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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Dr. Gupta studied computer vision and robotics to better understand and analyze human activity. He pioneered a more efficient technique of looking at data for learning representations of human motion. He subsequently applied this method to recognize detailed movements of basketball players in broadcast videos. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Zhai works on disentangling history of human evolution and language evolution using statistical methods. He showed that the path of human migration can be discovered based on the genetic variation observed among current human populations. | Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Wilhelm's research contributes to our growing appreciation of the diversity of microorganisms and the richness of their natural history. He studied microbial communities in forest soil impacted by clearcutting and his results indicate long-term changes that favour stress-tolerant groups over more vulnerable populations. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
| 2016 | Plants possess defense mechanisms against microbial pathogens. Dr. Dong studied how defense responses are regulated in plants to ensure effective immunity. He discovered novel defense regulators and demonstrated their crucial functions in plants. This study contributes to our growing knowledge in plant immunity, providing guidance for the development of natural crop protection strategies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Rabideau studied how space and time can emerge in quantum mechanical systems and found constraints on the space-times which can emerge. This will help guide future efforts to understand the nature of space and time at the smallest scales. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2016 | To report hazardous rockfalls, railway operators currently use trip wire alarm systems which are prone to frequent and prolonged false triggers that delay traffic. Dr. Nedilko developed an autonomous seismic rockfall monitoring system that helps to reduce the number of delayed trains. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Sadeghi studied properties of non-ideal plasmas. He developed a new method for creating a liquid like ultracold plasma from molecules. This work is of interest both for general scientific reasons including astrophysical questions, and for technical applications such as new sources of energy. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2016 | Investigating the binding of transition metals to phosphorus atoms is of vital importance in chemistry. Dr. Serin's work uses an uncommon class of phosphorus containing compound to make new polymers and molecules for metal coordination. His findings unlock new methods to bind and manipulate these metals that were not previously known. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2016 | Human genome sequencing is now being used to discover the cause of genetic diseases. Dr. Shyr's research improves the way doctors interpret a patient's DNA, and presents a novel computational algorithm to analyze DNA data. Collaborating with the BC Children's Hospital, his research provides patients with access to personalized treatments. | Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD) |
| 2016 | Dr. Hegebarth studied the protective layer, or the cuticle, of plant cells. Her research revealed several insights into the changes, composition and genetic make up of the cuticle at different stages. Her work contributes to a better understanding of plants and their ability to ward off external stressors and has implications in the agricultural sector. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |