Haiming Luo
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
Immunomodulation through modification of cell surfaces using polymers
At UBC Science, outstanding scientists and students strive to unravel the principles that underlie our universe - from the subatomic to the macroscopic, from pure mathematics to biotechnology, from ecosystems to galactic systems. Through the breadth and depth of our academic endeavours and the calibre of the people who make up our community, we take pride in discovering new scientific knowledge and preparing Canada’s and the world’s next generation of scientists.
A diverse range of highly ranked programs
With access to master’s and doctoral degrees through nine departments and 350 research groups, our graduate students work with world-class faculty to explore the basic sciences, and to pursue interdisciplinary and applied research across departments and units. UBC’s research excellence in environmental science, math, physics, plant and animal science, computer science, geology and biology is consistently rated best in Canada by international and national ranking agencies.
Committed to outstanding graduate training
UBC Science houses a wide range of prestigious NSERC Collaborative Research and Training Experience and related industry programs: from atmospheric aerosols to high-throughput biology, from biodiversity research and ecosystems services to plant cell wall biosynthesis, from quantum science and new materials to applied geochemistry. The options for enriched graduate training in industry related fields are almost endless.
World-class research infrastructure
Our affiliated institutes and centres include UBC's Michael Smith Laboratories, Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute, Biodiversity Research Centre, Life Sciences Institute, Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences, Mineral Deposit Research Unit, and TRIUMF, Canada’s national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics.
Top research talent
UBC Science boasts more than 50 Canada Research Chairs, 12 fellows of the Royal Society of London, and has been home to two Nobel Laureates. Our graduate students have won 15 prestigious Vanier Scholarships.
A diverse, supportive community of scholars
UBC Science is committed to excellence, collaboration and inclusion. Women account for 41 per cent of the Faculty's graduate enrollments, and the percentage of international students has increased to 50 per cent over the past decade.
Mission
To nurture an exceptional scientific learning and research environment for the people of British Columbia, Canada, and the world.
Research Centres
Biodiversity, Evolution and Ecology
- Biodiversity Research Centre
- Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research
- Centre for Microbial Diversity and Evolution
Computational Sciences and Mathematics
- Data Science Institute
- Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems
- Institute of Applied Mathematics
- Statistical Consulting and Research Laboratory
- Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences
Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
- Geophysical Inversion Facility
- Lithoprobe: Canada's National Geoscience Project
- Mineral Deposit Research Unit
- Pacific Centre for Isotopic and Geochemical Research
- Seismic Laboratory for Imaging and Modeling
Genomics and Biological Sciences
- Centre for High-Throughput Biology
- Geomatics for Informed Decisions Network
- Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics
- Michael Smith Laboratories
Human-Computer Interaction
- Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems
- Vancouver Institute for Visual Analytics
Life Sciences
- Centre for Blood Research
- Centre for Microbial Diseases and Immunity Research
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries
- Life Sciences Institute
- Michael Smith Laboratories
- Neglected Global Diseased Initiative
Chemistry and Materials Science
- Advanced Materials and Process Engineering Laboratory
- Max Planck-UBC Centre for Quantum Materials
- Quantum Devices Group
- Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute
Physics
- Antihydrogen Trapping and Spectroscopy at CERN
- Pacific Institute for Theoretical Physics
- TRIUMF: Canada’s National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics
- UBC ATLAS Project at Large Hadron Collider
Sustainability
Research Facilities
Designed to inspire collaboration and creativity across disciplines, the new Earth Sciences Building (ESB) lies at the heart of the science precinct on UBC’s Vancouver Campus. The $75 million facility is home to Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Statistics, the Pacific Institute of the Mathematical Sciences, and the dean’s office of the Faculty of Science. ESB’s updated teaching facilities will help Canada meet the challenges of a transforming and growing resource sector. Just as importantly, the researchers and students working and learning in the new facility will offer a valuable flow of well-trained talent, new ideas, and fresh professional perspectives to industry.
Research Highlights
Receiving more than $120 million in annual research funding, UBC Science faculty members conduct top-tier research in the life, physical, earth and computational sciences. Their discoveries help build our understanding of natural laws—driving insights into sustainability, biodiversity, human health, nanoscience and new materials, probability, artificial intelligence, exoplanets and a wide range of other areas.
UBC Science boasts 50 Canada Research Chairs and 10 fellows of the Royal Society of London, and has been home to two Nobel Laureates.
Schools / Departments
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Perrin, David | Department of Chemistry | Bioorganic Chemistry, Combinatorial Chemistry Enzyme Mimics Antisense Therapies, Radiopharmaceuticals |
| Picard, Sebastien | Department of Mathematics | Differential geometry |
| Piret, James | Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering | Biomedical engineering, regenerative medicine Cell-based therapies have the potential to provide improved treatments for major diseases such as cancer and diabetes |
| Plan, Yaniv | Department of Mathematics | applied probability, high-dimensional inference, random matrix theory, compressive sensing, and matrix completion. |
| Pleiss, Geoffrey | Department of Statistics | Statistical theory and modeling; Machine learning; Computational methods in statistics; Spatial statistics; Numerical analysis; Machine Learning; neural networks; Gaussian processes; Bayesian optimization; reliable deep learning |
| Plotkin, Steven | Department of Physics & Astronomy | Biophysics theory and computation |
| Poole, David | Department of Computer Science | Computer and information sciences; Artificial Intelligence; Decision Analysis; Knowledge Representation; Machine Learning; Preference Elicitation; Probabilistic Graphical Models; Reasoning under Uncertainty; Relational Learning |
| Potter, Andrew | Department of Physics & Astronomy | Condensed matter theory, Atomic, molecular, and optical theory, Quantum information science and quantum computing, Topological phases of matter, Strongly correlated quantum materials, Quantum dynamics, thermalization, and localization, Quantum criticality |
| Pottinger, Rachel | Department of Computer Science | Computer and information sciences; Computer Science and Statistics; data integration; data management; databases; metadata management |
| Pramanik, Malabika | Department of Mathematics | Harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, several complex variables |
| Radic, Valentina | Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences | Atmospheric sciences; Geophysics; Climate Changes and Impacts; Climate Science; Glaciology; Meteorology |
| Ramdorai, Sujatha | Department of Mathematics | Algebraic theory of quadratic forms, non-cummutative Iwasawa theory, motives |
| Ramer, Matthew | Department of Zoology | Pain, Plasticity, Regeneration, Sensory neurons, Sympathetic neurons |
| Rechnitzer, Andrew | Department of Mathematics | Enumerative combinatorics, Simulation of combinatorial objects, Lattice statistical mechanics |
| Reichstein, Zinovy | Department of Mathematics | Group theory and generalisations; Algebra; Algebraic groups; algebraic geometry |
| Reid, Jolene | Department of Chemistry | |
| Reid, Andrea | Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries | Fisheries sciences; Culturally significant fish and fisheries |
| Reinsberg, Stefan | Department of Physics & Astronomy | Medical physics, MRIs |
| Rhodin, Helge | Department of Computer Science | Computer and information sciences; Shape Recognition and Computer Graphics; Virtual Reality; Neuronal Systems; computer graphics; Computer Vision; Machine Learning |
| Richards, Jeffrey | Department of Zoology | Adaptive significance of the mechanisms coordinating cellular responses to stress |
| Rieseberg, Loren | Department of Botany | Bioinformatics; Genomics; Plant biology; adaptation; crops; invasive plants; plant evolutionary biology; speciation; weeds |
| Ritschel, Nico | ||
| Robeva, Elina | Department of Mathematics | Statistical theory and modeling; Machine learning; Algebra; Algebraic statistics; Graphical Models; Tensor decomposition; Causality; Applied algebraic geometry; Shape-constrained density estimation; Tensor networks |
| Rosado Rey, Abel | Department of Botany | Plasma membrane repair mechanisms in plants |
| Rosen, David | Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries | Animal physiology; Physiology, behaviour, and ecology of marine mammals;; Bioenergetics; Nutrition; Conservation physiology |
Pages
Graduate Student Stories
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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 Science.
Recent Thesis Submissions
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Energy requirements of grey whales (RES - MSC)
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Photochemistry of matrix isolated chiral molecules (CHEM - PHD)
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Spinning disk structured illumination microscopy (CHEM - PHD)
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. Liang studied the so-called axion quark nugget model, one of the best-studied macroscopic dark matter candidates to date. He developed the nuggets' formation mechanism, proposed new strategies for direct detection, and examined potential indirect evidence observed from current experiments. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Duan engineered a series of dynamic protein-based hydrogels which can change their physical,chemical,or mechanical properties in response to external stimuli. Such stimuli-responsive properties will allow people to regulate the mechanical performance of, or store information in, these protein-based hydrogels for desired biomedical applications. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Pleizier studied the effects of air supersaturation in water on gas bubble trauma in fish. She quantified the effects of depth and locomotion on gas bubble trauma and showed that fish may be unable to detect and avoid these conditions. Her findings have implications for fish conservation and understanding the impacts of hydroelectric dams. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Marques studied the properties of the text with information that is helpful to a developer's tasks. This study led to the design of a proof-of-concept tool able to identify task-relevant text automatically, thus assisting developers in completing a software task correctly and completely. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Rubin studied the theoretical basis of the evolution and maintenance of diversity in ecological communities. Using mathematical models and numerical methods, he showed how competition between individuals can explain the diversity of the number of species found in ecosystems in the natural world. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Cormier developed a novel adversarial machine learning algorithm in order to detect particles with challenging signatures in the ATLAS detector. This research both furthered the combination of machine learning and particle physics, as well as led to world-leading limits on the possible existence of some theories beyond the standard model. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Littlejohn developed a murine model to study the impact of early-life exposure to multiple micronutrient deficiencies on host, gut microbiome and resistome. Her most significant finding was that early-life micronutrient deficiencies induced clinically relevant antibiotic resistance which has major policy implications for malnourished children. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. D'Acunha compared carbon and water fluxes from natural and managed ecosystems in Brazil. She found that the magnitude, seasonality and drivers of these fluxes change with biome, land use and management. Her research increases our understanding of tropical ecosystems, and helps inform policies for land management and climate change mitigation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. George studied bacterial symbionts of microbial eukaryotes and viruses of symbionts. Her work highlights the complex interactions between viruses and microbes from diverse environments and provides valuable insights into their evolution. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. MacLeod helped lead a team of scientists and engineers that built the world's first self-driving laboratory for optimizing thin-film materials. This autonomous robotic laboratory accelerates the development of new and improved materials for clean energy applications. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |