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Every day across British Columbia, trainees and researchers at the UBC Faculty of Medicine are turning skills into jobs, investments into discoveries, and discoveries into solutions that are transforming health for everyone.

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.

 

Research Facilities

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.

Research Highlights

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.

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
Davies, Hugh William School of Population and Public Health Environmental and occupational health and safety; Health sciences; Public and population health; Antineoplastic drug hazards; Community Health / Public Health; environmental health; Exposure Assessment; Noise and Health; Occupational Health; Occupational Safety and Health
Davis, Noelle Department of Surgery cancer surgery and surgical oncology, Surgical oncology, Head and neck cancer
de Boer, Carl School of Biomedical Engineering Gene regulation
Dedhar, Shoukat Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology molecular biology, molecular biology as it relates to disease; developing new theraputics for cancer; how brain cells (neurons)make connections, therapeutics for cancer; molecular genetics and cancer; medical research, cancer, inflammatory diseases, cariovascular diseases, Cellular proteins, extracellular martrix, integrins, signal transduction, calreticulin, protein kinase, gene expression, cell differentiation
Deering, Kathleen Division of Social Medicine Medical, health and life sciences
Dell, Sharon Department of Pediatrics Asthma in Children; Bronchial Disorders; Children's Health; Interstitial Lung Diseases; Rare diseases; Primary ciliary dyskinesia
Dennis, Brittany Division of Social Medicine Medical, health and life sciences; Substance Use; Harm reduction; novel treatments for opioid use disorder
Dennis, Jessica Department of Medical Genetics Bioinformatics; Genetic medicine; Complex Trait Genetics; genetic epidemiology; statistical genetics; Psychiatric conditions; neurodegenerative disease; Precision Health; Administrative health data; Electronic health records; Machine Learning
Devlin, Angela Department of Pediatrics Human nutrition and dietetics; Human reproduction and development sciences; Pathology (except oral pathology); cardiovascular disease; Children; developmental programming; Diabetes; Obesity
Diamond, Adele Department of Psychiatry executive functions; prefrontal cortex; dopamine; working memory; self-control; self-regulation; cognition; COMT gene; Sex differences; stress; ACEs (adverse childhood experiences); ELS (early life stress); resilience; social determinants of health; ADHD; depression; PTSD; Physical Activity; the arts; mindfulness
Doan, Quynh Department of Pediatrics Medical, health and life sciences; Health Services; Child and youth mental health; Emergency medicine work load modelling
Dong, Xuesen Department of Urologic Sciences Cancer progression and metastasis; Gene and molecular therapy; Prostate Cancer; Drug development; RNA splicing and Gene Regulation; Hormone Dependent Cancers; Endocrine Regulation
Dormuth, Colin Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics Clinical Outcomes and Patient Safety
Drew, Yvette Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Duan, Kevin Division of Respiratory Medicine
Dummer, Trevor School of Population and Public Health health geography, cancer prevention, environmental exposures, health inequalities, geographic information science, obesity, risk factors, Environmental epidemiology and environment and health interactions, with specific emphasis on cancer etiology and cancer prevention
Duong, Franck Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Applied immunology (including antibody engineering, xenotransplantation and t-cell therapies); Medical molecular engineering of nucleic acids and proteins
Dutz, Jan Peter Department of Dermatology & Skin Science Immunity in Health & Disease, diabetes, dermatology
Dvorak, Marcel F S Department of Orthopaedics adult spine surgery; major adult deformity (scoliosis and kyphosis), traumatic injuries of the spine, and spinal cord injury.
Eddy, Rachel Department of Radiology, Department of Pediatrics Cardiorespiratory medicine and hematology; Medical and biomedical engineering; Artificial intelligence (AI); Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI); Hyperpolarized 129Xe; Computed tomography (CT); Pulmonary imaging; Lung structure-function; Lung health; Respiratory disease
Elango, Rajavel Department of Pediatrics, School of Population and Public Health Protein Nutrition, Maternal-Fetal Nutrition, Childhood Malnutrition, Amino Acid Metabolism, Human Nutrition
Elliott, Alison Department of Medical Genetics Other health sciences; rare disease; genomics; Congenital Malformations; Skeletal and limb anomalies; Genetic Counselling; Health services implementation science
Enfield, Katey Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Cancer progression and metastasis; Tumour immunology; Cancer genetics; Lung cancer; tumour microenvironment; B cell responses in cancer; Lung cancer genomics; cancer immunology; Spatial biology
Eng, Janice Department of Physical Therapy Medical, health and life sciences; Stroke Rehabilitation; Implementation Science; Wearable sensors; Recovery of walking after stroke; Recovery of upper extremity function after stroke
Etminan, Mahyar Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Eye and Visual System Diseases; Pharmacoepidemiology; Epidemiology; Oular Epidemiology; Drug Safety; Epidemiologist Study Design; Causal Inference; Cancer Epidemiology

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Graduate 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 Medicine.

 

Publication: SoftwareX
UBC Author(s): Arman Rahmim (Radiology / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 29
Publication Date: February 2025

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Publication: BMJ Open
UBC Author(s): Anita Palepu (Division of General Internal Medicine / Faculty of Medicine), Diane Lacaille (Rheumatology Division / Faculty of Medicine), Nadia Ahmed Khan (Division of General Internal Medicine / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 15
Publication Date: 28 January 2025

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Publication: Angewandte Chemie - International Edition
UBC Author(s): Corinna Schindler (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 14337851
Volume: 64
Publication Date: 27 January 2025

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Publication: Scientific reports
UBC Author(s): Deborah Giaschi (Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 15
Page Range: 3183
Publication Date: 25 January 2025

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Publication: Journal of Thoracic Disease
UBC Author(s): Christopher Ryerson (Division of Respiratory Medicine / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 20721439
Volume: 17
Page Range: 510-513
Publication Date: 24 January 2025

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Publication: BMC health services research
UBC Author(s): Kate Shannon (Division of Social Medicine / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 25
Page Range: 134
Publication Date: 24 January 2025

View Publication
Publication: BMC women's health
UBC Author(s): Wendy Norman (Family Practice / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 25
Page Range: 34
Publication Date: 23 January 2025

View Publication
Publication: Arthritis research & therapy
UBC Author(s): Joseph Puyat (School of Population and Public Health / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 27
Page Range: 13
Publication Date: 21 January 2025

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Publication: PLoS Genetics
UBC Author(s): Peter Stirling (Medical Genetics / Faculty of Medicine), Michael Kobor (Medical Genetics / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 15537390
Volume: 21
Publication Date: 21 January 2025

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Publication: Scientific reports
UBC Author(s): Aline Talhouk (Obstetrics & Gynaecology / Faculty of Medicine), David Huntsman (Pathology & Laboratory Medicine / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 15
Page Range: 2459
Publication Date: 20 January 2025

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Publication: Advanced Science
UBC Author(s): Teresa Yeong Lih Liu (Physical Therapy / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 12
Publication Date: 20 January 2025

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Publication: BMJ Open Respiratory Research
UBC Author(s): Janice Leung (Division of Respiratory Medicine / Faculty of Medicine), Christopher Ryerson (Division of Respiratory Medicine / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 12
Publication Date: 19 January 2025

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Publication: Physics in Medicine and Biology
UBC Author(s): Arman Rahmim (Radiology / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 00319155
Volume: 70
Publication Date: 19 January 2025

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Publication: Experimental brain research
UBC Author(s): Jason Barton (Division of Neurology / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 243
Page Range: 45
Publication Date: 18 January 2025

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Publication: The Lancet
UBC Author(s): Erik Skarsgard (Surgery / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 01406736
Volume: 405
Page Range: 233-240
Publication Date: 18 January 2025

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Publication: ACS Catalysis
UBC Author(s): Corinna Schindler (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 15
Page Range: 601-607
Publication Date: 17 January 2025

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Publication: ACS Synthetic Biology
UBC Author(s): Megan Levings (Surgery / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 14
Page Range: 10-20
Publication Date: 17 January 2025

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Publication: Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung
UBC Author(s): Najib Ayas (Critical Care Medicine / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 29
Page Range: 80
Publication Date: 16 January 2025

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Publication: The New England journal of medicine
UBC Author(s): Jonathon Leipsic (Radiology / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 392
Page Range: 217-227
Publication Date: 16 January 2025

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Publication: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
UBC Author(s): Miriam Pai-Spering (Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 09628452
Volume: 292
Publication Date: 15 January 2025

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Publication: BMJ Open
UBC Author(s): Nadia Ahmed Khan (Division of General Internal Medicine / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 15
Publication Date: 15 January 2025

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Publication: Critical care (London, England)
UBC Author(s): William Panenka (Psychiatry / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 29
Page Range: 26
Publication Date: 15 January 2025

View Publication
Publication: Acta neuropathologica
UBC Author(s): Ian Mackenzie (Pathology & Laboratory Medicine / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 149
Page Range: 7
Publication Date: 15 January 2025

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Publication: International Journal of Cardiology
UBC Author(s): Jonathon Leipsic (Radiology / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 01675273
Volume: 419
Publication Date: 15 January 2025

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Publication: BMJ Open
UBC Author(s): Nicholas Bansback (School of Population and Public Health / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 15
Publication Date: 15 January 2025

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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. Nguyen studied the molecular machines responsible for the transcription of RNA using cutting-edge techniques like super resolution microscopy and next-generation sequencing. His work not only unraveled novel perspectives of transcription mechanisms, but also challenged previous paradigms to provide a better understanding of gene regulation. Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD)
2024 Dr. Kumar studied the mechanisms underlying protein quality control in cells exposed to DNA damage. His work focused on post-translational modifications and their role in regulating the dynamics of protein sequestration. Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD)
2024 Dr. Bell investigated the role of the surface glycoprotein, podocalyxin, in breast and pancreatic cancer and showed that the molecule's sugar-rich, extracellular domain contributes to tumour cell collective invasion. This work provides insight into mechanisms of early metastasis and highlights the potential of podocalyxin-targeted therapeutics. Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD)
2024 Dr. Randall explored long-term patient satisfaction with total knee replacement. She found that 12% of participants were dissatisfied, particularly those with ongoing symptoms and unmet expectations. The main concern for patients was how well their new knee supported their daily lives. These findings have both clinical and research implications. Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD)
2024 Dr. Li conducted research on the association between TNF inhibitors and multiple sclerosis in four Canadian provinces. An increased risk of multiple sclerosis was found in users of TNF inhibitors. This finding is vital for healthcare practitioners to weigh the benefits and risks of TNF inhibitors, ultimately guiding safer medical decisions. Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD)
2024 Around the world people breathe in polluted air that irritates their lungs and causes inflammation. Dr. Huff's research demonstrated that current anti-inflammatory asthma medications increase common cold infections in human lung cells exposed to pollution, and identified three new medicines that reduce air pollution induced inflammation. Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD)
2024 Dr. Hrelja examined how decision-making was bidirectionally influenced by self-administered drugs of abuse in rodent models. This preclinical research illuminates considerations and refinements that can be made to the treatment of addiction. Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD)
2024 Dr. Tophkhane studied the functional effects of mutations in WNT pathway genes associated with Robinow syndrome using the chicken embryo model. She found that the mutant proteins disturb development of the facial skeleton and cell signaling. Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD)
2024 Dr. Orach investigated the dose-response to controlled air pollution exposure in a clinical trial. He identified blood proteins, breath measurements and symptoms that are closely related to diesel exhaust levels. This research facilitates health monitoring and improves our ability to assess and mitigate the harmful impacts of air pollution. Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD)
2024 Dr. Fournier uncovered a new role for ARID1A, a gene lost in about 7% of all cancers, in the maintenance of genome integrity. Using CRISPR screening, he also identified vulnerabilities of cancer cells that lose ARID1A. This work expands our understanding of how these tumours develop and provides potential new avenues for treatment. Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Oncology (PhD)

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