AI can tell if a patient battling cancer needs mental health support
Psychiatrists and computer scientists at UBC and BC Cancer have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) model that can accurately...
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At UBC Science, outstanding scientists and students strive to unravel the principles that underlie our universe - from the subatomic to the macroscopic, from pure mathematics to biotechnology, from ecosystems to galactic systems. Through the breadth and depth of our academic endeavours and the calibre of the people who make up our community, we take pride in discovering new scientific knowledge and preparing Canada’s and the world’s next generation of scientists.
A diverse range of highly ranked programs
With access to master’s and doctoral degrees through nine departments and 350 research groups, our graduate students work with world-class faculty to explore the basic sciences, and to pursue interdisciplinary and applied research across departments and units. UBC’s research excellence in environmental science, math, physics, plant and animal science, computer science, geology and biology is consistently rated best in Canada by international and national ranking agencies.
Committed to outstanding graduate training
UBC Science houses a wide range of prestigious NSERC Collaborative Research and Training Experience and related industry programs: from atmospheric aerosols to high-throughput biology, from biodiversity research and ecosystems services to plant cell wall biosynthesis, from quantum science and new materials to applied geochemistry. The options for enriched graduate training in industry related fields are almost endless.
World-class research infrastructure
Our affiliated institutes and centres include UBC's Michael Smith Laboratories, Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute, Biodiversity Research Centre, Life Sciences Institute, Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences, Mineral Deposit Research Unit, and TRIUMF, Canada’s national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics.
Top research talent
UBC Science boasts more than 50 Canada Research Chairs, 12 fellows of the Royal Society of London, and has been home to two Nobel Laureates. Our graduate students have won 15 prestigious Vanier Scholarships.
A diverse, supportive community of scholars
UBC Science is committed to excellence, collaboration and inclusion. Women account for 41 per cent of the Faculty's graduate enrollments, and the percentage of international students has increased to 50 per cent over the past decade.
Mission
To nurture an exceptional scientific learning and research environment for the people of British Columbia, Canada, and the world.
Research Centres
Biodiversity, Evolution and Ecology
- Biodiversity Research Centre
- Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research
- Centre for Microbial Diversity and Evolution
Computational Sciences and Mathematics
- Data Science Institute
- Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems
- Institute of Applied Mathematics
- Statistical Consulting and Research Laboratory
- Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences
Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
- Geophysical Inversion Facility
- Lithoprobe: Canada's National Geoscience Project
- Mineral Deposit Research Unit
- Pacific Centre for Isotopic and Geochemical Research
- Seismic Laboratory for Imaging and Modeling
Genomics and Biological Sciences
- Centre for High-Throughput Biology
- Geomatics for Informed Decisions Network
- Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics
- Michael Smith Laboratories
Human-Computer Interaction
- Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems
- Vancouver Institute for Visual Analytics
Life Sciences
- Centre for Blood Research
- Centre for Microbial Diseases and Immunity Research
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries
- Life Sciences Institute
- Michael Smith Laboratories
- Neglected Global Diseased Initiative
Chemistry and Materials Science
- Advanced Materials and Process Engineering Laboratory
- Max Planck-UBC Centre for Quantum Materials
- Quantum Devices Group
- Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute
Physics
- Antihydrogen Trapping and Spectroscopy at CERN
- Pacific Institute for Theoretical Physics
- TRIUMF: Canada’s National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics
- UBC ATLAS Project at Large Hadron Collider
Sustainability
Research Facilities
Designed to inspire collaboration and creativity across disciplines, the new Earth Sciences Building (ESB) lies at the heart of the science precinct on UBC’s Vancouver Campus. The $75 million facility is home to Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Statistics, the Pacific Institute of the Mathematical Sciences, and the dean’s office of the Faculty of Science. ESB’s updated teaching facilities will help Canada meet the challenges of a transforming and growing resource sector. Just as importantly, the researchers and students working and learning in the new facility will offer a valuable flow of well-trained talent, new ideas, and fresh professional perspectives to industry.
Research Highlights
Receiving more than $120 million in annual research funding, UBC Science faculty members conduct top-tier research in the life, physical, earth and computational sciences. Their discoveries help build our understanding of natural laws—driving insights into sustainability, biodiversity, human health, nanoscience and new materials, probability, artificial intelligence, exoplanets and a wide range of other areas.
UBC Science boasts 50 Canada Research Chairs and 10 fellows of the Royal Society of London, and has been home to two Nobel Laureates.
Schools / Departments
Graduate Degree Programs
Recent Publications
This is an incomplete sample of recent publications in chronological order by UBC faculty members with a primary appointment in the Faculty of Science.
Recent Thesis Submissions
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Diet and the microbiome in Parkinson's disease (MIIM - PHD)
Doctoral Citations
A doctoral citation summarizes the nature of the independent research, provides a high-level overview of the study, states the significance of the work and says who will benefit from the findings in clear, non-specialized language, so that members of a lay audience will understand it.
| Year | Citation | Program |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | The Arctic is one of the most threatened environments because of rapid climate change. Dr. Chenard's work examined viruses infecting polar bacteria in Arctic freshwater regions, and she discovered previously unknown groups of viruses. Her work provides new tools to study the diversity of these viruses and their effects on polar bacteria. | Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Hui studied the behaviour of pyrimidines, building blocks of DNA and RNA, when grafted onto large and rigid cyclic molecules. He discovered that these attached building blocks spontaneously assembled into well-defined superstructures. This research demonstrates that such motifs might play a larger role in directing overall nucleic acid topology than previously thought. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Ray's study lays the pathway into understanding infinite hyperbolic random surfaces. Hyperbolic surface can be thought of as a surface which is shaped like a saddle. These results complement the random surfaces built before which serve as important models of 2D quantum gravity. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Leaney completed his PhD in Geophysics. His thesis dealt with the influence of elastic anisotropy on micro-earthquakes generated during hydraulic fracturing. A data set from central Alberta was analyzed using newly developed techniques, which should benefit the oil and gas industry in Canada, the US and the rest of the world. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Saer studied photosynthesis in the department of Microbiology and Immunology. He highlighted the role of protein movement, or dynamics, as a key player in the utilization of light energy during photosynthesis. This work has potential applications in converting sunlight to electrical power and developing next-generation solar cells and batteries. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Fay studied the interactions that occur between viruses and the biological pipes, ropes and rods that give our cells shape and strength, in other words a cell`s cytoskeleton. She found that the cytoskeleton is used to promote infection by the smallest virus known called parvovirus. Her study will ultimately help treat human viral infections. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Blanchette-Guertin developed new tools and analytical methods to study seismic energy propagation in highly scattering environments, such as on the Moon. His work resulted in a better understanding of shallow lunar structures and offers new avenues to study the interiors of other scattering bodies, such as asteroids and Mars. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Cai developed a theory of dual empirical likelihood ratio test under a semiparametric density ratio model, based on complete or censored samples. He then applied his theory to the long term monitoring of lumber quality and found it to give incisive assessment of lumber quality. He also created a software package to implement his method. | Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Royer devised deterministic and statistical models of seismic deconvolution. She exploited the latter model to generate low frequency earthquake templates from tectonic tremor. Its application to the Cascadia subduction zone provides insight into the plate boundary properties. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD) |
| 2014 | Dr. Ha studied the genome alterations in the DNA of cancer cells. He developed novel computational algorithms to detect these mutations in breast and ovarian cancer patients. His work has advanced our understanding of how tumours evolve and will facilitate future studies on genetic causes for treatment resistance and cancer metastasis. | Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD) |