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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. Lotto assessed cell type diversity during the migratory processes required for mouse liver and heart valve development using single-cell gene expression techniques. His analyses reveal novel cell types and will serve as a genetic atlas of liver and heart valve formation for future studies exploring these processes in normal and disease contexts. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Alamri studied synaptic proteins in the brain samples of older people. She found that higher amounts of specialized proteins contributed to better memory and lowered the risk of depression. Her findings demonstrated that synaptic proteins could serve as targets for developing treatments for disorders that affect the brain in old age. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Taylor examined changes in peptide hormone biosynthesis in the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. These studies have improved our understanding of the cellular and physiological changes that occur during the development of diabetes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Pilsworth identified novel mutations in adult-type granulosa cell tumours of the ovary and explored the development of new models to study this rare cancer. She concluded that this cancer is a highly specific disease that is centered around the FOXL2 mutation and that treatments targeting this mutation is the most promising approach. | Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Gray's research demonstrated how a health promotion intervention, called Choose to Move, could be implemented, adapted, and scaled up before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. This intervention supported social connectedness and mobility, and reduced loneliness of older adults across BC. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2022 | Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a disease with unknown causes that gradually paralyzes people. Dr. Xue's research demonstrated that viral infection is a risk factor for ALS by accelerating disease progression. This finding will inspire the incorporation of antiviral drugs in treating ALS. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Ganguly used Drosophila as a model system to systematically classify ~100 variants of the PTEN gene, which have been found in cancer and ASD patients, as pathogenic or benign, using simple, robust experimental assays and examined the effect of these variants on protein function. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Yu measured the climate vulnerability and health of neighbourhoods in Metro Vancouver and examined the effects of densification on health. Overall, her dissertation reveales stark health and climate inequalities across neighbourhoods and provides evidence to support policies that prepare for the threats of urbanisation and climate change. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Saberi studied HIV Antiretroviral Therapy at the cellular level in HIV+ pregnant women and cell culture models. She found that most treatments increased mitochondrial DNA content and reflect cellular metabolism dysregulation. Her research advanced our knowledge of cellular aging and cytotoxicity that could affect fetal development and growth. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Laugen conducted research in Indonesia to demonstrate that achievement of maternal and newborn care meeting professional standards in hospitals is related to organizational readiness for change in low- and middle-income countries. His work will be used to assess readiness in health care organizations to facilitate successful practice change. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |