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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
Mattison, Thomas Department of Physics & Astronomy Subatomic physics, Particle & Nuclear Physics, Applied Physics
Mayer, Ulrich Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Geology; groundwater contamination; groundwater remediation; hydrogeology; low-temperature geochemistry; mine waste management
McAllister, Murdoch Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries Statistical methods for fisheries risk assessment, estimation, decision analysis and management strategy evaluation
McDonald, Daniel Department of Statistics High dimensional data analysis; Computational methods in statistics; Statistical theory and modeling; Machine learning; Epidemiology (except nutritional and veterinary epidemiology); Methods and models for epidemiological forecasting; Estimation and quantification of prediction risk; Evaluating the predictive abilities of complex dependent data; Application of statistical learning techniques to time series prediction problems; Investigations of cross-validation and the bootstrap for risk estimation
McDougall, Scott Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Other earth and related environmental sciences, n.e.c.; Geotechnical engineering; Debris flows / floods; Geohazards; Landslide-generated waves; Landslides; Natural and man-made geological hazards; Rock avalanches; Shoreline erosion; Tailings dam breaches
McGrenere, Joanna Department of Computer Science Computer and information sciences; computer science; computer supported cooperative work (CSCW); human-computer interaction; interactive technologies for older users and people with cognitive disorders; personalized user interfaces; universal usability
McIver, Jess Department of Physics & Astronomy General relativity and gravitational waves in astronomical and space sciences; Gravitational wave astrophysics; Multi-messenger astronomy; Characterization of large-scale physics instrumentation; data science
McKenna, Janis Department of Physics & Astronomy Physical sciences
Mehrkhodavandi, Parisa Department of Chemistry Chemical sciences; Inorganic and Organometallic Compounds; Polymers; Chemical Synthesis and Catalysis; Bio-based polymers; Bioproducts; catalysis; Green Chemistry; Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry; Polymer Chemistry and Characterization
Mehta, Aastha Department of Computer Science Software domains (including operating systems and software infrastructure); Information privacy; security & privacy; Systems security; networking; Operating systems; Data privacy; distributed systems
Michal, Carl Department of Physics & Astronomy Soft condensed matter; Development and applications of spectroscopic and structural techniques; Solid-state NMR; NMR and MRI of brain tissue; NMR methods and instrumentation; Biological and functional materials
Michaletz, Sean Department of Botany Plant physiological ecology; Plant biology; Surface processes; Natural hazards; Ecophysiology; Ecosystem ecology; climate change; macroecology; Geophysics; Scaling; Fire
Miller, Freda Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Medical Genetics
Milner, Valery Department of Physics & Astronomy Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics; Ultrafast Quantum Coherent Control; Ultrafast Spectroscopy
Mitchell, Ian Department of Computer Science safety critical systems, assistive technology (mobility), robotics, scientific computing, cyber-physical systems, Mathematical software, computational science and engineering, hybrid and cyber-physical systems, verification and validation, reproducible research, level set methods, robotic path, planning
Mizumoto, Kota Department of Zoology Cell and Developmental Biology
Mohn, William Department of Microbiology & Immunology pollutant biodegradation, pollutant bioremediation, biological treatment of forest industry effluents and wastes, microbial ecology, environmental biotechnology, forest soil microbial ecology, tuberculosis, microbial genomics, Microbial ecology
Momose, Takamasa Department of Chemistry Spectroscopy, Chemical physics
Munzner, Tamara Department of Computer Science Human-centered computing; visualization; information visualization; visual analytics; data science
Murphy, Michael Department of Microbiology & Immunology Bacteriology; Enzymes (including kinetics and mechanisms, and biocatalyst); Alternatives to antibiotics; Bacterial pathogenesis; Biological and Biochemical Mechanisms; Functional and Structural Proteomics; Microbial metal metabolism
Murphy, Gail Department of Computer Science Programming languages and software engineering; Software Development; knowledge worker productivity; software design; software engineering; software evolution
Murugan, Mathav Department of Mathematics Probability theory; Metric and fractal geometry; Differential equations and integral equations in pure mathematics; Metric geometry; potential theory; probability theory and analysis; quasiconformal mappings; Relationship between Markov processes and the geometry of the underlying state space; Quasisymmetric Uniformization; Analysis and diffusions on fractals
Ng, Raymond Tak-Yan Department of Computer Science Data mining and analysis, health informatics, text summarization, text mining
Nichols, Eva Department of Chemistry Inorganic catalysis and reaction mechanisms; carbon dioxide reduction; electrocatalysis; bioinspired catalyst designs; molecularly-modified materials; molecular mechanisms; self-assembled monolayers; operando spectroscopy
Nolde, Natalia Department of Statistics Statistics; Statistics and Probabilities; Applications in finance, insurance, geosciences; Multivariate extreme value theory; Risk assessment

