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
Fisher, Cynthia Basic medicine and life sciences; Medical and biomedical engineering; Biological sciences; Health sciences; Stem cells and regenerative medicine; Epigenetics and chromatin level regulation of gene expression; Hematopoiesis and immunology
Flannigan, Ryan Department of Urologic Sciences evaluating genetic and molecular mechanisms contributing to non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA)
Fleetham, John Division of Respiratory Medicine Sleep disorders, neuromuscular disorders, obstructive sleep apnea, imaging techniques, respiratory muscle function, systemic blood pressure, hypothalamic pituitary function, psychological status, disordered breathing
Forbes, Connor Department of Urologic Sciences Endourology, Minimally Invasive Surgery
Forster, Bruce Department of Radiology Radiology; imaging
Forwell, Susan Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy Neurological conditions and their impact on chosen occupations
Foster, Leonard Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michael Smith Laboratories Biochemistry; Genomics; Agriculture; antigen presentation; Bioinformatics; Biological and Biochemical Mechanisms; Biotechnology; Cell Signaling and Infectious and Immune Diseases; Honey bees; host-pathogen interactions; Immune System; Microbiology; Proteomics; Systems Biology
Francis, Gordon Division of Endocrinology lipoproteins; Cholesterol metabolism; Cardiovascular risk factors; Prevention of cardiovascular disease and diabetes; High density lipoproteins (HDL)
Frangou, Sophia Department of Psychiatry the study of the human brain in health and disease
Frank, Erica School of Population and Public Health Health sciences; Public and population health; Free accredited education; Preventive Medicine
Freeman, Hugh James Division of Gastroenterology Intestinal Diseases
Friedman, Jan Marshall Department of Medical Genetics Other clinical medicine; Genetic medicine; Genomics; Health counselling; Application of whole genome sequencing to diagnose genetic disease; Birth defects epidemiology; Clinical genomics; Developmental Genetics; Genetics and Heredity; Neurofibromatosis
Gadermann, Anne Social determinants of health; Housing and homelessness; Quality of
Gallagher, Romayne Medical, health and life sciences; palliative care, pain and symptom management
Gao, Zu-Hua Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Garbuz, Donald Department of Orthopaedics reconstructive surgery of the hip and knee; novel imaging techniques to assess early changes in articular cartilage, which may be indicators for osteoarthritis
Garnis, Catherine Department of Surgery Cancer biology; Tumor progression; Oral premalignant lesions; Head and neck cancer; RNA biology, microRNAs; Alternative splicing; Biomarkers
Ge, Ruiyang Neuropsychology; Mood Disorder; Big Data; mental illness
Geller, Josie Department of Psychiatry Eating Disorders
Geoffrion, Roxana Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology patient education, surgical outcomes after various pelvic reconstructive surgeries and surgical skill development through simulation and standardized training; pelvic floor reconstruction procedures such as vaginal prolapse or urinary incontinence surgery
Gerrie, Alina Division of Medical Oncology Clinical medicine; Lymphoid Cancer; Leukemia; genomics; Population-based outcomes; Cellular therapy; Quality of life; Survivorship
Giaschi, Deborah Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Neurosciences, biological and chemical aspects; amblyopia; reading; dyslexia; motion perception; binocular vision; visual development
Gibson, William Department of Medical Genetics Genetic medicine; Genetic Diseases; Chromosomes: Structure / Organization; Epigenetics
Gilbert, Mark School of Population and Public Health Public and population health; Development, implementation, evaluation and scale-up of innovative sexual health programs; Gay men’s sexual health, including sexual health literacy; Synergistic and integrated dynamics of infectious diseases, mental illness and other conditions
Gill, John Division of Nephrology Clinical outcomes in kidney transplant patients; Access to kidney transplantation; Living donor transplantation; Cardiovascular risk in transplant patients

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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: Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
UBC Author(s): Piotr Kozlowski (Radiology / Faculty of Medicine), Cornelia Laule (Radiology / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 07403194
Volume: 89
Page Range: 1809-1824
Publication Date: May 2023

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Publication: American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
UBC Author(s): Christopher Ryerson (Division of Respiratory Medicine / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 207
Page Range: 1194-1202
Publication Date: 1 May 2023

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Publication: NeuroImage
UBC Author(s): Tamara Vanderwal (Psychiatry / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 10538119
Volume: 271
Publication Date: 1 May 2023

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Publication: Health and Place
UBC Author(s): Mariana Brussoni (Pediatrics / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 13538292
Volume: 81
Publication Date: May 2023

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Publication: AJOG Global Reports
UBC Author(s): Sarka Lisonkova (Obstetrics & Gynaecology / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 3
Publication Date: May 2023

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Publication: American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
UBC Author(s): Sophia Frangou (Psychiatry / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 10647481
Volume: 31
Page Range: 353-365
Publication Date: May 2023

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Publication: British Journal of Sports Medicine
UBC Author(s): Jacqueline Whittaker (Physical Therapy / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 03063674
Volume: 57
Page Range: 602-610
Publication Date: May 2023

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Publication: Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology
UBC Author(s): Jennifer Tomek (Obstetrics & Gynaecology / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 02695022
Volume: 37
Page Range: 350-361
Publication Date: May 2023

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Publication: Antiviral Research
UBC Author(s): Ivan Robert Nabi (Cellular & Physiological Sciences / Faculty of Medicine), Mel Krajden (Pathology & Laboratory Medicine / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 01663542
Volume: 213
Publication Date: May 2023

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Publication: The Journal of general physiology
UBC Author(s): David Fedida (Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 155
Publication Date: 1 May 2023

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Publication: Biological Psychiatry
UBC Author(s): Ian Mackenzie (Pathology & Laboratory Medicine / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 00063223
Volume: 93
Page Range: 770-779
Publication Date: 1 May 2023

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Publication: Computers in Biology and Medicine
UBC Author(s): Francois Benard (Radiology / Faculty of Medicine), Arman Rahmim (Radiology / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 00104825
Volume: 158
Publication Date: May 2023

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Publication: Anatomical Record
UBC Author(s): Stacey Skoretz (Audiology & Speech Sciences / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 19328486
Volume: 306
Page Range: 947-959
Publication Date: May 2023

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Publication: Physiology (Bethesda, Md.)
UBC Author(s): Josef Penninger (Medical Genetics / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 38
Page Range: 0
Publication Date: 1 May 2023

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Publication: BMC pregnancy and childbirth
UBC Author(s): Niranjan Kissoon (Pediatrics / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 23
Page Range: 303
Publication Date: 29 April 2023

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Publication: Nature
UBC Author(s): Najib Ayas (Critical Care Medicine / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 00280836
Volume: 616
Page Range: 747-754
Publication Date: 27 April 2023

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Publication: Nature communications
UBC Author(s): Jayachandran Kizhakkedathu (Pathology & Laboratory Medicine / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 14
Page Range: 2177
Publication Date: 26 April 2023

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Publication: Implementation science : IS
UBC Author(s): Kristin Campbell (Physical Therapy / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 18
Page Range: 11
Publication Date: 26 April 2023

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Publication: Cell Reports
UBC Author(s): Tully Michael Underhill (Cellular & Physiological Sciences / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 42
Publication Date: 25 April 2023

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Publication: Journal of medical Internet research
UBC Author(s): Louise Masse (School of Population and Public Health / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 25
Page Range: e38545
Publication Date: 25 April 2023

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Publication: Cell Reports
UBC Author(s): David Granville (Pathology & Laboratory Medicine / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 42
Publication Date: 25 April 2023

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Publication: BMC public health
UBC Author(s): Dana Virginia Devine (Pathology & Laboratory Medicine / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 23
Page Range: 768
Publication Date: 25 April 2023

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Publication: Scientific reports
UBC Author(s): Christopher Ryerson (Division of Respiratory Medicine / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 13
Page Range: 6647
Publication Date: 24 April 2023

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Publication: JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions
UBC Author(s): John Webb (Divisions of Cardiology & Cardiovascular Surgery / Faculty of Medicine)
ISSN: 19368798
Volume: 16
Page Range: 927-941
Publication Date: 24 April 2023

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Publication: Scientific reports
UBC Author(s): Corinne Hohl (Emergency Medicine / Faculty of Medicine)
Volume: 13
Page Range: 6635
Publication Date: 24 April 2023

View Publication

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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
2022 Dr. Zhao explored storing platelets in the cold versus at room temperature. He showed that cold-stored platelets are more effective at stopping bleeds and have preserved metabolomic parameters than the currently in-use room-temperature stored platelets. His work contributes to and accelerated the clinical investigation of cold-stored platelets in cardiothoracic patients. Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PhD)
2022 Dr. Vanderkruk showed how the identity and function of insulin-producing beta cells is enforced by a system of cellular memory centred on methylation of histone H3 lysine 4 proteins. These studies provide novel insight into how beta cell identity is stabilized during the long period of adulthood in mammals and destabilized during diabetes. Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD)
2022 Dr. Kenny investigated heading in female varsity soccer players and provided important details on the frequency and magnitude of these repetitive head impacts. Using the substantial video data and comprehensive data collection over 3-years, she demonstrated a potential dose response to the number of headers and both brain physiology and function. Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD)
2022 Dr. Juang uncovered novel mechanisms of blood clotting and developed reagents that modulate clotting to decrease both bleeding and the formation obstructive clots. In the short-term, these reagents are useful as research tool to study blood clotting. In the long-term, these reagents will hopefully be translated into the clinic as therapeutics. Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD)
2022 Dr. Simkin examined differences in cancer risk by geography in British Columbia, Canada, using various methods that leverage locational information. In doing so, he revealed new insights on the geographical distributions of cancer, and developed analytic approaches and tools that provide localized information to support regional health planning. Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD)
2022 Dr. Arostegui discovered the embryonic origin of a unique cell population responsible for the development of tendon-bone attachment sites and various stromal lineages in the limb. This work represents the foundation for future studies involving the role of this unique cell population in tissue repair and regeneration. Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Developmental Biology (PhD)
2022 Dr. Chen used a high-throughput method to explore 2 Metallo-beta-lactamases enzymes present in the clinics, generating largescale datasets on their resistance behaviors. He gained deeper understanding of MBLs, such as how antibiotic concentrations affect bacteria containing MBLs, and how and why behaviours may differ between MBLs. Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD)
2022 Dr. De Silva studied how the platelet's structural framework, termed the actin cytoskeleton, and the supporting actin-binding proteins, regulate platelet cell death and shape change. Dr. De Silva's findings identify the actin-binding protein filamin A as a critical player in multiple aspects of platelet function. Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PhD)
2022 Dr. Charlton applied novel wearable technology to measure how people walk in everyday life, and to develop new ways to use physical activity to treat joint disease. His work contributes to the understanding of how people with musculoskeletal disease move, and their capacity to integrate movement-based rehabilitation into daily walking practices. Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD)
2022 Dr. Nouruzi's research provides insight into the role of the proneuronal transcription factor ASCL1 in early drug induced epigenetic plasticity that supports the reprogramming of prostate cancer towards aggressive disease. Doctor of Philosophy in Experimental Medicine (PhD)

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