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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

Computational Sciences and Mathematics

Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences

Genomics and Biological Sciences

Human-Computer Interaction

Life Sciences

Chemistry and Materials Science

Physics

Sustainability

Research Facilities

Designed to inspire collaboration and creativity across disciplines, the 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 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 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

Department

Graduate Degree Programs

Research Supervisors in Faculty

or browse the list of faculty members in various academic units. You may click each unit to view faculty members appointed in that unit. View the full faculty member directory for more search and filter options.
Name Academic Unit(s) Research Interests
Chan, Kai Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability Natural environment sciences; Human Ecology; Ecology and Quality of the Environment; Social and Cultural Factors of Environmental Protection; Applied Ethics; Values and Lifestyles; Sustainable Development; conservation finance; Conservation science; cultural ecosystem services; Ecosystem services; environmental assessment; environmental values; incentive programs; payments for ecosystem services; resilience; social-ecological systems; sustainability science
Chau, Albert Department of Mathematics Differential Geometry and Partial Differential Equations
Chen, David Department of Chemistry Instrumentation
Chen, Jingyi Department of Mathematics Algebraic and differential geometry; Differential Geometry, Partial Differential Equations
Chen, Jiahua Department of Statistics Statistical theory and modeling; empirical likelihood; finite mixture model; sample survey; asymptotic theory; imputation
Cheung, Wai Lung Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries Global change biology; Ecological impacts of climate change; climate change; Marine Ecosystems; sustainability; biodiversity; Interdisciplinary
Choptuik, Matthew Department of Physics & Astronomy Theoretical physics, Relativity/Computational Physics
Chou, Keng Chang Department of Chemistry Chemical physics
Christensen, Villy Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries Fisheries management; Global change biology; Ecosystem function; Ecosystem modelling
Chritz, Kendra Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Anthropocene, Onset, tempo, and trajectory of human impacts on biological processes and environmental change
Clune, Jeff Department of Computer Science
Cohen Freue, Gabriela Department of Statistics statistical genomics (focus in proteomics), robust estimation and inference, linear models with endogeneity
Colliander, James Department of Mathematics hamiltonian dynamical systems; partial differential equations; harmonic analysis
Conati, Cristina Department of Computer Science artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, affective computing, personalized interfaces, intelligent user interfaces, intelligent interface agents, virtual agent, user-adapted interaction, computer-assisted education, educational computer games, computers in education, user-adaptive interaction, Artificial intelligence, adaptive interfaces, cognitive systems, user modelling
Condon, Anne Department of Computer Science Algorithms; Molecular Programming
Cooke, Ilsa Department of Chemistry Role of icy dust grains in interstellar chemistry; Constraining aromatic and carbon chemistry during star formation; Observational Astronomy
Coombs, Daniel Department of Mathematics Mathematical biology; Cellular immunology; Complex physical systems; Epidemiology (except nutritional and veterinary epidemiology); Cell Signaling and Infectious and Immune Diseases; Cell biophysics; Disease models; Epidemiology; Immune cell signalling; Mathematics
Cronk, Quentin Charles Department of Botany Plant biology; botany; taxonomy; systematics; genomics
Crowe, Sean Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Geobiology, biogeochemistry, microbial evolution
Cytrynbaum, Eric Department of Mathematics Bacterial cell division, Microtubule and cellular organization, Wave propagation in excitable media
d'Arcy, Mitch Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Earth and related environmental sciences; Geomorphology; Climate/palaeoclimate; Sedimentology; Geochronology; remote sensing
Dake, Gregory Department of Chemistry Organic, bioactive, metal as catalyist
Damascelli, Andrea Department of Physics & Astronomy Electronic and magnetic properties of condensed matter and supraconductivity; Electronic Structure of Quantum Materials
Dao Duc, Khanh Department of Mathematics Genomics; Mathematical biology; Neurocognitive patterns and neural networks; Agricultural spatial analysis and modelling; combine mathematical,computational and statistical tools to study fundamental biological processes; regulation and determinants of gene expression and translation; Machine Learning for Biological Imaging and Microscopy; Database development and management; Biological and Artificial Neural Networks for geometric representation
Davies, Jonathan Department of Botany, Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences Phylogenetics & Biodiversity. Development and application of phylogenetic methods in ecology and conservation biology

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Graduate Student Stories

Eric Lee

Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD)

Computational approaches for exploring the spatial dynamics of the cellular ecosystem

Edward Sun

Master of Science in Botany (MSc)

Genomics and phylogenomics of mycoheterotrophic plants

Zoë Golay

Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)

The Impact of the Physiochemical Properties of Biomass Burning Organic Aerosols on their Multiphase Reactivity in the Stratosphere

Errol Bowman

Master of Science in Physics (MSc)

Dual Comb Spectroscopy For Mining Applications

Serena Formenti

Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD)

Investigating the Composition of Earth’s Mantle: Geochemical Clues from Hawaiian Volcanoes

Scott McNeil

Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)

Cyclotron Production of Tb-155

Gopal Khanal

Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)

Communities, carnivores and conservation: Understanding socio-ecological interactions among wildlife and livestock herders in Nepal

Bulgan Batdorj

Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)

Enhancing Mining Transparency and Accountability through Natural Language Processing

All Student Stories

Alumni on Success

Liam Spencer

Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) [2006]

Job Title
Research Scientist

Employer
The Dow Chemical Company

Steven Huan Liang

Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) [2010]

Job Title
Assistant Professor

Employer
Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital

Olga Pena

Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) [2013]

Job Title
Research Scientist and Manager

Employer
UBC

Hannes Dempewolf

Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) [2012]

Job Title
Scientist and Project Manager

Employer
Global Crop Diversity Trust

Elitza Tocheva

Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) [2007]

Job Title
Assistant Professor

Employer
Universite de Montreal

Ellen T Arena

Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) [2011]

Job Title
Assistant Scientist

Employer
University of Wisconsin Madison

Adam Ford

Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) [2014]

Job Title
Assistant Professor

Employer
University of British Columbia

Benjamin Good

Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD) [2009]

Job Title
Assistant Professor

Employer
The Scripps Research Institute
All Alumni Stories

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.

 

Neural stem cell quiescence and activation dynamics are regulated by feedback input from their progeny under homeostatic and regenerative conditions
Publication: Cell Stem Cell
UBC Author(s): Freda Miller (Michael Smith Labs / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 19345909
Volume: 32
Page Range: 445-462.e9
Publication Date: 6 March 2025

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Comparative effectiveness of methadone take-home dose initiation in British Columbia, Canada: protocol for a population-based retrospective cohort study using target trial guidelines
Publication: BMJ open
UBC Author(s): Paul Gustafson (Statistics / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 15
Page Range: e095198
Publication Date: 5 March 2025

View Publication
Visualizing the Cellular and Subcellular Distribution of Fms-like Tyrosine Kinase 3 (Flt3) and Other Neuronal Proteins Using Alkaline Phosphatase (AP) Immunolabeling
Publication: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
UBC Author(s): Xin Tang (Michael Smith Labs / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 16616596
Volume: 26
Publication Date: March 2025

View Publication
Identification of intratumoral bacteria that enhance breast tumor metastasis
Publication: mBio
UBC Author(s): B Brett Finlay (Michael Smith Labs / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 21612129
Volume: 16
Publication Date: March 2025

View Publication
Intermediate temperature structural modulation and properties of CoIn2
Publication: Physical Review Materials
UBC Author(s): Meigan Aronson (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 9
Publication Date: March 2025

View Publication
Cryptococcal nutrient acquisition and pathogenesis: dining on the host
Publication: Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews
UBC Author(s): James Kronstad (Michael Smith Labs / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 10922172
Volume: 89
Publication Date: March 2025

View Publication
The ineffectiveness of current environmental and fire policies in the world’s largest wetland
Publication: Environmental Research Letters
UBC Author(s): Mark Johnson (Institute for Resources,Environment & Sustainability / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 20
Publication Date: 1 March 2025

View Publication
Measurement of photonuclear jet production in ultraperipheral (Formula presented) collisions at (Formula presented) with the ATLAS detector
Publication: Physical Review D
UBC Author(s): Colin Gay (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 24700010
Volume: 111
Publication Date: 1 March 2025

View Publication
Search for light neutral particles decaying promptly into collimated pairs of electrons or muons in pp collisions at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector
Publication: European Physical Journal C
UBC Author(s): Colin Gay (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 14346044
Volume: 85
Publication Date: March 2025

View Publication
Early spring population dynamics of Salpa thompsoni linked to physical oceanography in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean
Publication: Polar Biology
UBC Author(s): Yevhenii Pakhomov (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 07224060
Volume: 48
Publication Date: March 2025

View Publication
tp53 R217H and R242H mutant zebrafish exhibit dysfunctional p53 hallmarks and recapitulate Li-Fraumeni syndrome phenotypes
Publication: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular Basis of Disease
UBC Author(s): Martin Hirst (Microbiology & Immunology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 09254439
Volume: 1871
Publication Date: March 2025

View Publication
An over complete deep learning method for inverse problems
Publication: Foundations of Data Science
UBC Author(s): Eldad Haber (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 7
Page Range: 50-71
Publication Date: March 2025

View Publication
Caps and wickets
Publication: Discrete Mathematics
UBC Author(s): Jozsef Solymosi (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 0012365X
Volume: 348
Publication Date: March 2025

View Publication
Origin and scarcity of breathing pyrochlore lattices in spinel oxides
Publication: Physical Review Materials
UBC Author(s): Joerg Rottler (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 9
Publication Date: March 2025

View Publication
PYLMT: a transient detection pipeline for the 4-m International Liquid Mirror Telescope
Publication: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
UBC Author(s): Paul Hickson (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00358711
Volume: 538
Page Range: 133-152
Publication Date: 1 March 2025

View Publication
The ALPHA-2 apparatus - facilitating experimentation with trapped antihydrogen
Publication: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
UBC Author(s): Takamasa Momose (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 01689002
Volume: 1072
Publication Date: March 2025

View Publication
Deep-sea mining and its risks for social-ecological systems: Insights from simulation-based analyses
Publication: PLoS ONE
UBC Author(s): Ussif Rashid Sumaila (Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 20
Publication Date: March 2025

View Publication
Morphology and Molecular Phylogeny of Endosymbiotic Ciliates (Peritrichia, Mobilida) of Marine Invertebrates with Descriptions of Two Novel Species Urceolaria clepsydra n. sp. and Urceolaria bratalia n. sp
Publication: The Journal of eukaryotic microbiology
UBC Author(s): Brian Leander (Botany / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 72
Page Range: e70003
Publication Date: 1 March 2025

View Publication
MacArthur's Consumer-Resource Model: A Rosetta Stone for Competitive Interactions
Publication: The American naturalist
UBC Author(s): Rachel Germain (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 205
Page Range: 306-326
Publication Date: 1 March 2025

View Publication
Demystifying Fundamental Theories in Ecology
Publication: The American naturalist
UBC Author(s): Rachel Germain (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 205
Page Range: 280-284
Publication Date: 1 March 2025

View Publication
Early-life gut inflammation drives sex-dependent shifts in the microbiome-endocrine-brain axis
Publication: Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
UBC Author(s): Carolina Tropini (Microbiology & Immunology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 08891591
Volume: 125
Page Range: 117-139
Publication Date: March 2025

View Publication
Structure and mechanism of haem-dependent nitrogen–nitrogen bond formation in piperazate synthase
Publication: Nature Catalysis
UBC Author(s): Katherine Ryan (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 8
Page Range: 207-217
Publication Date: March 2025

View Publication
The Ocean System Pathways (OSPs): A New Scenario and Simulation Framework to Investigate the Future of the World Fisheries
Publication: Earth's Future
UBC Author(s): Ussif Rashid Sumaila (Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 13
Publication Date: March 2025

View Publication
Triangulating habitat suitability for the locally extirpated California grizzly bear
Publication: Biological Conservation
UBC Author(s): Kaitlyn Gaynor (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00063207
Volume: 303
Publication Date: March 2025

View Publication
The Geography of Negative Curves
Publication: Michigan Mathematical Journal
UBC Author(s): Kalle Karu (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00262285
Volume: 75
Page Range: 89-118
Publication Date: March 2025

View Publication

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Recent Thesis Submissions

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
2024 Deep in our coastal seas, ocean water moves, mixes, and transports heat and matter. The eventual fate of these properties supports, or sometimes impairs, the health of coastal ecosystems. Dr. Stevens investigated deep water pathways in Canada's seas, with implications for wastewater management and climate change mitigation strategies. Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD)
2024 Dr. Can's research showed that stacking two thin sheets of superconducting materials with a twist leads to a novel quantum phase of matter, called a topological superconductor. This discovery also led to an original design of a superconducting qubit, a device that can be used for quantum information processing. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2024 Dr. Carpentier developed a novel treatment planning technique for liver cancer patients receiving radiation therapy with real time tumour tracking. She created planning strategies and dose calculations that use the patient's anatomical information over their breathing cycle to ensure the organs near the tumour do not receive too much radiation. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2024 Dr. Vining studied how computers operate on geometry and shapes, and how geometric problems can be solved with discrete optimization algorithms. By combining numerical optimization techniques with combinatorial search frameworks, he devised new algorithms that solve challenging problems in simulation, computer graphics, and video games. Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2024 Dr. Chignell combined human and physical geography to analyze the relationships among biodiversity conservation, water, and the politics of environmental science in Ethiopia. His work demonstrates how disparate methods across the sciences and humanities can be brought together to produce new ways of understanding and responding to complex eco-social questions. Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)
2024 Guided by members of the Nuxalk Nation, Dr. Gavenus studied the ways fisheries governance can affect food justice. She found that the governance of First Nations fisheries imposed by the Canadian State contributes to multiple food injustices. These findings emphasize the importance of reassertions of Indigenous fisheries governance to food justice. Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)
2024 Dr. Wei used biochemical and biophysical approaches to investigate the biosynthetic enzymes employed in the assembly of nitrogen-containing natural product molecules, including ±-amino acids Piperazic Acid and Azaserine, and nitroimidazole antibiotic Azomycin. The elucidated novel pathways and key steps lead to strategies for medicinal treatment. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2024 Dr. Ritschel studied the design of programming tools for end-users without previous coding experience. He investigated block-based programming languages and enriched them with visual features that help end-users write larger, more complex programs. His findings can guide the future development of more expressive end-user friendly programming tools. Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2024 Dr. Hardman studied immunity to intestinal viruses. By contrasting related viral strains, subtle factors could be characterized which balance immunity between controlling infection and limiting inflammation. This work contributes to future vaccine efforts, and treatments for inflammatory disorders. Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD)
2024 Dr. Mirza explored connections between gut bacteria and multiple sclerosis (MS) in children and youth. He identified differences in gut microbes and genes between those with and without MS, noting a potential link between MS and high-fiber diets. His findings offer insights for future MS research and possible treatment or prevention strategies. Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD)

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