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 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

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
Johnson, Catherine Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Lunar geophysics, Evolution of Mars' Magnetic Field and Atmosphere
Johnson, Mark Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability, Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Geology; Natural environment sciences; Agriculture; Biogeochemistry; Carbon cycle; Climate Changes and Impacts; data science; Ecohydrology; Ecology and Quality of the Environment; Fresh Water; Ground Water and Water Tables; Hydrological Cycle and Reservoirs; Land and Soil; land use; Running Water Hydrosystem; Water and Sustainability
Johnson, Pauline Department of Microbiology & Immunology Diseases of the Immune System; Immunology; Inflammation; Immune-cancer interactions; Innate immunity; Macrophages and myeloid cells
Jones, David Department of Physics & Astronomy Atomic, optical and molecular physics,Ultrafast Optics, Spectroscopy
Karczmarek, Joanna Department of Physics & Astronomy Physical sciences; Emergent spacetime and gravity; Matrix models; Noncommutative geometry; String theory
Karu, Kalle Department of Mathematics Algebraic geometry, toric varieties, log geometry, combinatorics of fans and posets
Keeling, Patrick John Department of Botany Molecular evolution and cell biology of eukaryotes
Kiczales, Gregor Department of Computer Science MOOCs, Blended Learning, Flexible Learning, University Strategy for Flexible and Blended Learning, Computer Science Education, Programming Languages, Programming languages, aspect-oriented programming, foundations, reflections and meta programming, software design
Kim, Young-Heon Department of Mathematics Partial Differential Equations and Geometry
King, Kayla Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Department of Zoology host-microbial parasite/pathogen systems
Kopylova, Maya Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences diamond ore deposits, Diamond exploration, petrology and volcanology
Korthauer, Keegan Department of Statistics Bioinformatics; Genomics; Statistics; Epigenomics; Single-cell analysis; Statistical genomics
Kremen, Claire Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability, Department of Zoology Natural environment sciences; Zoology; agroecological farming systems; Reconciliation of agricultural land use with biodiversity conservation; sustainable landscapes
Krems, Roman Department of Chemistry Theoretical chemistry, Molecular Spectroscopy, Dynamics of few- and many-body molecular systems in electromagnetic fields
Kronstad, James Michael Smith Laboratories Bioinformatics; Immunology; Microbiology; Plant biology; Mycology; Fungal diseases of plants; Genomics and Proteomics; Medical Mycology; Molecular Genetics; Pathogenesis of infectious diseases; Plant-Microbe Interactions
Kunimoto, Michelle Department of Physics & Astronomy exoplanet detection, characterization, and demographics
Laba, Izabella Department of Mathematics Harmonic analysis, geometric measure theory and additive combinatorics
Lakshmanan, Laks Department of Computer Science data management and data cleaning; data warehousing and OLAP; data and text mining; analytics on big graphs and news; social networks and media; recommender systems
Leander, Brian Department of Botany, Department of Zoology Plant biology; Zoology; Comparative organismal biology; Evolutionary morphology; Evolutionary protistology; Marine biodiversity; Marine invertebrate zoology; Phylogenetic biology; Species discovery
Lecuyer, Mathias Department of Computer Science Machine learning systems; Guarantees of robustness, privacy, and security
Lemieux, Caroline Department of Computer Science Programming languages and software engineering; help developers improve the correctness, security, and performance of software systems; test-input generation; specification mining; program synthesis
Leslie, Sabrina Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Physics & Astronomy
Leyton-Brown, Kevin Department of Computer Science Computer and information sciences; Artificial Intelligence; Algorithms; theoretical computer science; Resource Allocation; Computer Science and Statistics; Auction theory; game theory; Machine Learning
Li, Yue-Xian Department of Mathematics Calcium signalling in neuroendocrine cells Fertilization calcium waves in oocytes
Li, Hongbin Department of Chemistry Biophysical chemistry, biomaterials, single molecule studies, biological, atomic force, polymer chemistry

Pages

Graduate Student Stories

Christopher Lee

Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD)

Investigating tryptophan and lipid metabolism in the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans

Alan Knee

Doctor of Philosophy in Astronomy (PhD)

Gravitational waves from eccentric binaries with LIGO and LISA

Davi de Ferreyro Monticelli

Doctor of Philosophy in Atmospheric Science (PhD)

Cannabis cultivation facilities: Linking emissions and air quality to inform regulation

Jarrett Blair

Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)

Bulk classification of terrestrial invertebrates using computer vision and DNA metabarcoding

Katrina Bergmann

Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)

Using conventional computations and quantum simulations to accelerate the in silico design of highly efficient optoelectronic materials

Emilie Carpentier

Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)

Four dimensional treatment planning for dynamic tumour tracking on a gimballed linear accelerator

Jessica Koski

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

Implementation of Indigenous rights to lands & resources

Sasha Tuttle

Master of Science in Zoology (MSc)

The relationship between wild pollinator diversity and blueberry yield and quality within farmlands in Delta, BC

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.

 

Quantitative Criteria for Defining Planets
Publication: Planetary Science Journal
UBC Author(s): Brett Gladman (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 5
Publication Date: 1 July 2024

View Publication
Gaussian Mixture Reduction With Composite Transportation Divergence
Publication: IEEE Transactions on Information Theory
UBC Author(s): Jiahua Chen (Statistics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00189448
Volume: 70
Page Range: 5191-5212
Publication Date: 1 July 2024

View Publication
Asteroid Kamo‘oalewa’s journey from the lunar Giordano Bruno crater to Earth 1:1 resonance
Publication: Nature Astronomy
UBC Author(s): Brett Gladman (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 8
Page Range: 819-826
Publication Date: July 2024

View Publication
Edge currents as probe of topology in twisted cuprate bilayers
Publication: Physical Review B
UBC Author(s): Marcel Franz (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 24699950
Volume: 110
Publication Date: 1 July 2024

View Publication
Relativistic head-on collisions of U (1) gauged Q -balls
Publication: Physical Review D
UBC Author(s): Matthew Choptuik (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 24700010
Volume: 110
Publication Date: 1 July 2024

View Publication
An IXPE-led X-Ray Spectropolarimetric Campaign on the Soft State of Cygnus X-1: X-Ray Polarimetric Evidence for Strong Gravitational Lensing
Publication: Astrophysical Journal Letters
UBC Author(s): Jeremy Heyl (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 20418205
Volume: 969
Publication Date: 1 July 2024

View Publication
How do we reinforce climate action?
Publication: Sustainability Science
UBC Author(s): Jiaying Zhao (Institute for Resources,Environment & Sustainability / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 18624065
Volume: 19
Page Range: 1503-1517
Publication Date: July 2024

View Publication
Social and solidarity economy in small-scale fisheries: An international analysis
Publication: Ocean and Coastal Management
UBC Author(s): Ussif Rashid Sumaila (Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 09645691
Volume: 253
Publication Date: 1 July 2024

View Publication
New graph-neural-network flavor tagger for Belle II and measurement of sin 2φ1 in B0 →J/ψ K S0 decays
Publication: Physical Review D
UBC Author(s): Janis McKenna (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 24700010
Volume: 110
Publication Date: 1 July 2024

View Publication
Ungrazed seminatural habitats around farms benefit bird conservation without enhancing foodborne pathogen risks
Publication: Landscape Ecology
UBC Author(s): Claire Kremen (Institute for Resources,Environment & Sustainability / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 09212973
Volume: 39
Publication Date: July 2024

View Publication
Cosmetic operations and Khovanov multicurves
Publication: Mathematische Annalen
UBC Author(s): Liam Watson (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00255831
Volume: 389
Page Range: 2903-2930
Publication Date: July 2024

View Publication
Characterization of the closely related Arabidopsis thaliana β-ketoacyl-CoA synthases KCS3, KCS12 and KCS19
Publication: Plant Journal
UBC Author(s): Reinhard Jetter (Botany / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 09607412
Volume: 119
Page Range: 490-507
Publication Date: July 2024

View Publication
Temperature dependence and genetic variation in resource acquisition strategies in a model freshwater plant
Publication: Functional Ecology
UBC Author(s): Amy Angert (Botany / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 02698463
Volume: 38
Page Range: 1600-1610
Publication Date: July 2024

View Publication
Proximity Ligation Assay (PLA) for Fillets of Drosophila Larvae
Publication: Cold Spring Harbor protocols
UBC Author(s): Vanessa Auld (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 2024
Publication Date: 1 July 2024

View Publication
Measuring Oviposition Preference in Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes
Publication: Cold Spring Harbor protocols
UBC Author(s): Benjamin Matthews (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 2024
Publication Date: 1 July 2024

View Publication
Evaluating Egg-Laying Preference of Individual Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes
Publication: Cold Spring Harbor protocols
UBC Author(s): Benjamin Matthews (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 2024
Publication Date: 1 July 2024

View Publication
Results and Limits of Time-Division Multiplexing for the BICEP Array High-Frequency Receivers
Publication: Journal of Low Temperature Physics
UBC Author(s): Mark Halpern (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00222291
Volume: 216
Page Range: 29-38
Publication Date: July 2024

View Publication
Dissection and Immunolabeling of the Central and Peripheral Nervous System of Drosophila Larvae
Publication: Cold Spring Harbor protocols
UBC Author(s): Vanessa Auld (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 2024
Publication Date: 1 July 2024

View Publication
Whole-Larva Cryosectioning and Immunolabeling of Drosophila Larvae
Publication: Cold Spring Harbor protocols
UBC Author(s): Vanessa Auld (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 2024
Publication Date: 1 July 2024

View Publication
Cell Biology Techniques for Studying Drosophila Peripheral Glial Cells
Publication: Cold Spring Harbor protocols
UBC Author(s): Vanessa Auld (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 2024
Publication Date: 1 July 2024

View Publication
Automated Egg-Counting Approaches for Aedes aegypti Oviposition Experiments
Publication: Cold Spring Harbor protocols
UBC Author(s): Benjamin Matthews (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 2024
Publication Date: 1 July 2024

View Publication
PDRs4All VIII. Mid-infrared emission line inventory of the Orion Bar
Publication: Astronomy and Astrophysics
UBC Author(s): Ilsa Cooke (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00046361
Volume: 687
Publication Date: 1 July 2024

View Publication
Ecosystem-wide responses to fire and large mammal herbivores in an African savanna
Publication: Biotropica
UBC Author(s): Kaitlyn Gaynor (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00063606
Volume: 56
Publication Date: July 2024

View Publication
Rational self-maps with a regular iterate on a semiabelian variety
Publication: Journal of Number Theory
UBC Author(s): Zinovy Reichstein (Mathematics / Faculty of Science), Dragos Ghioca (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 0022314X
Volume: 260
Page Range: 103-119
Publication Date: July 2024

View Publication
Identifying Potential Critical Angel Shark Areas in Türkiye, Eastern Mediterranean Based on New Records of Squatina spp. Identified through Fisher Engagement
Publication: Fishes
UBC Author(s): Daniel Pauly (Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 9
Publication Date: July 2024

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. Hendi revealed a novel function of a gap junction protein that negatively regulates the formation of synapses in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. This research advances our understanding of the mechanisms required for the precise formation and development of the nervous system. Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
2024 Dr. Blanchard investigated how early life-stages of fishes cope with temperature variation during development, spanning from the molecular to physiological levels. The findings from her thesis offer fundamental insights that help in our understanding of how developing embryos will cope with climate change. Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
2024 Dr. Freres studied processes causing instrumental mass bias in multi collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometers. Her research helped improve precision and accuracy in isotopic ratio measurements and provided the geochemical community with greater resolution to interpret geological records and better understand the history of our planet. Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD)
2024 Dr. Newman designed tools for running and analyzing complex, electronic auctions, with applications to markets for agricultural trade in developing countries and the sale of wireless spectrum rights. His work provides a blueprint for how economists can use computer simulations to compare auction designs. Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2024 Dr. Braich studied the impact of climate change on agriculture in the Prairies, both past and into the future. She found warming trends have already negatively impacted yields, and by 2050 yields could be reduced by more than 20%. Her findings emphasize the need for adaptation planning to address climate impacts in this key agricultural region. Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)
2024 Dr. Liu delves into the creation of innovative platforms and methodologies to study one-pot multistep reaction. His work enabled an automated control and analysis system for one-pot telescoped reactions and proposed an efficient optimization strategy for complicated multistep syntheses. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2024 Dr. Hsueh developed ways of understanding protein behavior through physics simulations. In his thesis, he developed novel simulation methods, explored the physical origin of ALS disease, and computationally designed therapeutics for both neurodegenerative disease and COVID19. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2024 Dr. Toorians' work deals with biodiversity loss and the rise of epidemics. She has explained disease-emergence through host phylogenetic community structure. Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD)
2024 Replacing plastics with green alternatives is a tough nut to crack. Dr. Goonesinghe introduces new methods to convert simple molecules into complex biodegradable materials using quirky new indium catalysts. His work unveils the huge potential of these tragically underappreciated elements, paving the way for better catalysts and greener plastics. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2024 Dr. Dong studied the epigenetic role in evolution. He discovered the important role of DNA methylation in population specificity and evolutionary conservation, especially in terms of their genetic basis and functional relevance. His findings can provide new evolutionary insights into the roles of epigenetics in cellular functions and human health. Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD)

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