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Graduate Student Stories

Herringer Paul's image

Paul Herringer

Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)

Classifying computational phases of quantum matter in 2D and 3D
Borch Annie's image

Annie Borch

Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences (PhD)

The history and impact of volcanism and glacial systems on landscape evolution in the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt, BC

Amy Forsythe

Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)

Ecological and evolutionary consequences of individual heterogeneity

Ryoga Hojo

Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)

Deep blue thermally activated delayed fluorescence: Unlocking their potential as energy transfer visible light photocatalysts

Elise Legarth

Doctor of Philosophy in Atmospheric Science (PhD)

Development of an improved methodology for estimating probable maximum precipitation and flood: Tested and validated in British Columbia watersheds.

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
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.

 

Scaling of the extended phenotype: Convergent energetics from diverse spider web geometries
Publication: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
UBC Author(s): Leticia Aviles (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 09628452
Volume: 291
Publication Date: 4 December 2024

View Publication
Buprenorphine/Naloxone vs Methadone for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder
Publication: JAMA
UBC Author(s): Paul Gustafson (Statistics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00987484
Volume: 332
Publication Date: 3 December 2024

View Publication
Hydroaminoalkylation for Amine Functionalization of Vinyl-Terminated Polyethylene Enables Direct Access to Responsive Functional Materials
Publication: Angewandte Chemie - International Edition
UBC Author(s): Laurel Schafer (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 14337851
Volume: 63
Publication Date: 2 December 2024

View Publication
F<inf>ST</inf> and genetic diversity in an island model with background selection
Publication: PLoS Genetics
UBC Author(s): Michael Whitlock (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 15537390
Volume: 20
Publication Date: 2 December 2024

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Consideration of sex as a biological variable in diabetes research across twenty years
Publication: Biology of Sex Differences
UBC Author(s): Katie Marshall (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 15
Publication Date: December 2024

View Publication
Plant trait and vegetation data along a 1314 m elevation gradient with fire history in Puna grasslands, Perú
Publication: Scientific Data
UBC Author(s): Sean Michaletz (Botany / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 11
Publication Date: December 2024

View Publication
Effects of human disturbances on wildlife behaviour and consequences for predator-prey overlap in Southeast Asia
Publication: Nature Communications
UBC Author(s): Kaitlyn Gaynor (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 15
Publication Date: December 2024

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Non-volatile electrical polarization switching via domain wall release in 3R-MoS<inf>2</inf> bilayer
Publication: Nature Communications
UBC Author(s): Ziliang Ye (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 15
Publication Date: December 2024

View Publication
A Latitudinal Cline in the Taxonomic Structure of Eelgrass Epifaunal Communities is Associated With Plant Genetic Diversity
Publication: Global Ecology and Biogeography
UBC Author(s): Mary O'Connor (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 1466822X
Volume: 33
Publication Date: December 2024

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Correction to: Archaean continental crust formed from mafic cumulates (Nature Communications, (2024), 15, 1, (692), 10.1038/s41467-024-44849-4)
Publication: Nature Communications
UBC Author(s): Matthijs Smit (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 15
Publication Date: December 2024

View Publication
Viewing the PLATO LOPS2 field through the lenses of TESS
Publication: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
UBC Author(s): Michelle Kunimoto (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00358711
Volume: 535
Page Range: 1778-1795
Publication Date: 1 December 2024

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ASPSCR1-TFE3 reprograms transcription by organizing enhancer loops around hexameric VCP/p97
Publication: Nature Communications
UBC Author(s): Martin Hirst (Microbiology & Immunology / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 15
Publication Date: December 2024

View Publication
First search for K<sup>+</sup> → π<sup>0</sup>πμe decays
Publication: Physics Letters, Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics
UBC Author(s): Douglas Bryman (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 03702693
Volume: 859
Publication Date: December 2024

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Indirect H<inf>2</inf>O<inf>2</inf> synthesis without H<inf>2</inf>
Publication: Nature Communications
UBC Author(s): Curtis Berlinguette (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 15
Publication Date: December 2024

View Publication
Long-insert sequence capture detects high copy numbers in a defence-related beta-glucosidase gene βglu-1 with large variations in white spruce but not Norway spruce
Publication: BMC Genomics
UBC Author(s): Carl Bohlmann (Michael Smith Labs / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 25
Publication Date: December 2024

View Publication
Archaean continental crust formed from mafic cumulates
Publication: Nature Communications
UBC Author(s): Matthijs Smit (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 15
Publication Date: December 2024

View Publication
Factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in unvaccinated children and young adults
Publication: BMC Infectious Diseases
UBC Author(s): Daniel Coombs (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 24
Publication Date: December 2024

