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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

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

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
Chan, Kai Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability Natural environment sciences; Human Ecology; Ecology and Quality of the Environment; Social and Cultural Factors of Environmental Protection; Applied Ethics; Values and Lifestyles; Sustainable Development; conservation finance; Conservation science; cultural ecosystem services; Ecosystem services; environmental assessment; environmental values; incentive programs; payments for ecosystem services; resilience; social-ecological systems; sustainability science
Chau, Albert Department of Mathematics Differential Geometry and Partial Differential Equations
Chen, David Department of Chemistry Instrumentation
Chen, Jingyi Department of Mathematics Algebraic and differential geometry; Differential Geometry, Partial Differential Equations
Chen, Jiahua Department of Statistics Statistical theory and modeling; empirical likelihood; finite mixture model; sample survey; asymptotic theory; imputation
Cheung, Wai Lung Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries Global change biology; Ecological impacts of climate change; climate change; Marine Ecosystems; sustainability; biodiversity; Interdisciplinary
Choptuik, Matthew Department of Physics & Astronomy Theoretical physics, Relativity/Computational Physics
Chou, Keng Chang Department of Chemistry Chemical physics
Christensen, Villy Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries Fisheries management; Global change biology; Ecosystem function; Ecosystem modelling
Chritz, Kendra Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Anthropocene, Onset, tempo, and trajectory of human impacts on biological processes and environmental change
Clune, Jeff Department of Computer Science
Cohen Freue, Gabriela Department of Statistics statistical genomics (focus in proteomics), robust estimation and inference, linear models with endogeneity
Colliander, James Department of Mathematics hamiltonian dynamical systems; partial differential equations; harmonic analysis
Conati, Cristina Department of Computer Science artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, affective computing, personalized interfaces, intelligent user interfaces, intelligent interface agents, virtual agent, user-adapted interaction, computer-assisted education, educational computer games, computers in education, user-adaptive interaction, Artificial intelligence, adaptive interfaces, cognitive systems, user modelling
Condon, Anne Department of Computer Science Algorithms; Molecular Programming
Cooke, Ilsa Department of Chemistry Role of icy dust grains in interstellar chemistry; Constraining aromatic and carbon chemistry during star formation; Observational Astronomy
Coombs, Daniel Department of Mathematics Mathematical biology; Cellular immunology; Complex physical systems; Epidemiology (except nutritional and veterinary epidemiology); Cell Signaling and Infectious and Immune Diseases; Cell biophysics; Disease models; Epidemiology; Immune cell signalling; Mathematics
Cronk, Quentin Charles Department of Botany Plant biology; botany; taxonomy; systematics; genomics
Crowe, Sean Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Geobiology, biogeochemistry, microbial evolution
Cytrynbaum, Eric Department of Mathematics Bacterial cell division, Microtubule and cellular organization, Wave propagation in excitable media
d'Arcy, Mitch Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Earth and related environmental sciences; Geomorphology; Climate/palaeoclimate; Sedimentology; Geochronology; remote sensing
Dake, Gregory Department of Chemistry Organic, bioactive, metal as catalyist
Damascelli, Andrea Department of Physics & Astronomy Electronic and magnetic properties of condensed matter and supraconductivity; Electronic Structure of Quantum Materials
Dao Duc, Khanh Department of Mathematics Genomics; Mathematical biology; Neurocognitive patterns and neural networks; Agricultural spatial analysis and modelling; combine mathematical,computational and statistical tools to study fundamental biological processes; regulation and determinants of gene expression and translation; Machine Learning for Biological Imaging and Microscopy; Database development and management; Biological and Artificial Neural Networks for geometric representation
Davies, Jonathan Department of Botany, Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences Phylogenetics & Biodiversity. Development and application of phylogenetic methods in ecology and conservation biology

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Graduate Student Stories

Connor Thompson

Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD)

Molecular and cellular studies of novel broad-spectrum natural product antivirals against viruses of pandemic concern

Cariad Knight

Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)

Development of myelin-specific MRI contrast mechanisms using 31-phosphorous

Oliver Tong

Master of Science in Physics (MSc)

Analytical approaches to electron-phonon interaction

Johnathan Wong

Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD)

Efficient Algorithms in Genomics

Ariana Shivji

Master of Science in Chemistry (MSc)

The production and applications of erbium-165 in nuclear medicine

Jake Felker

Master of Science in Microbiology and Immunology (MSc)

Investigating the antibacterial response of macrophages to Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Ana Mucalica

Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD)

Interaction of drug nano-carriers with particle-laden blood flow

Sarah Ravoth

Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)

Understanding diverse ecological responses to global change using insect food webs
All Student Stories

Alumni on Success

Liam Spencer

Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) [2006]

Job Title
Research Scientist

Employer
The Dow Chemical Company

Steven Huan Liang

Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) [2010]

Job Title
Assistant Professor

Employer
Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital

Olga Pena

Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) [2013]

Job Title
Research Scientist and Manager

Employer
UBC

Hannes Dempewolf

Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) [2012]

Job Title
Scientist and Project Manager

Employer
Global Crop Diversity Trust

Elitza Tocheva

Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) [2007]

Job Title
Assistant Professor

Employer
Universite de Montreal

Ellen T Arena

Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) [2011]

Job Title
Assistant Scientist

Employer
University of Wisconsin Madison

Adam Ford

Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) [2014]

Job Title
Assistant Professor

Employer
University of British Columbia

Benjamin Good

Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD) [2009]

Job Title
Assistant Professor

Employer
The Scripps Research Institute
All Alumni Stories

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.

 

Comparative effectiveness of missed dose protocols of opioid agonist treatment in British Columbia, Canada: Protocol for a population-based target trial emulation
Publication: BMJ Open
UBC Author(s): Paul Gustafson (Statistics / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 15
Publication Date: 22 July 2025

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Seismic imaging reveals a strain-partitioned sliver and nascent megathrust at an incipient subduction zone in the northeast Pacific
Publication: Science Advances
UBC Author(s): Michael Bostock (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 11
Publication Date: 18 July 2025

View Publication
The link between seawater magnesium concentrations and anhydrite formation in the ocean crust
Publication: Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta
UBC Author(s): Harold Bradbury (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00167037
Volume: 401
Page Range: 160-173
Publication Date: 15 July 2025

View Publication
Human milk IgA promotes normal immune development by limiting Th17-inducing Erysipelatoclostridium ramosum in the infant gut
Publication: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
UBC Author(s): B Brett Finlay (Michael Smith Labs / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 122
Page Range: e2501030122
Publication Date: 15 July 2025

View Publication
Improving Optical Photo-z Constraints for Dusty Star-forming Galaxies Using Submillimeter-based Priors
Publication: Astrophysical Journal
UBC Author(s): Douglas Scott (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 0004637X
Volume: 987
Publication Date: 10 July 2025

View Publication
Unsettling the record: modelling the devastating cumulative effects of selected environmental stressors and loss of human life caused by colonization in Burrard Inlet, Canada
Publication: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
UBC Author(s): Villy Christensen (Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 09628436
Volume: 380
Publication Date: 10 July 2025

View Publication
Positive and negative selective assortment
Publication: Journal of Theoretical Biology
UBC Author(s): Christoph Hauert (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00225193
Volume: 608
Publication Date: 7 July 2025

View Publication
Archean deep melting and post-Archean metasomatism of the cratonic mantle: A garnet Lu-Hf isotope record
Publication: Chemical Geology
UBC Author(s): Maya Kopylova (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science), Matthijs Smit (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00092541
Volume: 685
Publication Date: 5 July 2025

View Publication
Fungal Sulfotransferase from Metarhizium majus Catalyzes the Formation of PPZ Pathway Intermediate Peramine-8-O-sulfate
Publication: Organic Letters
UBC Author(s): Katherine Ryan (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 15237060
Volume: 27
Page Range: 7261-7265
Publication Date: 4 July 2025

View Publication
Functions of Arabidopsis CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase 1 in phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis and root growth
Publication: Plant Physiology
UBC Author(s): Tao Huan (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 198
Publication Date: 3 July 2025

View Publication
Unveiling the hidden threat: Exploring Wi-Fi vulnerabilities
Publication: Aip Conference Proceedings
UBC Author(s): Laks Lakshmanan (Computer Science / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 0094243X
Volume: 3257
Publication Date: 2 July 2025

View Publication
Learning-based legged locomotion: State of the art and future perspectives
Publication: International Journal of Robotics Research
UBC Author(s): Michiel Van de Panne (Computer Science / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 02783649
Volume: 44
Page Range: 1396-1427
Publication Date: July 2025

View Publication
Poisson Kernel and Blow-Up of the Second Derivatives Near the Boundary for Stokes Equations with Navier Boundary Condition
Publication: International Mathematics Research Notices
UBC Author(s): Tai-Peng Tsai (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 10737928
Volume: 2025
Publication Date: 1 July 2025

View Publication
Harmonizing marine zooplankton trait data toward a mechanistic understanding of ecosystem functioning
Publication: Limnology and Oceanography
UBC Author(s): Brian Hunt (Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 70
Page Range: S8-S27
Publication Date: July 2025

View Publication
TOQUES: An Ocean-Bottom Seismometer Dataset on the Central Queen Charlotte Fault, Southeast Alaska
Publication: Seismological Research Letters
UBC Author(s): Michael Bostock (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 08950695
Volume: 96
Page Range: 2698-2713
Publication Date: July 2025

View Publication
The Torus Plateau for the High-Dimensional Ising Model
Publication: Communications in Mathematical Physics
UBC Author(s): Gordon Slade (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00103616
Volume: 406
Publication Date: July 2025

View Publication
Observation of VVZ production at s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector
Publication: Physics Letters, Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics
UBC Author(s): Alison Lister (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 03702693
Volume: 866
Publication Date: July 2025

View Publication
The Assouad dimension of Kakeya sets in R3
Publication: Inventiones Mathematicae
UBC Author(s): Joshua Zahl (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00209910
Volume: 241
Page Range: 153-206
Publication Date: July 2025

View Publication
Vine Copula-Based Classifiers with Applications
Publication: Journal of Classification
UBC Author(s): Harry Sue Wah Joe (Statistics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 01764268
Volume: 42
Page Range: 335-363
Publication Date: July 2025

View Publication
LiteBIRD science goals and forecasts: constraining isotropic cosmic birefringence
Publication: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
UBC Author(s): Douglas Scott (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 2025
Publication Date: 1 July 2025

View Publication
PhyClone: accurate Bayesian reconstruction of cancer phylogenies from bulk sequencing
Publication: Bioinformatics
UBC Author(s): Alexandre Bouchard-Cote (Statistics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 13674803
Volume: 41
Publication Date: 1 July 2025

View Publication
Turning trade-offs: hummingbird power reserves are used to decrease turning radius or increase turning velocity
Publication: Journal of Zoology
UBC Author(s): Douglas Altshuler (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 09528369
Volume: 326
Page Range: 201-206
Publication Date: July 2025

View Publication
Evolutionary Genomics Unravels the Responses and Adaptation to Climate Change in a Key Alpine Forest Tree Species
Publication: Molecular Biology and Evolution
UBC Author(s): Loren Rieseberg (Botany / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 07374038
Volume: 42
Publication Date: 1 July 2025

View Publication
Genome-Wide Analyses of Copy Number Variants in 751 Populus trichocarpa Individuals From Natural Populations
Publication: Genome Biology and Evolution
UBC Author(s): Keith Adams (Botany / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 17
Publication Date: 1 July 2025

View Publication
Navigating the editorial and publishing process at People and Nature: Advice for (and requests to) authors and reviewers
Publication: People and Nature
UBC Author(s): Kai Chan (Institute for Resources,Environment & Sustainability / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 7
Page Range: 1480-1482
Publication Date: July 2025

View Publication

Pages

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
2025 The energy transition will likely require increased mining of critical metals. Dr. Vanderzee's research can be used to help certain critical metal mines offset their greenhouse gas emissions by using their waste products for CO2 sequestration. The research can also be used to improve mine efficiency by leveraging detailed geological knowledge. Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD)
2025 Dr. Zheng explored new efforts in green and sustainable organic synthesis towards creating pharmaceutically relevant nitrogen-containing compounds by leveraging the use of earth abundant metal catalysts. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2025 Dr.Nyamayaro explored bioderived materials as replacements for harmful plastics in advanced applications. He chemically tailored the properties of cellulosic materials and used them to fabricate biodegradable electronics and design innovative materials with novel flow properties. His findings advance eco-friendly materials in sustainable technology Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2025 Dr. Bornarel developed an end-to-end model to investigate trophic amplification (how environmental changes intensify higher in the food web) along BC’s coast. By coupling physical-biogeochemical and food web models, they identified key feedbacks driving this process, advancing ecosystem modeling for fisheries and conservation. Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
2025 Dr. Sidrow developed new statistical methods to infer hidden behaviours from complex biologging data collected by modern sensors. He applied these methods to investigate the foraging behaviour of Killer Whales off the coast of British Columbia using animal-borne tags. Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD)
2025 Dr. Fernández Boyano investigated placental DNA methylation to better understand early-onset preeclampsia, a serious pregnancy complication. Her work revealed distinct molecular features of this condition and informed a science communication initiative to bring placental research closer to the public. Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD)
2025 Dr. Press investigated how the avian brain uses visual motion to guide flight. He developed techniques to record neural activity in flying zebra finches and found that neurons known to mediate stabilizing eye movements are also implicated in locomotion. This research improves our understanding of how self-motion is encoded in behaving animals. Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
2025 Dr. Dufresne studied the ultrafast electron dynamics of a novel quantum material, revealing how electronic interactions drive its exotic insulating state. Utilising a developed laser system to and probe ultrathin samples, their work showed how light and dimensionality can tune and control emergent quantum phases. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2025 Ice nucleating substances can initiate ice formation in clouds, affecting cloud properties and climate. Dr. Worthy developed a new technique for studying ice nucleating substances in the environment, which can improve our understanding of their concentrations and identities, and thus their impacts on climate. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2025 Dr. Pathak’s research focused on the interplay between topology and unconventional superconductivity in layered, two-dimensional quantum materials. Her research predicted novel mechanisms for topological phase formation, occurrence of Majorana modes and spontaneous edge currents, contributing to the development of future quantum technologies. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)

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