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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Dr. Chen examined both the design and analysis of computer experiments from a statistical perspective. He developed a new method to estimate the unknown parameters of a Gaussian process model. He also assessed the performance of some existing methods in sequential experimental design and provided insights into issues faced by practitioners. | Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Lee studied the mechanisms of polar distribution of cell wall components in plant cells. The asymmetric distribution of cell wall components contributes to the heterogeneity of cell wall properties, which, in turn, influences plant cell structure and function. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Vlok studied the composition and distribution of aquatic RNA viruses from the poles to the tropics. She found more than 27 virus genera and developed a taxonomic method to classify many new species. Her study has a strong impact on the understanding of the complex and dynamic roles played by RNA viruses in aquatic ecosystems. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2018 | Electrical chargeability is a diagnostic physical property for various geoscience applications such as mining. Dr. Kang's doctoral studies focused on developing a workflow that extracts a three-dimensional chargeability model from airborne electromagnetic geophysical surveys. This work facilitates locating mineral ores from the air. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Liu develped a theory of intertwining distributions on algebraic groups. He applied the theory to study intertwining operators between smooth parabolic inductions of real reductive algebraic groups. His study also gives explicit decription of local behaviour of intertwining operators. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2018 | Plant cuticular waxes cover a plant surface as a hydrophobic layer that prevents desiccation and other environmental stresses. Dr. Liu identified novel regulatory factors controlling the waxes biosynthesis during plant development and in response to environmental cues. Her results may have important agricultural applications. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Kumar developed a faster and scalable algorithm for large-scale seismic data processing. His work demonstrated the possibility of avoiding the conventional practices of seismic data processing in the Oil and Gas industry and resulted in a novel formulation that provides efficient ways to extract information from large-scale seismic data. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Gignac performed two searches for particles predicted by Supersymmetry using proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector. Findings showed no evidence for Supersymmetric particles. In addition, he studied next generation detectors that will be used to continue searches for new physics with the ATLAS detector. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2017 | To monitor time-lapse changes that occur in the earth subsurface, current practice requires difficult-to-repeat seismic surveys. Dr. Oghenekohwo proposed a new, fast, and cheaper method practitioners can adopt to monitor these changes without having to repeat the surveys. His method will have a significant impact in the field of data acquisition. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD) |
| 2017 | Dr. Regan developed an experimental apparatus to precisely measure the metabolism of animals, and used it to examine the metabolic pathways allowing certain fish species to survive long periods of time with little to no oxygen. This research benefits conservation efforts as human activities reduce the O2 levels of the world's aquatic environments. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |