AI can tell if a patient battling cancer needs mental health support
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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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Dr. Cantarero-Lopez developed a new tool to study generalized symmetries that come from abstract objects called groupoids. This is a generalization of a classical theory called K-theory, and can also be used to study classical symmetries. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Lukeman studied how individuals interact within large animal aggregates. By gathering dynamic trajectory data from large flocks of surf scoters, Dr. Lukeman was able to connect mathematical modeling with empirical observations to infer interaction rules governing the motion of individuals. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Pel developed a new method and instrument for extracting and purifying DNA, based on its physical properties, in contrast to existing methods which rely on its chemical properties. This method enables very selective DNA purification, and was applied to a wide range of samples that were previously very difficult to analyze due to high contamination. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Marchinko examined the ecological and genetic mechanisms resulting in the evolution of threespine stickleback fish. His work revealed that although the factors contributing to evolutionary change are often complex, modifications at a single gene can play a major role in biological diversification. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr Moss studied the explosive eruptions of kimberlite magma. He successfully linked evidence left in volcanic deposits of kimberlite with the eruption processes responsible for their formation. Dr Moss suggests that these processes have direct implications for the distribution of diamonds within kimberlite pipes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Purcell investigated why social spiders are generally restricted to the tropical rainforest, while their non-social relatives occur in a broader range of environments but are absent from the rainforest. Her findings suggest that social behaviours may evolve in part to enable groups to overcome environmental disturbances and predation in some environments. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Wood studied how interactions among species in a marine ecosystem can be used to explain species diversity and the responses of ecosystems to environmental change. His research demonstrated the potential to predict ecological dynamics using simple organismal traits, such as body size, without the need for detailed information on communities. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Young studied how plants make pectin. The plant cell uses the Golgi apparatus as the primary site of pectin production. Using Arabidopsis seed coat cells, Dr. Young used advanced microscopic techniques to show that all of the scattered Golgi stacks work together to produce cell wall polysaccharides including pectin. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Goodvin co-developed a highly accurate approximation applicable to models describing an electron coupled to its environment. After obtaining results for standard models, this powerful approach was generalized to a much broader class of problems relevant for describing surface spectroscopies and aspects of high-temperature superconductivity. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2009 | Dr. Cao studied the structual origin of proteins of high mechanical stability and developed methods to rationally tune the mechanical stability of proteins. His research can help to develop protein-based materials with high elasticity and strength. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |