UBC evolutionary biologist Dr. Dolph Schluter named AAAS Fellow
Internationally renowned evolutionary biologist Dr. Dolph Schluter has been elected to the newest class of American Association for the...
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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
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
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Dr. Kotur studied nitrate and nitrite uptake in plants, which is critical for their growth. She found a novel nitrate transporter in roots that functions at low nitrate concentration, and induces other nitrate-responsive genes. This transporter may help breeders to improve nitrogen-use efficiency in crops, to minimize fertilizer consumption. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
| 2013 | Dr. Cadieux studied C. neoformans, a fungus that causes disease in humans and animals. She found this fungus has different mechanisms to acquire heme, a nutrient essential to humans, and she identified the first protein involved in heme uptake. Her findings may lead to better treatment for diseases caused by the fungus, such as pneumonia and meningitis. | Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) |
| 2013 | Dr. Winslow conducted theoretical physics research into the interactions of fundamental particles. His work has contributed to our understanding of the possible existence of extra spatial dimensions at current experiments, the lack of primordial antimatter throughout the universe, and the unexpected, recently observed behaviour of the top quark. | Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD) |
| 2013 | Dr. Jongkees investigated bacterial enzymes known as unsaturated glucuronyl hydrolases, which can cause food poisoning and infections following surgery. He studied how these enzymes work chemically, in order to discover ways to stop them working. Understanding the enzymes could lead to better food preservatives and treatments to prevent infection. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
| 2013 | Dr. Samadian studied at the iCapture centre in St Paul's hospital. He proposed a pathway towards "in silico" clinical research, investigating methodologies to facilitate the representation and sharing of clinical knowledge. The goal of the research is to provide a decision support framework to help clinicians make efficient healthcare decisions. | Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD) |
| 2013 | Dr. Southey investigated systems to help robots recognize objects. He studied the role of qualitative 3D spatial relationships that allows robots to differentiate between likely and unlikely spatial configurations, in order to detect objects. Someday it could help robots in tasks like personal care which require them to recognize household items. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2013 | Dr. Meger conducted research in the field of Computer Science. He developed methods for robotic vehicles to understand the objects in their environment, using camera sensors. His work has resulted in one of the world's most capable robots for this task and been demonstrated to improve the performance of autonomous driving and home-assistant devices | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |
| 2013 | Dr. Talhouk developed algorithms to estimate the relationship between data measurements to improve the understanding of how they simultaneously change under different conditions. Modelling the heart rate of patients under anesthesia and modelling the daily return of stocks in a financial portfolio are examples of ways these algorithms can be used. | Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD) |
| 2013 | Dr. Folz conducted research in probability and analysis, with an emphasis on random walks. He proved results relating the large-scale geometry of graphs to various behaviors of interest for the associated random walks. He developed techniques that have been used by other researchers and improved substantially upon prior results in this area. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
| 2013 | Dr.Ingram completed his research in the field of information visualization. His work focused on designing algorithms and tools for visually exploring large collections of text. These tools help researchers outside of computer science, like journalists, to summarize and understand these unstructured collections in less time than with existing tools. | Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD) |