processes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Ye studied viral infections in the heart. He uncovered important signals exploited by viruses to damage the heart tissue, and identified the mechanisms that contribute to heart dysfunction. His findings will promote the development of novel anti-viral medicines to treat infectious heart diseases. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Fan's research focused on the biology of lipid carriers in the central nervous system. She revealed that some reproductive hormones may have beneficial effects on the brain by enhancing its lipoprotein function. Her findings provide new insight into developing treatment for neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |