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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
O'Connor, Mary Department of Zoology climate change, ocean, seafood, seagrass, eelgrass, invertebrate, ecology, environment,
Oberg, Gunilla Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability Use of knowledge in environmental decision making, Chlorine biogeochemistry in soil
Ollivier, Rachel Department of Mathematics Langlands Programme, a central theme in pure mathematics which predicts deep connections between number theory and representation theory;
Orsi, Anais Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Atmospheric measurement techniques; Physics of snow and ice; Cryosphere processes, n.e.c.; Isotope geochemistry; Geochronology; Environmental geochemistry; Quantitative methods for environmental sciences; Earth system sciences; Climate change impacts and adaptation; climate change; Polar climate; Data analysis, inverse modeling; Paleoclimate
Ortner, Christoph Department of Mathematics Numerical analysis; Mathematical modelling and simulation; Partial and ordinary differential equations; Computational chemistry; Condensed matter modelling and density functional theory; Numerical modelling and mechanical characterisation; Numerical Analysis & Scientific Computing; Applied Analysis; Multi-scale Modelling and Coarse-graining; Molecular Simulation; Scientific Machine-learning, in particular for applications in multi-scale modelling
Osborne, Lisa Department of Microbiology & Immunology influence that the bacteria that live on and in our intestines, lungs and skin have on human health; understanding how the host recognizes the diverse species that reside in the gut - from microscopic viruses to large, multicellular helminthic worms - and tailors an immune response of the appropriate scope and magnitude necessary to achieve homeostasis
Oser, Scott Department of Physics & Astronomy Physical sciences; dark matter; Elementary Particles; neutrinos; particle physics; statistical methods for physics; gravitational wave astronomy; LISA
Otto, Sarah Department of Zoology evolution, mathematical modeling, population genetics, genomic evolution, evolution of sex, yeast experimental evolution, Population genetics and evolutionary biology, yeast
Pai, Dinesh Department of Computer Science Robotics, computer graphics, medical imaging, neuroscience, sensorimotor computation
Pakhomov, Yevhenii Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries Feeding ecophysiology of aquatic invertebrates and fishes, Antarctic ecology, Antarctic krill biology, Tunicate biology, Fishery ecology, Stable isotope ecology
Pante, Nelly Department of Zoology Molecular trafficking pathways within the cell
Parfrey, Laura Department of Botany, Department of Zoology Microbial ecology, microbial diversity, microbiome, protists
Park, Mi Jung Department of Computer Science Privacy-preserving machine learning algorithms, Compressing neural network models using Bayesian methods, Relationships between differential privacy and other emerging notions in machine learning
Pasquier, Thomas Department of Computer Science Development of more transparent computer systems, Whole-system provenance, Computational experiments reproducibility, Intrusion detection, privacy and compliance
Patey, Grenfell Department of Chemistry Liquid dynamics, chemical physics
Pauly, Daniel Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, Department of Zoology World fisheries; Marine life; Global catch; Management of fisheries; Fish growth and ecophysiology
Pawlowicz, Richard Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Oceans and Inland Waters; ocean physics; properties of seawater; geophysical fluid dynamics; Nonlinear waves
Peacock, Simon Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Natural sciences; metamorphic petrology; Tectonics; earthquakes
Peirce, Anthony Department of Mathematics Scientific computing, nonlinear dynamics and applied partial differential equations
Perrin, David Department of Chemistry Bioorganic Chemistry, Combinatorial Chemistry Enzyme Mimics Antisense Therapies, Radiopharmaceuticals
Picard, Sebastien Department of Mathematics Differential geometry
Piret, James Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering Biomedical engineering, regenerative medicine Cell-based therapies have the potential to provide improved treatments for major diseases such as cancer and diabetes
Plan, Yaniv Department of Mathematics applied probability, high-dimensional inference, random matrix theory, compressive sensing, and matrix completion.
Pleiss, Geoffrey Department of Statistics Statistical theory and modeling; Machine learning; Computational methods in statistics; Spatial statistics; Numerical analysis; Machine Learning; neural networks; Gaussian processes; Bayesian optimization; reliable deep learning
Plotkin, Steven Department of Physics & Astronomy Biophysics theory and computation

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Graduate Student Stories

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

Jessica Koski

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

Implementation of Indigenous rights to lands & resources

Gabriel Currier

Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD)

Extremal combinatorics

Rapichan Phurisamban

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

Relationalities and River Flows: Toward a Socially-Equitable and Bioculturally-Conscious Environmental Flow Management

Icíar Fernández Boyano

Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD)

Redefining preeclampsia in the placenta

Neha Sharma-Mascarenhas

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

Analyzing data and policy outcomes for repair, reuse, and recycling for end-of-life electronics

Evelyn Arriagada

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

Islander women mapping water-related problems and solutions

Sahar Ghadirianniari

Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Engineering (PhD)

Mud rush Risk Management in Block Cave Mining

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.

 

Laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy of TIPS-pentacene
Publication: Low Temperature Physics
UBC Author(s): Takamasa Momose (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 1063777X
Volume: 51
Page Range: 436-443
Publication Date: 1 April 2025

View Publication
Teknonaturalist: A Snakemake Pipeline for Assessing Fungal Diversity From Plant Genome Bycatch
Publication: Molecular Ecology Resources
UBC Author(s): Quentin Charles Cronk (Botany / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 1755098X
Volume: 25
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Global patterns in community-scale leaf mass per area distributions of extant woody non-monocot angiosperms and their utility in the fossil record
Publication: American Journal of Botany
UBC Author(s): Sean Michaletz (Botany / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00029122
Volume: 112
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Polyphosphatases have a polyphosphate-independent influence on the virulence of Cryptococcus neoformans
Publication: Infection and Immunity
UBC Author(s): Pauline Johnson (Microbiology & Immunology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00199567
Volume: 93
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Landscape-Scale Effects of Season and Predation Risk on the Terrestrial Behavior of Chacma Baboons (Papio ursinus)
Publication: American Journal of Biological Anthropology
UBC Author(s): Kaitlyn Gaynor (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 186
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Controls on Exchange through a Tidal Mixing Hotspot at an Estuary Constriction
Publication: Journal of Physical Oceanography
UBC Author(s): Susan Elizabeth Allen (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00223670
Volume: 55
Page Range: 415-433
Publication Date: Apr 2025

View Publication
Proteomics and personalized PDX models identify treatment for a progressive malignancy within an actionable timeframe
Publication: EMBO molecular medicine
UBC Author(s): Martin Hirst (Microbiology & Immunology / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 17
Page Range: 625-644
Publication Date: 1 April 2025

View Publication
Targeted isolation of piperazate-containing molecules: bioinformatics and spectroscopy
Publication: Current Opinion in Microbiology
UBC Author(s): Raymond Andersen (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 13695274
Volume: 84
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Use of theories of human action in recent conservation research
Publication: Conservation Biology
UBC Author(s): Kai Chan (Institute for Resources,Environment & Sustainability / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 08888892
Volume: 39
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
First detection of a tagged neutrino in the NA62 experiment
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: 863
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
EFFECTIVE ISOTRIVIAL MORDELL-LANG IN POSITIVE CHARACTERISTIC
Publication: American Journal of Mathematics
UBC Author(s): Dragos Ghioca (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00029327
Volume: 147
Page Range: 279-328
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Impacts of severity and region of gill tissue resection on regeneration in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)
Publication: Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology -Part A : Molecular and Integrative Physiology
UBC Author(s): Colin Brauner (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 10956433
Volume: 302
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Measurement of the response function of the PIENU calorimeter
Publication: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
UBC Author(s): Douglas Bryman (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 01689002
Volume: 1073
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Correction to: Governance and resilience as entry points for transforming food systems in the countdown to 2030 (Nature Food, (2025), 6, 1, (105-116), 10.1038/s43016-024-01109-4)
Publication: Nature Food
UBC Author(s): Ussif Rashid Sumaila (Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 6
Page Range: 410-411
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
On the Orbit of the Binary Brown Dwarf Companion GL229 Ba and Bb
Publication: Astronomical Journal
UBC Author(s): Trevor Campbell (Statistics / Faculty of Science), Alexandre Bouchard-Cote (Statistics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00046256
Volume: 169
Publication Date: 1 April 2025

View Publication
Maturational Stage-Dependent Contributions of the Cav3.2 T-Type Calcium Channel to Dentate Gyrus Granule Cell Excitability
Publication: eNeuro
UBC Author(s): Terrance Preston Snutch (Michael Smith Labs / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 12
Publication Date: 1 April 2025

View Publication
Mitochondrial respiration capacity impacts gill tissue regeneration in Atlantic salmon
Publication: Journal of Experimental Biology
UBC Author(s): Colin Brauner (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00220949
Volume: 228
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
LC-MS-based metabolomics for detecting adulteration in Tribulus terrestris-derived dietary supplements
Publication: Food Chemistry: X
UBC Author(s): Tao Huan (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 27
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Clinical translation of microbiome research
Publication: Nature Medicine
UBC Author(s): Carolina Tropini (Microbiology & Immunology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 10788956
Volume: 31
Page Range: 1099-1113
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Thunderstorm prediction over Eastern state of India during pre-monsoon season in 2018 using artificial neural network model
Publication: Theoretical and Applied Climatology
UBC Author(s): Laks Lakshmanan (Computer Science / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 0177798X
Volume: 156
Publication Date: April 2025

View Publication
Machine learning configuration-dependent friction tensors in Langevin heatbaths
Publication: Machine Learning: Science and Technology
UBC Author(s): Christoph Ortner (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 6
Publication Date: 31 March 2025

View Publication
DPack: Efficiency-Oriented Privacy Budget Scheduling
Publication: EuroSys 2025 - Proceedings of the 2025 20th European Conference on Computer Systems
UBC Author(s): Mathias Lecuyer (Computer Science / Faculty of Science)
Page Range: 1194-1209
Publication Date: 30 March 2025

View Publication
Ladon: High-Performance Multi-BFT Consensus via Dynamic Global Ordering
Publication: EuroSys 2025 - Proceedings of the 2025 20th European Conference on Computer Systems
UBC Author(s): Ivan Beschastnikh (Computer Science / Faculty of Science)
Page Range: 226-242
Publication Date: 30 March 2025

View Publication
Velosiraptor: Code Synthesis for Memory Translation
Publication: International Conference on Architectural Support for Programming Languages and Operating Systems - ASPLOS
UBC Author(s): Reto Achermann (Computer Science / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 2
Page Range: 1365-1381
Publication Date: 30 March 2025

View Publication
Search for Dark Matter Produced in Association with a Dark Higgs Boson in the (Formula presented) Final State Using (Formula presented) Collisions at (Formula presented) with the ATLAS Detector
Publication: Physical Review Letters
UBC Author(s): Colin Gay (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00319007
Volume: 134
Publication Date: 28 March 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
2024 Dr. Efford developed a novel approach to transdisciplinary ecosystem modelling using archaeological data, Indigenous Science, history, and ecology. This research, under the leadership of and in service to Tsleil-Waututh Nation, offers a new way to reconstruct past ecosystem baselines and understand environmental change over time. Doctor of Philosophy in Oceans and Fisheries (PhD)
2024 Dr. Yates studied the structure of several nuclei following radioactive decay and nuclear reactions. His new measurements provide further insight into the evolution of the structure and dynamics of nuclei and the underlying forces. His research also helps to benchmark new methods for studying the synthesis of elements in the Universe. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2024 Molecules often come together or self-assemble using weak bonds to form ordered structures, but controlling their sizes and shapes on self-assembly is challenging. Dr. Das Gupta investigated specific metal compounds that self-assemble into precise, controlled nanostructures with promising potential for catalytic and photochemical applications. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2024 Dr. Urquhart-Cronish studied existing knowledge gaps between theoretical and empirical investigations of species' range expansion. Her work provides a better understanding for how range expansion in ecologically complex simulated and natural environments can shape spatial patterns in biodiversity we see today. Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD)
2024 Dr. Blair's cross-disciplinary research developed novel methods to integrate ecological data with computer vision classification algorithms. At a time where the world's need for biodiversity data has never been higher, his work will enhance ecological and conservation research by improving specimen processing efficiency. Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
2024 Dr. Oh used numerical simulations of the atmosphere to examine how clouds form, develop, and influence the Earth's atmosphere, and developed mathematical models of the dynamics of moist convection. His research advances our understanding of the behaviour of boundary-layer clouds and will help develop more accurate models of the atmosphere. Doctor of Philosophy in Atmospheric Science (PhD)
2024 Dr. Morin’s research focused on the regulation of gene expression in mammals. He analyzed thousands of genomic datasets across different methodologies in order to identify regulatory interactions supported across diverse studies. His work contributes to our understanding of gene activity and organizes this information into a community resource. Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD)
2024 Dr. McLaughlin used evolutionary analyses of SARS-CoV-2 to quantify impacts of COVID-19 travel restrictions on viral importations and averted case burden. These HIV analyses revealed heterogeneous impact of pre-exposure prophylaxis on transmission across BC phylogenetic clusters. Genomic epidemiology informs epidemic policy and response. Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD)
2024 Dr. Krause studied how molecules on the surface of nanoparticles affect the interactions of those nanoparticles with human enzymes. She developed methods to tune enzyme-nanoparticle interactions and to detect targeted enzymes with enhanced sensitivity and selectivity. Her work will enable the future use of nanoparticles in medical diagnostics. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2024 Dr. Simidzija developed and investigated a theoretical model of the Universe that is based on a theory of quantum gravity. It is hoped that one day such a model will be able to explain the origin of the Universe itself. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)

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