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Ranked among the world’s top medical schools with the fifth-largest MD enrollment in North America, the UBC Faculty of Medicine is a leader in both the science and the practice of medicine. Across British Columbia, more than 12,000 faculty and staff are training the next generation of doctors, health care professionals, and medical researchers, making remarkable discoveries to help create the pathways to better health for our communities at home and around the world.
The UBC Faculty of Medicine offers a diverse array of training opportunities including cutting-edge research experiences in the biosciences, globally recognized population health education, quality health professional training, as well as several certificate and online training options. The Faculty of Medicine is home to more than 1,700 graduate students housed in 20 graduate programs (14 of which offer doctoral research options). Year after year, research excellence in the Faculty of Medicine is supported by investment from funding sources here at home and around the globe, receiving approximately more than $1.8B in total research funding since 2016.
We value our trainees and the creative input they have to scholarly activities at UBC. Our priority is to enable their maximum potential through flexible opportunities that provide a breadth of experiences tailored to their own individual career objectives. We maintain high standards of excellence, and work to create a community of intellectually and socially engaged scholars that work collaboratively with each other, the university, and the world, with the overarching goal of promoting the health of individuals and communities.
Most Faculty research is conducted under the auspices of 23 centres and institutes that are part of UBC or affiliated with it, in collaboration with our health partners.
UBC Faculty of Medicine provides innovative educational and research programs in the areas of health and life sciences through an integrated and province-wide delivery model in facilities at locations throughout British Columbia.
The Life Sciences Centre is the largest building on the UBC Vancouver campus. Completed in 2004, the $125 million, 52,165 sq metres building was built to accommodate the distributed medical educational program and the Life Sciences Institute.
The Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health (DMCBH), a partnership between the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health, unites under one roof research and clinical expertise in neuroscience, psychiatry and neurology in order to accelerate discovery and translate new knowledge into better treatment and prevention strategies. DMCBH has both laboratory and clinical research areas within the Centre proper and in the UBC Hospital Koerner Pavilion. Our core facilities are essential to ongoing collaboration, teaching, and research.
The BC Children's Hospital Research Institute is it the largest research institute of its kind in Western Canada in terms of people, productivity, funding and size. With more than 350,000 square feet of space, the Institute has both 'wet bench' laboratory and 'dry lab' clinical research areas, and other areas to facilitate particular areas of research and training.
New knowledge and innovation are crucial to successfully identifying, addressing and overcoming the increasingly complex health-related challenges that influence the lives of all of us – in British Columbia, in Canada, and in countries and communities around the globe.
The UBC Faculty of Medicine is recognized nationally and internationally for research innovation that advances knowledge and translates new discoveries to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities. Research opportunities feature extensive collaborations across other faculties, health institutions and health partners across British Columbia, Canada and internationally.
The Faculty provides and fosters research excellence across the full continuum, from basic science to applied science and then to knowledge implementation, with a focus on precision health; cancer; brain and mental health; heart and lung health; population health; and chronic diseases.
This is an incomplete sample of recent publications in chronological order by UBC faculty members with a primary appointment in the Faculty of Medicine.
| Year | Citation | Program |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Dr. Magee examined the epidemiology of schizophrenia spectrum conditions and access to psychiatric services among adolescents in British Columbia. Her findings can be used to plan for adequate mental health supports for young people in BC. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Closson explored the validity evidence of a commonly used measure of gender equity in sexual and reproductive health research among South African youth. She demonstrated that measures need to be adapted to be more inclusive, contemporary, and strength-based to better reflect gender equity and the positive elements of youth relationships | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Mo investigated the mechanisms of leukemogenesis in AML driven by genetic mutations. The research identified a novel genetic driver of AML, FBXO11, as well as a new link between two cellular systems, the ubiquitin pathway and mitochondrial function. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Strilchuk leveraged RNA and lipid nanoparticle technologies to create agents that control the stability of blood clots. She showed that this strategy could help restore hemostasis in models of coagulation disorders, providing the foundation for a new generation of therapeutics to protect people against thrombosis and bleeding. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2022 | During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Messing showed that blood immune biomarkers at time of ICU admission predict COVID-19 clinical outcome. She also studied immune responses in other conditions including muscular dystrophy and childhood allergic disease where she demonstrated important immunological mechanisms that underlie disease development. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Xiuyun Wu studied the relationship between human visual perception and motor action. She examined how perception and eye movements respond to different visual objects and tasks. This research provides new insights into how visual information is utilized by perception and action, and informs our understanding of the underlying brain mechanisms. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2022 | Coxsackievirus B3 shows therapeutic potential towards lung cancer but with evident organ toxicity. Dr. Liu's study on the genetically miRNA-modified virus provides insightful information on optimizing the viral backbone for balanced oncolytic potency and safety with enhanced genomic stability, as well as maximum capacity to carry therapeutic genes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Lyons studied the virulence associated Type 3 Secretion System from pathogenic E. coli using structural biology techniques. Her research on this system assists with our understanding of how this vital system functions, in addition to the future development of therapeutics that help neutralize this important toxin delivery system. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Tse evaluated shoe orthotic insoles as a novel complementary treatment for individuals with progressive knee joint degeneration. These works highlight how shoe orthotics alter movement patterns and knee joint load transfer during walking, and provide a prediction tool to match insole designs to individual presentations knee joint degeneration. | Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD) |
| 2022 | Multiple factors play a role in endometriosis pain, ultimately impacting treatment decisions. Dr. Orr found a clinically practical tool to identify central sensitization in endometriosis and found that KRAS mutations were related to endometriosis severity. Her findings will contribute to a new classification system for endometriosis care. | Doctor of Philosophy in Reproductive and Developmental Sciences (PhD) |