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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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Osteoporosis is a disease marked by excessive bone loss and affects one out of three women and one out of five over the age of 50. Dr. Law studied a novel and less side effect prone type of enzyme inhibition which targets bone degradation. This has the potential to be developed into a novel type of anti resorptive drug. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Adult stem cells are a central theme in the rapidly expanding field of regenerative medicine. Dr. Scott has used a genetic marker to characterize a stem cell that is present in all adult tissues and identified a mechanism that allows these cells to remain dormant until they are required for tissue maintenance and repair. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Genga investigated how lipids and genetic mutations associated with lipid metabolism influence the prognosis of patients with sepsis, such as mortality and re-hospitalizations. This research may lead to the discovery of new promising biomarkers that can identify septic patients at high risk of worse outcomes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2019 | Measuring past pesticide exposure for farmers has many challenges. Dr. Garzia developed a new method to estimate past exposures, and compared it to other existing methods. She then applied the new method to assess pesticide exposure in relation to multiple myeloma risk in BC. Her findings also provide advice for future research in this area. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Hur identified how the fibrinolytic system regulates coagulation factor XIII. He then investigated the significance of this regulation during thrombolytic therapy for deep vein thrombosis. His work aims to improve treatment for thrombosis patients. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Bisher's research demonstrated that intermittent hypoxia, a key pathological feature of sleep apnea, causes structural and functional renal injury in mice. His data also showed that the antioxidant alpha-lipoic acid can prevent this injury. These studies add to our information on the mechanisms of kidney injury in sleep apnea. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Wright's work evaluated the effects of sport-related concussions on brain physiology, including the control of brain blood flow. His work highlighted the longer time required for brain physiology to recover as compared to symptoms - a concept since incorporated into the latest international guidelines for concussion management. | Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy (MDPhD) |
| 2019 | Dr. Gamontle demonstrated that healthcare workers in Botswana were of the perspective that occupational health and infection control measures used in preventing Tuberculosis in the hospital environment were not adequate. Improving such measures can contribute to protecting the health of healthcare workers which in turn can improve patient care. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Shafai studied visual perception in adults with autism spectrum disorder, or ASD. Results show that the earliest levels of visual processing are typical, but face perception skills were impaired in ASD. There was a correlation between expression perception and social competence, providing insight into potential avenues for intervention. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Gao examined the organization of intracellular organelle membranes at the nanoscale. He showed the mechanism for organizing the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) nanodomains and distinct types of membrane contacts between the ER and mitochondria. His studies may help to address the significance of membrane ultrastructure functioning in human disease. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |