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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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Dr. Wen characterized autophagy, a cellular clearance process, in the light-detecting rod photoreceptors in the retina. She also examined the therapeutic effect of autophagy modulators on retinitis pigmentsoa, an inherited eye disorder. This research allows greater understanding of autophagy and the mechanisms of retinal degeneration. | Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Islam examined how DNA is chemically modified in neurological diseases including Huntington's disease, brain cancer and alcoholism. Her work highlighted how we can use these DNA marks to understand how genes are regulated in different types of healthy and diseased tissues, and to diagnose and track the progression of neurological disorders. | Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Carlson developed a simple, scalable method for the rapid stabilization of membrane proteins called the peptidisc. He used the technique to rapidly identify novel and known interactions between membrane proteins in the bacterial cell envelope. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Raven developed an animal model for evaluating experimental therapeutics that target bladder cancer. Using this model, he found that an embryonic cell pathway, Sonic Hedgehog, is activated in these cancers and that it can be blocked to reduce tumor growth. This research provides proof of principle for a new bladder cancer treatment. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Chan worked on developing ways to enhance the natural function of platelets by loading them with potential drugs, such as clotting factors. These modified platelets may improve the effectiveness of platelet transfusions during uncontrolled bleeding, and platelets loaded with other drugs may also be useful in treating diseases such as cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Hoeppli studied how Regulatory T cells, a type of white blood cell, could be used like a drug to prevent graft rejection after organ transplantation. She found that these cells can be modified during cell culture to increase their effectiveness as a drug. Her research contributes towards improving the success of organ transplantation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Yang used advanced proteomics techniques to characterize cancer drug resistance, and to study the function of a tumour suppressor protein. These studies further our understanding of protein signalling pathways in cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Ashby studied the synaptic and cellular mechanisms that contribute to memory formation. Through his research he described a new role for the weakening of connections between brain cells during the memory formation process. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Moore developed prediction equations that can be used by clinicians and researchers to estimate maturational status in children and youth. She applied these equations to a young adult cohort and found that later maturity was not negatively associated with bone mass, density, structure or strength. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Vila investigated the role of the apoliprotein E gene in schizophrenia patients. He demonstrated that this gene has both positive and negative effects in the presentation of schizophrenia, highlighting the complexity of genetic influences. These studies expand our understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of schizophrenia. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |