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

Computational Sciences and Mathematics

Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences

Genomics and Biological Sciences

Human-Computer Interaction

Life Sciences

Chemistry and Materials Science

Physics

Sustainability

Research Facilities

Designed to inspire collaboration and creativity across disciplines, the 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 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 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

Department

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
2024 Dr. Moerhuis investigated the timescales of closed-system crystallization of basaltic magmas within the Earth's crust using the 56 million-year-old Skaergaard intrusion in East Greenland as a natural laboratory, contributing to a better understanding of widespread basaltic magmatism in the North Atlantic at a time of significant global warming. Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD)
2024 Dr. Li developed computational tools to discover and design novel antimicrobial peptides using machine learning techniques. His research provides high-throughput solutions for the development of novel peptide-based therapeutics to combat the escalating threat of multidrug-resistant bacteria. Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD)
2024 Dr. Zhang developed statistical methods to uncover hidden patterns in biological data. His research helped to unravel the underlying mechanism of complex diseases. In a study of pancreatic cancer, his method revealed seven gene programs related to cancer progression, which can aid researchers to develop more effective treatment strategies. Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD)
2024 Dr. Oliveira studied a new class of surfaces of interest to researchers in different areas of mathematics and provided many previously unknown examples. His research contributes to an understanding of the deeper relationships between seemingly separate subjects. Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD)
2024 Dr. Sample developed methods to improve salivary gland dose constraints during radiotherapy. This included the development of medical image deblurring techniques, tools for locating salivary glands on CT images, dose response analyses, and tools for treatment planning with modernized dose constraints. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2024 Dr. Reid investigated topics in numerical relativity including the critical collapse of the Maxwell field and further developments of the Z4 formulation. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2024 Dr. Koniar developed and validated novel methods for assessing the in vivo biodistribution and dosimetry of actinium radiopharmaceuticals for targeted alpha therapy. Her research contributions will assist in the optimization of theranostic agents to deliver personalized cancer care in patients with widespread metastatic disease. Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Physics (PhD)
2024 Dr. Tian studied how plants transduce immune signals from a major type of immune receptors. He revealed and characterized several essential proteins that regulate the immune pathway. This new knowledge has the potential to be applied to engineering resistant crop cultivars against a broad-spectrum of pathogens. Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD)
2024 Dr. Su studied 3D computer vision for human digitalization, which converts real-world images and videos into 3D animatable avatars. His methods simplify complicated motion capture pipelines, showing a promising way for 3D avatar creations from everyday devices. Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2024 Deep in our coastal seas, ocean water moves, mixes, and transports heat and matter. The eventual fate of these properties supports, or sometimes impairs, the health of coastal ecosystems. Dr. Stevens investigated deep water pathways in Canada's seas, with implications for wastewater management and climate change mitigation strategies. Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD)

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