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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 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

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
Ghioca, Dragos Department of Mathematics Drinfeld modules, isotrivial semiabelian varieties, Lehmer inequality
Giang, Amanda Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability, Department of Mechanical Engineering Atmospheric sciences; Mechanical engineering; Natural environment sciences; Atmospheric Pollutants; Chemical Pollutants; Climate Changes and Impacts; Public Policies; Social and Cultural Factors of Environmental Protection
Gladman, Brett Department of Physics & Astronomy Astronomy, Planetary Science, meteorites, astrobiology, Solar system formation and evolution
Gold, Michael Department of Microbiology & Immunology understanding cell signaling, morphology, trafficking, and effector function of immune cells and tumour cells
Gordon, Michael Department of Zoology Neurosciences, biological and chemical aspects; Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Zoology; Chemosensation; Drosophila; Feeding; Gustation; Neural circuits; Neuronal Systems; neuroscience; Sensory systems; Taste
Gordon, Julia Yulia Department of Mathematics Representation theory of p-adic groups and motivic integration; Trace Formula and its applications
Graham, Sean Department of Botany Plant phylogenetics; Plant systematics; Plant evolution; Organelles; Phylogenomics; Land plants; Mycoheterotrophs
Grant, Edward Department of Chemistry Spectroscopy, molecular electronic structure, Chemical physics
Greenstreet, Mark Department of Computer Science Dynamic systems, formal methods, hybrid systems, differential equations
Greif, Chen Department of Computer Science Numerical computation; Numerical analysis; scientific computing; numerical linear algebra; numerical solution of elliptic partial differential equations
Groat, Lee Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Mineralogy and crystallography (except soil mineralogy and chemicals aspects of crystallography); Inorganic geochemistry; Economic geology; mineralogy; crystal chemistry; Geochemistry; economic geology; gem deposits; pegmatites
Gujarati, Arpan Department of Computer Science Computer and information sciences; Systems
Gustafson, Paul Department of Statistics Statistics; meta-analysis; Parametric and Non-Parametric Inference; Theoretical Statistics; Pharmacoepidemiology; Bayesian statistical methods; Biostatistics and Epidemiology; Causal inference; Evidence synthesis; Partial Identification
Gustafson, Stephen James Department of Mathematics Mathematics and statistics; Mathematical Analysis; Differential Equation; Global and Non-Linear Analysis; Mathematical physics; Nonlinear partial differential equations; Nonlinear waves; Topological solitons
Haber, Eldad Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Scientific computing and its application to geophysical and medical imaging
Hallam, Steven Department of Microbiology & Immunology Microbiome; Microbial ecology; metagenomics; Biological engineering; Synthetic biology; Bioinformatics; Machine Learning; Entrepreneurship
Hallas, Alannah Department of Physics & Astronomy Physical sciences; quantum phenomena; magnetism; Materials design and discovery; Quantum materials
Halpern, Mark Department of Physics & Astronomy Cosmology, Cosmic background radiation, history of star formation, measuring the geometry and contents of the Universe, satellites, balloon-borne telescopes, the physics of music, Physics of music, Cosmic Microwave Background, Physical Cosmology, Star formation history
Hancock, Robert E Department of Microbiology & Immunology Cationic Antimicrobial Peptides, Host Defence Peptides and Innate Immunity, Functional Genomics of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Regulation of Antibiotic Resistance, Array Data, Self-promoted uptake hypothesis
Harder, Kenneth Department of Microbiology & Immunology Host-pathogen, tumours, infection, immunity, atherosclerosis, role of macrophages in inflammation
Hariri, Amani Department of Chemistry Biological chemistry, Integrated Biosensors, Ultrasensitive sensor platforms for low abundance molecular detection, Aptamer switches for multifunctional stimulus-responsive Nano-systems
Harley, Christopher Department of Zoology, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries Fisheries sciences; Zoology; climate change; community ecology; Ecology and Quality of the Environment; marine algae; marine invertebrates
Harris, Leila Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability, Institute for Gender, Race, Sex and Social Justice Critical identity, ethnic and race studies; Gender, sexuality and education; Human rights, justice, and ethical issues; Africa; Development Policies; Drinking Water; Environmental justice; equity and social justice; Ethics and Fundamental Issues of Law and Justice; Fresh Water; Gender Relationship; gender and social difference; Ghana; International development; participatory resource management; Resources Management; Social Contract and Social Justice; Social and Cultural Factors of Environmental Protection; South Africa; Turkey and Middle East; Water; water governance; water politics
Harvey, Nicholas Department of Computer Science randomized algorithms, combinatorial optimization, graph sparsification, discrepancy theory and learning theory; algorithmic problems arising in computer networking, including cache analysis, load balancing, data replication, peer-to-peer networks, and network coding.
Hasinoff, Michael Department of Physics & Astronomy Low-energy particle physics

Pages

Graduate Student Stories

Herringer Paul's image

Paul Herringer

Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)

Classifying computational phases of quantum matter in 2D and 3D
Garen Josef's image

Josef Garen

Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD)

Impacts of temperature on plant carbon metabolism and water use
Borch Annie's image

Annie Borch

Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD)

The history and impact of volcanism and glacial systems on landscape evolution in the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt, BC
Faeze Keshavarz's image

Faeze Keshavarz

Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD)

Understanding cellular pathways modifications in cancer using the transcriptome
Ina Na's image

Ina Na

Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD)

The diversity and evolution of apicomplexans
Sabrina Scott's image

Sabrina Scott

Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)

Post polymerization modification of alkene containing polymers by hydroaminoalkylation
Betz Emma's image

Emma Betz

Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD)

Developing a new inorganic proxy to explore trophic dynamics in the past

Joshua MacEachern's image

Joshua MacEachern

Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)

Designing a new radio telescope to help study the universe when it was just a fraction of a second old
All Student 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.

 

What is the ideal time to begin tapering opioid agonist treatment? A protocol for a retrospective population-based comparative effectiveness study in British Columbia, Canada
Publication: BMJ Open
UBC Author(s): Paul Gustafson (Statistics / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 14
Publication Date: 29 April 2024

View Publication
Single-Molecule Study Reveals Ion-Dependent Conformational Change and Nanomechanical Property of Crown Ether-Based Polymer
Publication: Macromolecules
UBC Author(s): Hongbin Li (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00249297
Volume: 57
Page Range: 3798-3806
Publication Date: 23 April 2024

View Publication
Design Tensions in Online Freelancing Platforms: Using Speculative Participatory Design to Support Freelancers' Relationships with Clients
Publication: Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
UBC Author(s): Dongwook Yoon (Computer Science / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 8
Publication Date: 23 April 2024

View Publication
Cellulose nanocrystal-mediated enhancement of hydrogel anti-swelling and water retention
Publication: RSC Sustainability
UBC Author(s): Parisa Mehrkhodavandi (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 2
Page Range: 1543-1550
Publication Date: 23 April 2024

View Publication
Stream Processing with Adaptive Edge-Enhanced Confidential Computing
Publication: EdgeSys 2024 - Proceedings of the 7th International Workshop on Edge Systems, Analytics and Networking, Part of: EuroSys 2024
UBC Author(s): Aastha Mehta (Computer Science / Faculty of Science)
Page Range: 37-42
Publication Date: 22 April 2024

View Publication
Patterns of air pollution enforcement in Canada: Environmental priorities versus enforcement outcomes
Publication: Elementa
UBC Author(s): Amanda Giang (Institute for Resources,Environment & Sustainability / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 12
Publication Date: 22 April 2024

View Publication
Synthesis of Aminopolyolefins with Tunable Hydrophilicity and Chain Flexibility for Application as Binders in Aqueous Rechargeable Batteries
Publication: ACS Applied Energy Materials
UBC Author(s): Laurel Schafer (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 7
Page Range: 3433-3442
Publication Date: 22 April 2024

View Publication
Polymer Dots with Delayed Fluorescence and Tunable Cellular Uptake for Photodynamic Therapy and Time-Gated Imaging
Publication: Angewandte Chemie - International Edition
UBC Author(s): Zachary Hudson (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 14337851
Volume: 63
Publication Date: 22 April 2024

View Publication
Coral-infecting parasites in cold marine ecosystems
Publication: Current Biology
UBC Author(s): Patrick John Keeling (Botany / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 09609822
Volume: 34
Page Range: 1810-1816.e4
Publication Date: 22 April 2024

View Publication
Capture of endogenous lipids in peptidiscs and effect on protein stability and activity
Publication: iScience
UBC Author(s): Tao Huan (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 27
Publication Date: 19 April 2024

View Publication
Method-level Bug Prediction: Problems and Promises
Publication: ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology
UBC Author(s): Reid Holmes (Computer Science / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 1049331X
Volume: 33
Publication Date: 18 April 2024

View Publication
GSpyNetTree: a signal-vs-glitch classifier for gravitational-wave event candidates
Publication: Classical and Quantum Gravity
UBC Author(s): Jessica McIver (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 02649381
Volume: 41
Publication Date: 18 April 2024

View Publication
Two Iron(II), α-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Enzymes Encoded by the PPZ Gene Cluster of Metarhizium majus Enable Production of 8-Hydroxyperamine
Publication: Journal of the American Chemical Society
UBC Author(s): Katherine Ryan (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00027863
Volume: 146
Page Range: 10263-10267
Publication Date: 17 April 2024

View Publication
Electrophoretic Deposition Interferometric Scattering Mass Photometry
Publication: ACS Nano
UBC Author(s): Edward Grant (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 19360851
Volume: 18
Page Range: 10388-10396
Publication Date: 16 April 2024

View Publication
Crystallization-driven self-assembly of poly(3-hexylthiophene)-b-poly(2,5-bis(2-ethylhexyloxy)p-phenylene), a π-conjugated diblock copolymer with a rigid rod corona-forming block
Publication: Polymer Chemistry
UBC Author(s): Zachary Hudson (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 17599954
Volume: 15
Page Range: 1839-1850
Publication Date: 16 April 2024

View Publication
Testing the feasibility of targeting a conserved region on the S2 domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein
Publication: Biophysical Journal
UBC Author(s): Steven Plotkin (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00063495
Volume: 123
Page Range: 992-1005
Publication Date: 16 April 2024

View Publication
Antimony mobility in soil near historical waste rock at the world's largest Sb mine, Central China
Publication: Science of the Total Environment
UBC Author(s): Roger Beckie (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00489697
Volume: 921
Publication Date: 15 April 2024

View Publication
On the dynamics and wakes of a freely settling Platonic polyhedron in a quiescent Newtonian fluid
Publication: Journal of Fluid Mechanics
UBC Author(s): Anthony Wachs (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00221120
Volume: 985
Publication Date: 15 April 2024

View Publication
A Retrospective Analysis of Leadership, Awardees, and Member Gender Representation of the Canadian Society for Immunology
Publication: Journal of Immunology
UBC Author(s): Ninan Abraham (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00221767
Volume: 212
Page Range: 1257-1267
Publication Date: 15 April 2024

View Publication
Self-amplifying RNA COVID-19 vaccine
Publication: Cell
UBC Author(s): Anna Blakney (Michael Smith Labs / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00928674
Volume: 187
Page Range: 1822-1822.e1
Publication Date: 11 April 2024

View Publication
Coinfection of slime feather duster worms (Annelida, Myxicola) by different gregarine apicomplexans (Selenidium) and astome ciliates reflects spatial niche partitioning and host specificity
Publication: Parasitology
UBC Author(s): Brian Leander (Botany / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00311820
Volume: 151
Page Range: 400-411
Publication Date: 11 April 2024

View Publication
Conclusive demonstration of iatrogenic Alzheimer's disease transmission in a model of stem cell transplantation
Publication: Stem Cell Reports
UBC Author(s): Wilfred Arthur Jefferies (Michael Smith Labs / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 22136711
Volume: 19
Page Range: 456-468
Publication Date: 9 April 2024

View Publication
THE MORDELL–LANG CONJECTURE FOR SEMIABELIAN VARIETIES DEFINED OVER FIELDS OF POSITIVE CHARACTERISTIC
Publication: Bulletin of the Australian Mathematical Society
UBC Author(s): Dragos Ghioca (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00049727
Volume: 109
Page Range: 254-264
Publication Date: 8 April 2024

