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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 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
Chau, Albert Department of Mathematics Differential Geometry and Partial Differential Equations
Chen, David Department of Chemistry Instrumentation
Chen, Jiahua Department of Statistics Statistical theory and modeling; empirical likelihood; finite mixture model; sample survey; asymptotic theory; imputation
Chen, Jingyi Department of Mathematics Algebraic and differential geometry; Differential Geometry, Partial Differential Equations
Cheung, Wai Lung Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries Global change biology; Ecological impacts of climate change; climate change; Marine Ecosystems; sustainability; biodiversity; Interdisciplinary
Choptuik, Matthew Department of Physics & Astronomy Theoretical physics, Relativity/Computational Physics
Chou, Keng Chang Department of Chemistry Chemical physics
Christensen, Villy Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries Fisheries management; Global change biology; Ecosystem function
Chritz, Kendra Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Anthropocene, Onset, tempo, and trajectory of human impacts on biological processes and environmental change
Clune, Jeff Department of Computer Science
Cohen Freue, Gabriela Department of Statistics statistical genomics (focus in proteomics), robust estimation and inference, linear models with endogeneity
Colliander, James Department of Mathematics hamiltonian dynamical systems; partial differential equations; harmonic analysis
Conati, Cristina Department of Computer Science artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, affective computing, personalized interfaces, intelligent user interfaces, intelligent interface agents, virtual agent, user-adapted interaction, computer-assisted education, educational computer games, computers in education, user-adaptive interaction, Artificial intelligence, adaptive interfaces, cognitive systems, user modelling
Condon, Anne Department of Computer Science Algorithms; Molecular Programming
Cooke, Ilsa Department of Chemistry Role of icy dust grains in interstellar chemistry; Constraining aromatic and carbon chemistry during star formation; Observational Astronomy
Coombs, Daniel Department of Mathematics Mathematical biology; Cellular immunology; Complex physical systems; Epidemiology (except nutritional and veterinary epidemiology); Cell Signaling and Infectious and Immune Diseases; Cell biophysics; Disease models; Epidemiology; Immune cell signalling; Mathematics
Correia, Miguel Marine ecology (including marine ichthyology); marine conservation; Syngnathid biology; marine ecology
Cronk, Quentin Charles Department of Botany Comparative genomics, molecular developmental biology and evolutionary biology to study plant form
Crowe, Sean Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Geobiology, biogeochemistry, microbial evolution
Cytrynbaum, Eric Department of Mathematics Bacterial cell division, Microtubule and cellular organization, Wave propagation in excitable media
d'Arcy, Mitch Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Earth and related environmental sciences; Geomorphology; Climate/palaeoclimate; Sedimentology; Geochronology; remote sensing
Dake, Gregory Department of Chemistry Organic, bioactive, metal as catalyist
Damascelli, Andrea Department of Physics & Astronomy Electronic structure of solids, strongly correlated electron systems, low dimensional spin systems, thin films and nanostructures, transition metal oxides, high-Tc superconductors, linear and nonlinear optical spectroscopies, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, photoelectron spectroscopy, synchrotron based spectroscopies., Electronic structure of novel complex systems in nanostructured materials
Dao Duc, Khanh Department of Mathematics Genomics; Mathematical biology; Neurocognitive patterns and neural networks; Agricultural spatial analysis and modelling; combine mathematical,computational and statistical tools to study fundamental biological processes; regulation and determinants of gene expression and translation; Machine Learning for Biological Imaging and Microscopy; Database development and management; Biological and Artificial Neural Networks for geometric representation
Davies, Jonathan Department of Botany Phylogenetics & Biodiversity. Development and application of phylogenetic methods in ecology and conservation biology

Pages

Graduate Student Stories

Aaron Klymasz-Swartz

Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)

Physiological development of the amphibian gill; do the gills take on a dominant role for ion regulation before gas exchange as observed in developing teleost fish?

Becca Beutel

Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD)

Water mass variability on the northeast Pacific shelf and what this means for biogeochemical conditions under a changing climate

Madison Chapel

Master of Science in Bioinformatics (MSc)

Evolution of gene regulatory networks

W. Austin Guild

Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD)

Investigating the protective role of endogenous retroviruses against herpes simplex virus-2 infection

Cara James

Doctor of Philosophy in Geophysics (PhD)

Understanding deep-sea mining particulate clouds: predicting environmental impacts, informing regulation and monitoring pollutants

Nicole Bison

Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD)

Drivers of plant heat tolerance and thermoregulation from leaf to landscape

Aria Malhotra

Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Physics (PhD)

Predicting severe skin reactions in breast radiation therapy

Alexis Bahl

Doctor of Philosophy in Oceanography (PhD)

Salp diel vertical migration and its impact on carbon export in the Southern Ocean
All Student Stories

Alumni on Success

Liam Spencer

Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) [2006]

Job Title
Research Scientist

Employer
The Dow Chemical Company

Steven Huan Liang

Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD) [2010]

Job Title
Assistant Professor

Employer
Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital

Olga Pena

Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) [2013]

Job Title
Research Scientist and Manager

Employer
UBC

Hannes Dempewolf

Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD) [2012]

Job Title
Scientist and Project Manager

Employer
Global Crop Diversity Trust

Elitza Tocheva

Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) [2007]

Job Title
Assistant Professor

Employer
Universite de Montreal

Ellen T Arena

Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD) [2011]

Job Title
Assistant Scientist

Employer
University of Wisconsin Madison

Adam Ford

Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD) [2014]

Job Title
Assistant Professor

Employer
University of British Columbia

Benjamin Good

Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD) [2009]

Job Title
Assistant Professor

Employer
The Scripps Research Institute
All Alumni 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.

 

Simulation of breaching of laboratory-scale earth dams by overtopping with XBeach
Publication: Coastal Engineering
UBC Author(s): Scott McDougall (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 03783839
Volume: 189
Publication Date: April 2024

View Publication
Biodiversity–production feedback effects lead to intensification traps in agricultural landscapes
Publication: Nature Ecology and Evolution
UBC Author(s): Claire Kremen (Institute for Resources,Environment & Sustainability / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 8
Page Range: 752-760
Publication Date: April 2024

View Publication
Ecological research ‘in a good way’ means ethical and equitable relationships with Indigenous Peoples and Lands
Publication: Nature Ecology and Evolution
UBC Author(s): Andrea Reid (Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 8
Page Range: 595-598
Publication Date: April 2024

View Publication
A forward-looking approach to climate change and the risk of societal collapse
Publication: Futures
UBC Author(s): Amanda Giang (Institute for Resources,Environment & Sustainability / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00163287
Volume: 158
Publication Date: April 2024

View Publication
Universal chemical programming language for robotic synthesis repeatability
Publication: Nature Synthesis
UBC Author(s): Jason Hein (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 3
Page Range: 488-496
Publication Date: April 2024

View Publication
Genomic analyses of Symbiomonas scintillans show no evidence for endosymbiotic bacteria but does reveal the presence of giant viruses
Publication: PLoS Genetics
UBC Author(s): Patrick John Keeling (Botany / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 15537390
Volume: 20
Publication Date: 1 April 2024

View Publication
How useful are genomic data for predicting maladaptation to future climate?
Publication: Global Change Biology
UBC Author(s): Michael Whitlock (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 13541013
Volume: 30
Publication Date: April 2024

View Publication
Ethics and accountability for clinical trials
Publication: Spinal Cord
UBC Author(s): Wolfram Tetzlaff (Zoology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 13624393
Volume: 62
Page Range: 192-194
Publication Date: April 2024

View Publication
LVS ΔcapB-vectored multiantigenic melioidosis vaccines protect against lethal respiratory Burkholderia pseudomallei challenge in highly sensitive BALB/c mice
Publication: mBio
UBC Author(s): Marc Horwitz (Microbiology & Immunology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 21612129
Volume: 15
Publication Date: April 2024

View Publication
Cone allometry and seed protection from fire are similar in serotinous and nonserotinous conifers
Publication: New Phytologist
UBC Author(s): Sean Michaletz (Botany / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 0028646X
Volume: 242
Page Range: 93-106
Publication Date: April 2024