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Metabolic switching, growth kinetics and cell yields in the scalable manufacture of stem cell-derived insulin-producing cells
Publication: Stem Cell Research and Therapy
UBC Author(s): James Piret (Michael Smith Labs / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 15
Publication Date: December 2024

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A diversity of novel type-2 innate lymphoid cell subpopulations revealed during tumour expansion
Publication: Communications Biology
UBC Author(s): Wilfred Arthur Jefferies (Michael Smith Labs / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 7
Publication Date: December 2024

View Publication
Linear system of hypersurfaces passing through a Galois orbit
Publication: Research in Number Theory
UBC Author(s): Dragos Ghioca (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 10
Publication Date: December 2024

View Publication
Nitrogen Fixation and Microbial Communities Associated with Decomposing Seagrass Leaves in Temperate Coastal Waters
Publication: Microbial Ecology
UBC Author(s): Laura Parfrey (Botany / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00953628
Volume: 87
Publication Date: December 2024

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Unraveling the electronic structure and magnetic transition evolution across monolayer, bilayer, and multilayer ferromagnetic Fe<inf>3</inf>GeTe<inf>2</inf>
Publication: npj 2D Materials and Applications
UBC Author(s): Andrea Damascelli (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 8
Publication Date: December 2024

View Publication
Wind and river effects on a coastal current in Chatham Sound, British Columbia
Publication: Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
UBC Author(s): Richard Pawlowicz (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 02727714
Volume: 309
Publication Date: 1 December 2024

View Publication
Using physicochemical properties to predict the impact of natural dissolved organic carbon on transepithelial potential in the freshwater rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) at neutral and acidic pH
Publication: Fish Physiology and Biochemistry
UBC Author(s): Colin Brauner (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 09201742
Volume: 50
Page Range: 2619-2635
Publication Date: December 2024

View Publication
PartwiseMPC: Interactive Control of Contact-Guided Motions
Publication: Computer Graphics Forum
UBC Author(s): Michiel Van de Panne (Computer Science / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 01677055
Volume: 43
Publication Date: December 2024

View Publication

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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
2023 Dr. Dostert studied communities of the highly antibiotic resistant bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. She identified genes mediating community growth in diverse environments. Her research demonstrated the strong influence of the growth environment on the entire gene network and provided interesting gene candidates for the design of novel drugs. Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD)
2023 Dr. Xiao made notable contributions in the field of text summarization through her innovative application of machine learning techniques. She enhanced AI summarizers with discourse information. Her impactful research is a valuable asset in our data-driven and time-constrained society, offering an effective solution for managing information overload. Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science (PhD)
2023 Dr. Emry examined how the distribution of marine species across environmental gradients mediates response to climate change. She found that species often respond to abiotic stress in ways that correlate with their environmental conditions, and that the indirect effects of this stress can have significant impacts on the structure of communities. Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
2023 Dr. Haenel studied the signatures of the Higgs mode in exotic superconducting materials. The Higgs mode emerges as a quasiparticle in the framework of superconductors. It is the condensed-matter-analogue of the Higgs Boson in the the Standard Model. Research on these collective excitations in superconductors can lead to a better understanding of the mechanism of high temperature superconductors. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2023 Dr. Luo developed engineering approaches to apply a protective polymer coating onto the blood vessels of organs that interact with the immune system to improve organ quality and transplantation success. The protective immunomodulatory coating can be adapted for other immune functions, opening up possibilities for the development of novel therapies. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2023 Dr. Marroquin Madera studied the initial density dependence of plasma formation and properties of a Nitric Oxide molecular Rydberg gas, along with the effects of applying radiofrequencies and electric fields. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2023 Dr. Clayworth studied how glial cells in the nervous system wrap and protect neurons. She found a novel role for the dystroglycan protein, which is disrupted in muscular dystrophy, in glial wrapping of neurons. Her work improves our understanding of the mechanisms of glial protection of neurons and their potential involvement in muscular dystrophy. Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
2023 Dr. Morales Duran found that acidic environmental pH decreased the activity of antibiotics against the CF pathogen B. cenocepacia, and induced changes in the bacterium that are associated with host colonization and pathogenicity. Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD)
2023 Dr. Darwish developed, characterized, and applied brightly light-emitting, nanometer-sized particles toward simple and cost-effective detection and analysis of targeted cell types and molecules. Her research contributes new scientific knowledge, methods, and technologies to make healthcare more accessible, efficient, and inclusive. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2023 Dr. Branch examined the impact that severe drought has on the plant species, scarlet monkeyflower. Her research found that different populations evolve in different ways but maintain growth and improve water efficiency. Her work highlights that stress can be inherited across generations. Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD)

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