
Dacotah-Victoria Splichalova
Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)
Narratives of Water: Exploring Hydrosocial Relations and Water (In)security in Canada and New Zealand
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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.
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
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.
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.
Name | Academic Unit(s) | Research Interests |
---|---|---|
Hutchinson, Norman | Department of Computer Science | Computer and information sciences; Computer Systems; distributed systems; File Systems; Virtualization |
Irwin, Darren | Department of Zoology | Zoology; evolutionary genetics; genomic differentiation; hybridization; ornithology; seasonal migration; speciation |
Jankowski, Jill | Department of Zoology | Ecology |
Jean, Francois | Department of Microbiology & Immunology | Medical virology; Protein trafficking in cell biology; Proteomics; Enzymes (including kinetics and mechanisms, and biocatalyst); Organelle function; Virology; Systems biology; Cellular virology; Emerging human viruses; COVID-19; Host-virus interactions; Broad-based antiviral agents; Antiviral agents; Natural products as antiviral agents; Lipid-modulating drugs; Cellular protease inhibitors; Viral protease inhibitors; Human coronaviruses; SARS-CoV-2; Human flaviviruses; Dengue virus; Zika virus; West Nile virus; Influenza A virus; Human microRNAs; Therapeutic microRNA; Viral and cellular biomarkers; Molecular diagnostics for detecting viral infection; Circulating exosomes; Exosomal microRNAs; Proteomics-based technologies; Multiplexed and Mass Spectrometric quantitation assays |
Jefferies, Wilfred Arthur | Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Medical Genetics | Iron transport molecules |
Jellinek, Mark | Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences | Volcanology, Geodynamics, Planetary Science, Geological Fluid Mechanics |
Jetter, Reinhard | Department of Botany, Department of Chemistry | Analytical Chemistry; Plant Ecophysiology; Plant Biochemistry; Molecular Genetics; Biological Chemistry |
Joe, Harry Sue Wah | Department of Statistics | Statistics; Statistics and Probabilities; copula construction; dependence modelling; extreme value inference; non-normal time series; parsimonous high-dimensional dependence |
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 |
Kennedy, Lori | Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences | Geological science, structural geology, development of large-scale fault systems and shear zones, displacements, fluid-rock interactions, strain localization, confining pressure |
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 |
Kiefl, Robert | Department of Physics & Astronomy | Physical sciences; condensed matter physics; magnetism; multiferroics; polarons; quantum phenomena; superconductivity |
Kim, Young-Heon | Department of Mathematics | Partial Differential Equations and Geometry |
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; Fungal diseases of plants; Genomics and Proteomics; Medical Mycology; Molecular Genetics; Pathogenesis of infectious diseases; Plant-Microbe Interactions |
Kruecken, Reiner | Department of Physics & Astronomy | Physical sciences; Elementary Particles; Neutrino Physics; Nuclear Astrophysics; Nuclear Physics; Universe Structure |
This is an incomplete sample of recent publications in chronological order by UBC faculty members with a primary appointment in the Faculty of Science.
Year | Citation | Program |
---|---|---|
2021 | Dr. Huang's research focused on metabolite analysis using capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry. He established reliable methods to identify and quantify small molecules from biological samples and developed a software tool to facilitate metabolomics data processing. His work contributed to the biomarker discovery for biomedical research. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
2021 | Dr. Tran studied the microscopic assembly of cellulose nanocrystals derived from sustainable sources. He produced colourful materials ranging from thin films to stretchable elastomers for applications including optical sensors and filters. His findings contribute to the search for and development of sustainable and renewable alternative materials. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
2021 | Dr. Wong studied the maximum possible number of certain mathematical objects when specific restrictions are imposed. Her investigation assists the community in understanding a number of important mathematical problems in extremal combinatorics, a field of study focused on the limits of finite objects. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
2021 | Dr. Henriques used mathematical models to study the evolution of cooperative behaviour in nature. He explored how cooperation between organisms affected their ability to adapt to changing environments. His research showed that cooperation can be maintained by interactions between groups of organisms, and that it can promote species diversification. | Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) |
2021 | There are many who believe that genes commonly code for more than one functional product, through a process called alternative splicing. Dr. Bhuiyan studied the evidence for this claim, and showed that - despite what we learn in our textbooks - alternative splicing is not as common as we thought. | Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD) |
2021 | Dr. Sauvé prepared organic semiconductors with novel optical properties and morphologies for potential application in electronic devices and in encryption. He also developed new luminescent dyes for efficient displays and biological imaging. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
2021 | Dr. Yaghmaiean uncovered a novel group of proteins called receptor-like cytoplasmic kinases, which function downstream of other proteins and have redundant functions of transducing immune signals in the model plant Arabidopsis. These results provide new insights on such proteins as common transducers in different plant immune signalling events. | Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) |
2021 | Dr. Yang researched fractals and decoupling in Euclidean harmonic analysis. Dr. Yang studied the size and geometric figures contained in fractals, or geometric objects possessing some self-similarity but highly rugged and oscillatory in nature. The decomposition of waves and their size properties in the physical space were studied using decoupling. | Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD) |
2021 | Dr. Choudhary investigated the coordination chemistry of radiometal ions, which are crucial for developing new metal-based radiopharmaceuticals. She synthesized diverse chelators for small to medium-sized ions and studied the effect of donor groups on ion chelation to deepen the understanding of their potential uses for clinical imaging and therapy. | Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) |
2021 | Dr. Moisseeva's work focused on improving our understanding of how wildfire smoke spreads in the atmosphere. She developed a method for estimating how high above the Earth's surface smoke from wildfires will rise. Her findings help improve the accuracy of air quality models and reduce negative smoke impacts for downwind communities. | Doctor of Philosophy in Atmospheric Science (PhD) |