Canadian Immigration Updates
Applicants to Master’s and Doctoral degrees are not affected by the recently announced cap on study permits. Review more details
If you are passionate about health sciences research that makes a difference in people's lives, you're in good hands. We offer award-wining graduate programs led by world-class researchers. You'll have access to top-tier facilities and be working alongside the best and brightest in the field, conducting research that addresses real life problems. Our paradigm-changing approach is collaborative, innovative, and results-driven.
We're tackling diseases like asthma / chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and arthritis. We're developing better ways to deliver drugs and prevent adverse drug reactions. And we're conducting clinical and economic research in pharmaceutical outcomes.
Our reputation as a top research centre attracts some of the brightest and most productive minds in the field. Our faculty includes Canada Research Chairs, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholars and Senior Scholars, and Distinguished University Scholars.
Purpose
We are innovators in pharmacy education, research and practice, with the goal of supporting the optimization of drug therapy in the pursuit of improved patient outcomes.
Commitments
- We support our people, creating a community that enables excellence through collective action.
- We seek novel ideas, putting into practice those with the greatest scope for sustained impact.
- We search for relevant connections, fostering meaningful collaborations that provide mutual benefit.
Mission
Research Centres
adMare BioInnovations is located in our building. It is an independent, non-profit organization with a focus on bridging the gap between academic discoveries in the health sciences and the development of new medicines to treat human disease. The Faculty partners with adMare BioInnovations to provide unique research and mentoring opportunities for MSc and PhD students.
We are also home to several sophisticated research centres that specialize in the areas of human genome and exome sequencing, and health outcomes research.
Research Facilities
Opened in 2012, the Pharmaceutical Sciences Building at UBC is a state-of-the-art learning and research facility. The building houses modern, modular labs designed specifically for the type of research intended for the space. Our classroom facilities are fitted with advanced technology to facilitate new modes of learning.
Measuring 246,000 square feet, it's an eye-catching addition to our campus, and has drawn attention and admiration from around the world—including 15 awards of excellence.
Research Highlights
As a leading research faculty, we conduct ground-breaking research in the pharmaceutical sciences – all with the goal of addressing the pressing health needs of society and improving lives. Our research activities centre around four areas of focus.
Epidemiology & Health Outcomes
This theme covers our activities in epidemiological analysis, health outcomes and health economics research seeking solutions for the predictive enhancement of intervention strategies for practical and preventive healthcare. The impact of this work is used to shape policy to optimize the allocation of health care resources as well as defining the efficacy of healthcare interventions and strategy.
Molecular & Systems Pharmacology
This highly interdisciplinary theme embodies research directed at the interactions of therapeutic agents with human cells, and covers fundamental questions of the mechanisms of the drug action through to the behaviour of drugs in human systems. These studies are used to inform and optimize the development and delivery of drug intervention regimes for clinical practice and the pharmaceutical industry.
Nanomedicine & Chemical Biology
This theme applies our expertise in the chemical biology of the fabrication and handling of nanoscopic materials to drug discovery and delivery. Sensing and screening technologies are also an important focus.
Pharmacy Education
Our research in this theme addresses the issue of scholarship in pharmacy and the pharmaceutical sciences with a view to augment our educational research capacity and enhance the methodologies of teaching practice, student learning and curriculum decision-making.
Graduate Degree Programs
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 Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Recent Thesis Submissions
Doctoral Citations
| Year | Citation | Program |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Dr. Wang revealed high blood glucose releases endothelial heparanase, while high fatty acids induces heparanase nuclear translocation during diabetes. These studies assist us in understanding the metabolism of heart, and may serve to reduce the cardiovascular complications associated with diabetes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Mugabe has developed novel formulations of anticancer drugs, known as paclitaxel and docetaxel. These novel formulations are based on small and adhesive nanoparticles and are used in the treatment of bladder cancer. Furthermore, these treatments have shown increased bladder tissue drug levels and efficacy in a mouse model of bladder cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Hakim demonstrated that jaw injections of the protein Tumour Necrosis Factor Alpha induced muscle pain through peripheral mechanisms without causing muscle damage. It was also found that this muscle sensitisation is mediated, in part, by increased levels of prostaglandin E2. These findings could be used to develop models of human jaw muscle pain. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Misri developed an imaging agent comprised of magnetic nanoparticles and radioactive antibodies for imaging cancers with SPECT and MRI. Such an imaging agent has application in the early detection and monitoring of mesotheliomas, pancreatic and ovarian cancers. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) |
| 2011 | Dr. Patankar is helping to fight recurrent ovarian cancer. He demonstrated the benefit of incorporating the anti-cancer drug topotecan into lipid nanoparticles in order to improve its activity either as a stand-alone therapy or in combination with an existing formulation of doxorubicin which is already approved for use in patients. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Guo measured quality of life and treatment preferences among tuberculosis patients, which showed the impact of tuberculosis and its treatment from the patient?s perspective. This research could help inform the patient-centered health care management by understanding patients? personal preferences and values toward disease and treatment. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Bains demonstrated that genetic variations in human reductase enzymes significantly decrease the metabolism of the highly used anti-cancer drugs, doxorubicin and daunorubicin. His findings may lead to the establishment of biomarkers, which would prevent life-threatening side-effects in cancer patients undergoing treatment with these drugs. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Yang examined the regulatory effects of parathyroid hormone treatments on mesenchymal stem cells and developed localized, biodegradable polymer scaffold-based delivery systems for parathyroid hormone and mesenchymal stem-cells for bone regeneration applications in orthopedic medicine. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Vasudevan investigated the effects of testosterone on the development of insulin resistance and hypertension. His identification of two key testosterone-dependent biochemical pathways furthers our understanding of the role of sex hormones in regulating the actions of insulin and the resultant changes in blood pressure. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) |
| 2010 | Dr. Takahashi examined how known genetic changes affect the function of a human enzyme that is responsible for deactivating androgen steroids. The findings of these studies are being used as a basis to investigate the links between genetics, the concentrations of androgen steroids, and a man's risk for developing prostate cancer. | Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) |