View Publication
Joint environmental and social benefits from diversified agriculture
Publication: Science
UBC Author(s): Claire Kremen (Institute for Resources,Environment & Sustainability / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00368075
Volume: 384
Page Range: 87-93
Publication Date: 5 April 2024

View Publication
Equity and justice should underpin the discourse on tipping points
Publication: Earth System Dynamics
UBC Author(s): Ussif Rashid Sumaila (Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 21904979
Volume: 15
Page Range: 341-366
Publication Date: 5 April 2024

View Publication

Pages

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 Dr. Otani conducted a study on molecular complexes at low temperatures using spectroscopic techniques. Her realization of a signature of molecular superfluidity predicted by theory but not yet realized and the nature of chiral molecules offers valuable insights into atomic, molecular, and condensed matter. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2024 Dr. Poon's research focused on heart motion management in radiation therapy for irregular heartbeats. He quantified regional heart motion and investigated a technique to synchronize radiation delivery with the cardiac cycle, with the goal of improving treatment outcomes by reducing the treated volume and minimizing radiation to healthy tissue. Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Physics (PhD)
2024 Dr. Takemon developed a computer-based method to examine cancer gene functions and identify cancer cell-specific vulnerabilities. Using this method, they found several vulnerabilities that can be exploited to selectively kill cancer cells using existing FDA approved drugs. Dr. Takemon's research illustrates a model for improving future precision cancer medicine. Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD)
2024 Dr. Lykiardopoulou contributed to the field of nuclear physics by measuring the mass of short-lived sodium isotopes. The results challenge current theories of nuclear structure and establish benchmarks for new theoretical approaches. She contributed in the development and commissioning of a novel ion trap that aims at higher precision mass measurements of short-lived species. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2024 Dr. Daly-Grafstein developed new statistical methods for studying cause-and-effect relationships. These methods require fewer assumptions about the nature of the data, making estimates more robust. They are applicable when conducting observational studies or when research data is partially missing. Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD)
2024 Dr. Askelson studied how one species evolves into multiple species over time. He discovered that white-breasted nuthatches, which have been treated as a single species, in fact consist of three distinct species. Dr. Askelson showed that hybridization and gene flow has shaped dramatic patterns of differentiation across these birds' genomes. Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
2024 Dr. Reeves showed how chaotic phenomena, such as the butterfly effect, can appear in certain quantum systems that can model black holes. By discovering the relationship between chaos and symmetries in these systems, Dr. Reeves furthered the understanding of these systems and their connection to black holes. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2024 Dr. Song explored how plants communicate with the microbial community surrounding their roots, known as the rhizosphere microbiome. She identified novel genetic mechanisms plants employ to interact with beneficial microbes. Her findings will help enhance crop resilience and productivity, offering important advancements in agricultural practices. Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD)
2024 Exploring global midwater zooplankton, Dr. Egorova identified key biodiversity hotspots and unique biomass patterns. Dr. Egorova's findings enhance marine models and deepen understanding of ocean ecosystems. These insights benefit environmental scientists and policymakers, enhancing global conservation. Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD)
2024 Dr. Xing explored and improved the detection of topic shifts in natural language and multimedia using data-driven approaches. He proposed enhanced topic segmentation models with better coherence analysis strategies, showing potential to benefit other natural language understanding tasks like text summarization and dialogue modeling. Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)

Pages

 

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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UBC evolutionary biologist Dr. Dolph Schluter named AAAS Fellow

Internationally renowned evolutionary biologist Dr. Dolph Schluter has been elected to the newest class of American Association for the...

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How art can help us talk about the green transition

Elders, researchers and musicians are using art to get people talking about the challenges and opportunities of a transition to renewable...

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UBC adding 778 student spaces across technology and life sciences programs thanks to provincial investment

B.C.’s Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation, the Honourable Brenda Bailey, was on site at UBC’s Vancouver campus Friday to...

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Tropical coral-infecting parasites discovered in cold marine ecosystems

Parasites thought only to infect tropical coral reefs have been discovered in a large variety of creatures in cold marine ecosystems along...

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New gravitational wave signal helps fill the ‘mass gap’ between neutron stars and black holes

A collaboration of researchers including UBC scientists have observed gravitational waves from the collision of what is most likely a...

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