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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. Roth examined the role of ecological and climate factors in driving patterns of West Nile Virus incidence in western Canada using data from BC and Saskatchewan. The results of this work were used to develop a practical decision support tool to aid resource allocation and disease prevention in the BC context. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2018 | Leishmania is a disease that affects 6 million people worldwide. Dr. Colineau studied the interaction of the leishmania parasite with its white blood cell host and identified two proteins that promote parasite intracellular survival. This research could one day lead to the development of new drugs to treat leishmania infection. | Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Cataldi characterized a new model of Parkinson's disease. He focused on early stages and causes of the disease, with the final goal to develop new, more efficient, therapies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Muraca examined the risks to mothers and babies following forceps, vacuum, and cesarean delivery. Though increased use of forceps and vacuum is recommended to reduce cesarean delivery rates, Dr. Muraca argues that each of these procedures have associated risks and suggests an evidence-based, collaborative approach to selecting an intervention. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Thomson studied population patterns of child and adolescent mental health. Her research shows that behaviour patterns observable in Kindergarten can predict mental health conditions and self-reported well-being up to 10 years later. Results suggest that addressing the social conditions in which children develop may promote child mental health. | Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Wilson studied modifications made to DNA in placentas to identify which pregnancies were at risk for complications such as preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction. She found that changes in the placental DNA could be used to classify some complications or used to identify new protein biomarkers in maternal blood during pregnancy. | Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Genetics (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Chen identified three membrane-associated proteins involved in antioxidant pathways as potential storage quality markers for red cell concentrates. These protein biomarkers hint at the role of oxidative damage in transfusion product quality deterioration. Her research also provided insight into the management and delivery of blood products. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Gallina showed that specific regions within the quadriceps muscle are uniquely activated in the presence of clinical or experimental knee pain. These studies further our understanding of how the human body adapts to pain, contributing to effective interventions for musculoskeletal disorders. | Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Martin studied the physical packaging of the genome, and how this is altered upon gene expression. He found that chemical modifications of structural proteins, called histones, largely occur as a consequence of gene expression, contrary to previous reports. These findings help us to better understand the mechanisms governing gene expression. | Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD) |
| 2018 | Dr. Chen's investigations demonstrated that musculoskeletal conditions are the most common cause of pain in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Some trunk pain is caused by arthritis of the spine and fractures related to brittle bones. Her research provides a foundation for better pain management in this chronic respiratory disease. | Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD) |