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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
Dierker, Steve Department of Physics & Astronomy Physical sciences; Collective dynamics of condensed matter systems; Dependence on reduced dimensionality, strong interactions, disorder, and mesoscale structure
Ding, Jiarui Department of Computer Science Bioinformatics; Basic medicine and life sciences; Computational Biology; Machine Learning; Probabilistic Deep Learning; single-cell genomics; visualization; Cancer biology; Computational Immunology; Food Allergy; neuroscience
Doebeli, Michael Walter Department of Mathematics, Department of Zoology Mathematical ecology and evolution, evolution of diversity, adaptive speciation, evolution of cooperation, game theory, experimental evolution in microorganisms
Domeier, Phillip Department of Microbiology & Immunology Host-pathogen; biodiversity; Rapid evolution infection; Immunity; Inflammation Viruses
Eberhardt, Erik Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Geotechnical engineering; Mining engineering; Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering; Deep Underground Excavations; Rock Slope Engineering; Block Cave Mining
Eltis, Lindsay Department of Microbiology & Immunology Biochemistry; Genomics; Immunology; Microbiology; Bacterial catabolism of steroids and lignin; biocatalyst development; Enzymes and Proteins; Metabolism (Living Organisms); Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Evans, William Department of Computer Science Computer and information sciences; Algorithms; theoretical computer science; Computer Sciences and Mathematical Tools; computational geometry; graph drawing; program compression
Fast, Naomi Department of Botany Genomics, single-celled organisms
Feeley, Michael Department of Computer Science Distributed systems, operating systems, workstation and pc clusters
Fernandez, Rachel Department of Microbiology & Immunology Bordetella pertusis, whooping cough, lipopolysaccharide
Finlay, B Brett Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Infectious agents, bacteria, microbial infections and how humans react to it
Fischer, Monika Department of Botany, Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences Mycology; mycology; fire-adapted fungi; fungal community ecology; fungal genetics & development; fungal metabolism
Folk, Joshua Department of Physics & Astronomy Physical sciences; 2D materials and Vanderwaals heterostructures; Quantum electronics; Thermodynamics of quantum systems; Strongly correlated phenomena; Topological phenomena; Quantum transport
Franz, Marcel Department of Physics & Astronomy Condensed matter theory
Fraser, Ailana Department of Mathematics Differential Geometry, Geometric Analysis
Friedlander, Michael Department of Computer Science, Department of Mathematics numerical optimization, numerical linear algebra, scientific computing, Scientific computing
Friedman, Joel Department of Computer Science Computer and information sciences; Algebraic Graph Theory; Combinatorics; Computer Science Theory
Gantois, Joséphine Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability Environment and natural resources economics; Ecological applications; Sociology; Human Dimensions of Biodiversity Conservation; environmental economics; Applied Ecology; Rural Sociology; Causal inference; Applied Deep Learning
Gao, Lucy Department of Statistics Statistics; Selective Inference; Inference x Unsupervised Learning; Statistics x Optimization
Garcia, Ronald Department of Computer Science Programming languages; programming languages
Gates, Derek Department of Chemistry Inorganic chemistry, materials science, polymer chemistry, catalysis
Gay, Colin Department of Physics & Astronomy Experimental subatomic physics, Beyond Standard Model physics, Extra dimensions
Gaynor, Kaitlyn Department of Zoology, Department of Botany behavioral responses of animals to human presence; effects of anthropogenic disturbance on predator-prey and other species interactions; socio-ecological dynamics of conservation and coexistence
Genovese, Giuseppe Department of Mathematics
Germain, Rachel Department of Zoology Ecology; evolution

Pages

Graduate Student Stories

Nicole (Nikki) Kaechele

Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)

Reparations, compensation, and Indigenous governance: operationalizing reconciliation through theory and practice.

Manvi Bhalla

Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)

Co-Imagining Just Futures: Advancing Intersectional Environmental Justice in Canadian Environmental Health Policy-Making

Pardis Semnani

Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD)

Causal Inference and Density Estimation

Michael Sekatchev

Master of Science in Physics (MSc)

Axion quark nuggets versus excess galactic emissions

Jackson Moore

Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD)

Domestication and ecology of the model eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Charlotte Milne

Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)

Finding best practices in Canadian flood mapping to decrease risk for all

Zana Mody

Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)

Counting blue carbon for coastal communities: understanding socio-ecological contexts of nature based climate solutions and mangrove restoration

Nicholas Richardson

Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD)

Signal decomposition and source separation
All Student 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.

 

From N-0385 to N-0920: Unveiling a Host-Directed Protease Inhibitor with Picomolar Antiviral Efficacy against Prevalent SARS-CoV-2 Variants
Publication: Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
UBC Author(s): Francois Jean (Microbiology & Immunology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00222623
Volume: 68
Page Range: 7119-7136
Publication Date: 10 April 2025

View Publication
X-Ray Polarization of the High-synchrotron-peak BL Lacertae Object 1ES 1959+650 during Intermediate and High X-Ray Flux States
Publication: Astrophysical Journal
UBC Author(s): Jeremy Heyl (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 0004637X
Volume: 983
Publication Date: 10 April 2025

View Publication
Type-Preserving Flat Closure Optimization
Publication: Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages
UBC Author(s): William Bowman (Computer Science / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 9
Publication Date: 9 April 2025

View Publication
Electrochemical Control of Heterolytic and Homolytic Hydrogenation Pathways at a Palladium Surface
Publication: Journal of the American Chemical Society
UBC Author(s): Curtis Berlinguette (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00027863
Volume: 147
Page Range: 10974-10980
Publication Date: 2 April 2025

View Publication
Abduction and sexual coercion of Guadalupe fur seal pups
Publication: Marine Mammal Science
UBC Author(s): Andrew Trites (Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 08240469
Volume: 41
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Using accelerometry tags to quantify gray whale foraging behavior
Publication: Marine Mammal Science
UBC Author(s): Andrew Trites (Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 08240469
Volume: 41
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Interactions of Major Ions, pH, and Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) on Transepithelial Potential (TEP) in Rainbow Trout: are there Implications for the Prediction of Salt Toxicity?
Publication: Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology
UBC Author(s): Colin Brauner (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00904341
Volume: 88
Page Range: 303-323
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Strong stationarity for non-smooth control problems with fractional semi-linear elliptic equations in dimension N≤3
Publication: Fractional Calculus and Applied Analysis
UBC Author(s): Steve Cyrille Kenne (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 13110454
Volume: 28
Page Range: 622-655
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
The HOPS and vCLAMP protein Vam6 connects polyphosphate with mitochondrial function and oxidative stress resistance in Cryptococcus neoformans
Publication: mBio
UBC Author(s): James Kronstad (Michael Smith Labs / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 21612129
Volume: 16
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Recent advances in enzymes active on lignin-derived aromatic compounds
Publication: Trends in Biochemical Sciences
UBC Author(s): Lindsay Eltis (Microbiology & Immunology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 09680004
Volume: 50
Page Range: 322-331
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
A Skill Assessment Framework for the Fisheries and Marine Ecosystem Model Intercomparison Project
Publication: Earth's Future
UBC Author(s): Villy Christensen (Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 13
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 controls triacylglycerol hydrolysis in cardiomyocytes
Publication: Journal of Biological Chemistry
UBC Author(s): David Perrin (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00219258
Volume: 301
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
A physics-inspired neural network to model higher order hydrodynamic interactions in heterogeneous suspensions
Publication: International Journal of Multiphase Flow
UBC Author(s): Anthony Wachs (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 03019322
Volume: 185
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Promises and perils of using Transformer-based models for SE research
Publication: Neural Networks
UBC Author(s): Ivan Beschastnikh (Computer Science / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 08936080
Volume: 184
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Zircon Morphology and Geochemical Diversity During Closed-System Crystallization of the Skaergaard Intrusion
Publication: Journal of Petrology
UBC Author(s): James Stewart Scoates (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00223530
Volume: 66
Publication Date: 1 April 2025

View Publication
The ecology of polyploid establishment and exclusion, with implications for polyploid biogeography
Publication: New Phytologist
UBC Author(s): Jeannette Whitton (Botany / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 0028646X
Volume: 246
Page Range: 47-60
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Resolving polarization switching pathways of sliding ferroelectricity in trilayer 3R-MoS<inf>2</inf>
Publication: Nature Nanotechnology
UBC Author(s): Ziliang Ye (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 17483387
Volume: 20
Page Range: 500-506
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Measurement of the branching fraction and CP -violating asymmetry of the decay B0 →π0π0 using 387 million ϒ (4S) decays in Belle II data
Publication: Physical Review D
UBC Author(s): Janis McKenna (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 24700010
Volume: 111
Publication Date: 1 April 2025

View Publication
Public perceptions of the US innovation system: moderate support but compelling need for reform
Publication: Science and Public Policy
ISSN: 03023427
Volume: 52
Page Range: 284-297
Publication Date: 1 April 2025

View Publication
Expected Value of Sample Information Calculations for Risk Prediction Model Validation
Publication: Medical Decision Making
UBC Author(s): Paul Gustafson (Statistics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 0272989X
Volume: 45
Page Range: 232-244
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
A 34 yr Timing Solution of the Redback Millisecond Pulsar Terzan 5A
Publication: Astrophysical Journal
UBC Author(s): Ingrid Stairs (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 0004637X
Volume: 982
Publication Date: 1 April 2025

View Publication
On the minimal period of integer tilings
Publication: Bulletin of the London Mathematical Society
UBC Author(s): Izabella Laba (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00246093
Volume: 57
Page Range: 1160-1170
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Hiding in plain sight: the Y chromosome and its reinvigorated role in evolutionary processes
Publication: Evolution Letters
UBC Author(s): Judith Mank (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 9
Page Range: 165-171
Publication Date: 1 April 2025

View Publication
An Asymptotic Analysis of Spike Self-Replication and Spike Nucleation of Reaction-Diffusion Patterns on Growing 1-D Domains
Publication: Bulletin of Mathematical Biology
UBC Author(s): Michael Jeffrey Ward (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00928240
Volume: 87
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Warm versus cool colors and their relation to color perception
Publication: Journal of vision
UBC Author(s): Lorne Whitehead (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 25
Page Range: 13
Publication Date: 1 April 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
2024 Dr. Allanach focused on determining how viral infection influences autoimmune disease in a newly developed humanized mouse model of multiple sclerosis.She observed that Epstein-Barr virus worsened disease by altering the balance of beneficial and detrimental immune subsets in the brain. These findings have implications for how infections should be targeted in diseases like MS. Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD)
2024 Dr. Gheorghiu has made a contribution to algebra. One of the simplest algebraic structures are groups. Cohomology is an algebraic tool that can discern geometric objects by looking at their "holes". Then group cohomology is a tool that can discern different groups. Dr. Gheorghiu has developed a generalization of a specific form of group cohomology. Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD)
2024 Dr. Jawahar explored how deep learning models in natural language processing could be more efficient. He introduced new, cutting-edge methods using neural architecture search, improving efficiency and performance tradeoffs in tasks like autocomplete, machine translation, and language modeling. Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2024 Dr. Hamidi studied elliptic curves over quadratic imaginary fields. Using a new and robust technique, Dr. Hamidi proved significant results about the vanishing and bounding of certain invariants. His results could have applications in number theory, cryptography, and other areas of mathematics. Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD)
2024 Dr. Pata is an oceanographer and studied the physical and ecological mechanisms that affect the distribution of zooplankton communities in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. He developed a global database of zooplankton species traits and used that in improving the estimates of the role of zooplankton in ecosystem functioning. Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD)
2024 Dr. Noonan developed various tools and methodologies enabling the high-throughput testing and engineering of metabolisms in bacteria and microalgae, with the objective of applying microbial metabolisms to support sustainable industrial practices. Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD)
2024 Dr. Maschmeyer-Tombs examined the use of benchtop nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy as a tool to monitor chemical reactions. He evaluated the use of different sampling methods and applied his findings to study a variety of chemical reactions, demonstrating how similar approaches can be used in industrial pharmaceutical research. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2024 Dr. Montante studied the application of Artificial Intelligence for the advancement of biomedical research. Manual analysis of data extracted from blood samples is becoming increasingly complex. He developed a new Artificial Intelligence algorithm that is simple to use, accurate and able to analyze complex biomedical data in a few minutes. Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD)
2024 Dr. Zhang developed a flexible statistical model with which the relations among multiple time series variables can be considered after modeling each individual time series. It is applied to macroeconomic variables with changing business cycles. Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD)
2024 Dr. Lerner investigated Chinook salmon marine ecology. He used lipid analysis to determine Chinook fat content, and chemical tracers to examine sub-adult Chinook marine distribution, foraging, and food webs. This research improves our understanding of the marine life stage of this valuable species and can enhance conservation and management objectives. Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD)

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