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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Dr. Ono examined adaptation using lab-evolved populations of yeast. She found that adaptation, and the underlying genetic changes, can depend on the nature and level of stress imposed and the genome of the organism. Her findings give insight into the ability of organisms to adapt to changing environments and the consequences of such adaptation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2018 | In order to produce the proteins needed for cellular processes, the genetic information encoded in our DNA must be carefully read by molecules called transcription factors. Dr. Perez-Borrajero investigated how two of these molecules carry out their functions. Her findings help explain the different mechanisms used to interpret our genetic information correctly. | Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Metzger demonstrated that maternal stress and the developmental environment has long-term effects on animals by altering chemical markings on DNA and changing gene expression. His research shows how non-genetic mechanisms can impact adaptive responses to environmental change. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Caron completed her doctoral studies in chemistry. She researched novel conducting polymers and metal complexes containing sulfur-bridges. These materials have potential applications in solar cells and organic LEDs. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Miorelli studied electromagnetic properties of light- and medium-mass nuclei using ab initio calculations. The findings are fundamental to advance our understanding of strong interaction dynamics in nuclear systems. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Skandalis studied how hummingbirds' body size and wing shape affects their flight performance. He combined broad species and individual comparisons with fine high-speed filming to show that the evolution of relatively large wings and the ability to change wing shape on the fly have contributed to hummingbirds' impressive aerial abilities. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr, Khodabandehloo developed a new method to measure the hydrodynamic size of biomolecules for the detection of protein aggregates in biopharmaceuticals. This method can be used to detect aggregates in drug formulations during production and storage which can have negative side effects. His work will improve patient safety. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Yang studied nanosheets, the thinnest materials in the world. In the several materials he explored, the most important discovery is the magnetic impurities and their quantum coupling with the electrons in graphene. His work reveals some interesting quantum behavior in nano-materials. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Su studied end-to-end computational imaging systems using numerical optimization and machine learning. By introducing time-resolved image formation models for color and depth cameras, his algorithms tackled some of the challenges in machine perception. Dr. Su's research opens the door to many exciting directions in computational photography research. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Boroushaki developed new methods for constructing solutions to stochastic differential equations. These equations are used to model population dynamics in biology, demonstrate evolution of a fluid velocity and turbulence in physics, and model stock prices and risky assets in finance. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |