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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

Betinol's image

Isaiah Betinol

Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)

Statistical Models and Machine Learning for the Design and Optimization of Novel Catalysts
Brandon McNabb's image

Brandon McNabb

Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD)

Characterizing the distributions and mechanisms driving oceanic methylated sulfur cycling

Alan Knee

Doctor of Philosophy in Astronomy (PhD)

Gravitational waves from eccentric binaries with LIGO and LISA

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

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.

 

Local honey reflects environmental changes in metal concentrations and lead isotope ratios during COVID-19 restrictions in Brussels, Belgium, and Vancouver, Canada
Publication: Science of the Total Environment
UBC Author(s): Dominique Weis (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00489697
Volume: 959
Publication Date: 10 January 2025

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The Ethical Compiler: Addressing the Is-Ought Gap in Compilation (Invited Talk)
Publication: PEPM 2025 - Proceedings of the 2025 ACM SIGPLAN International Workshop on Partial Evaluation and Program Manipulation, Co-located with: POPL 2025
UBC Author(s): William Bowman (Computer Science / Faculty of Science)
Page Range: 1-9
Publication Date: 10 January 2025

View Publication
Nigrosporinol Sulfoxides A and B, Sulfur-Bridged Heterocyclic Sesquiterpenoids Produced by Cultures of the Fungus Nigrospora lacticolonia
Publication: Organic Letters
UBC Author(s): Raymond Andersen (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 15237060
Volume: 27
Page Range: 288-291
Publication Date: 10 January 2025

View Publication
Economic Viability of Integrated CO<inf>2</inf> Capture and Conversion
Publication: ACS Energy Letters
UBC Author(s): Curtis Berlinguette (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 10
Page Range: 403-409
Publication Date: 10 January 2025

View Publication
Measurement of CP Asymmetries in B0 → KS0 π0γ Decays at Belle II
Publication: Physical Review Letters
UBC Author(s): Janis McKenna (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00319007
Volume: 134
Publication Date: 10 January 2025

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Gravity-Driven Membrane Filtration with Passive Hydraulic Fouling Control for Drinking Water Treatment: Demonstration of Long-Term Performance at Full Scale
Publication: ACS ES and T Water
UBC Author(s): William Mohn (Microbiology & Immunology / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 5
Page Range: 70-80
Publication Date: 10 January 2025

View Publication
Bicyclo[2.1.1]hexanes via Intramolecular Formal (3+2)-Cycloaddition
Publication: Angewandte Chemie - International Edition
UBC Author(s): Corey Stephenson (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 14337851
Volume: 64
Publication Date: 10 January 2025

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DJK-5, an anti-biofilm peptide, increases Staphylococcus aureus sensitivity to colistin killing in co-biofilms with Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Publication: NPJ biofilms and microbiomes
UBC Author(s): Robert E Hancock (Microbiology & Immunology / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 11
Page Range: 8
Publication Date: 8 January 2025

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Niche Theory as an Underutilized Resource for the Study of Adaptive Radiations
Publication: Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology
UBC Author(s): Rachel Germain (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 17
Publication Date: 7 January 2025

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Rapid Parallel Adaptation in Distinct Invasions of Ambrosia Artemisiifolia Is Driven by Large-Effect Structural Variants
Publication: Molecular biology and evolution
UBC Author(s): Loren Rieseberg (Botany / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 42
Publication Date: 6 January 2025

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Cross-modal sensory compensation increases mosquito attraction to humans
Publication: Science advances
UBC Author(s): Benjamin Matthews (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 11
Page Range: eadn5758
Publication Date: 3 January 2025

View Publication
Instability of falling films of discontinuously shear-thickening fluid
Publication: Journal of Fluid Mechanics
UBC Author(s): Neil Balmforth (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00221120
Volume: 1002
Publication Date: 3 January 2025

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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