View Publication
0-HECKE MODULES FOR ROW-STRICT DUAL IMMACULATE FUNCTIONS
Publication: Transactions of the American Mathematical Society
UBC Author(s): Stephanie van Willigenburg (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00029947
Volume: 377
Page Range: 2525-2582
Publication Date: April 2024

View Publication
Reaction monitoring via benchtop nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy: A practical comparison of on-line stopped-flow and continuous-flow sampling methods
Publication: Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry
UBC Author(s): Jason Hein (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 07491581
Volume: 62
Page Range: 310-322
Publication Date: April 2024

View Publication
An Unusual Pulse Shape Change Event in PSR J1713+0747 Observed with the Green Bank Telescope and CHIME
Publication: Astrophysical Journal
UBC Author(s): Ingrid Stairs (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 0004637X
Volume: 964
Publication Date: 1 April 2024

View Publication
THE STEFAN PROBLEM AND FREE TARGETS OF OPTIMAL BROWNIAN MARTINGALE TRANSPORT
Publication: Annals of Applied Probability
UBC Author(s): Young-Heon Kim (Mathematics / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 10505164
Volume: 34
Page Range: 2364-2414
Publication Date: April 2024

View Publication
Not in it for the money: Meaningful relationships sustain voluntary land conservation initiatives in Peru
Publication: People and Nature
UBC Author(s): Kai Chan (Institute for Resources,Environment & Sustainability / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 6
Page Range: 818-832
Publication Date: April 2024

View Publication
Kelp and sea urchin settlement mediated by biotic interactions with benthic coralline algal species
Publication: Journal of Phycology
UBC Author(s): Patrick Martone (Botany / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00223646
Volume: 60
Page Range: 363-379
Publication Date: April 2024

View Publication
A techno-economic analysis of diesel exhaust injection into mine tailings for carbon sequestration
Publication: Heliyon
UBC Author(s): Gregory Dipple (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 24058440
Volume: 10
Publication Date: 30 March 2024

View Publication
Gravitational Raman Scattering in Effective Field Theory: A Scalar Tidal Matching at O (G3)
Publication: Physical Review Letters
UBC Author(s): Julio Parra Martinez (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00319007
Volume: 132
Publication Date: 29 March 2024

View Publication
The underappreciated diversity of bile acid modifications
Publication: Cell
UBC Author(s): Tao Huan (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00928674
Volume: 187
Page Range: 1801-1818.e20
Publication Date: 28 March 2024

View Publication
Using machine learning with atomistic surface and local water features to predict heterogeneous ice nucleation
Publication: Journal of Chemical Physics
UBC Author(s): Grenfell Patey (Chemistry / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 00219606
Volume: 160
Publication Date: 28 March 2024

View Publication
Equity and modeling in sustainability science: Examples and opportunities throughout the process
Publication: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
UBC Author(s): Amanda Giang (Institute for Resources,Environment & Sustainability / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 121
Publication Date: 26 March 2024

View Publication
Bioretention Design Modifications Increase the Simulated Capture of Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Trace Organic Compounds
Publication: Environmental Science and Technology
UBC Author(s): Amanda Giang (Institute for Resources,Environment & Sustainability / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 0013936X
Volume: 58
Page Range: 5500-5511
Publication Date: 26 March 2024

View Publication
Quantum Barkhausen noise induced by domain wall cotunneling
Publication: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
UBC Author(s): Philip C Stamp (Physics & Astronomy / Faculty of Science)
Volume: 121
Publication Date: 26 March 2024

View Publication
Incomplete immunity in a natural animal-microbiota interaction selects for higher pathogen virulence
Publication: Current Biology
UBC Author(s): Kayla King (Microbiology & Immunology / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 09609822
Volume: 34
Page Range: 1357-1363.e3
Publication Date: 25 March 2024

View Publication
Pay to (Not) Play: Monetizing Impatience in Mobile Games
Publication: Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence
UBC Author(s): Kevin Leyton-Brown (Computer Science / Faculty of Science)
ISSN: 21595399
Volume: 38
Page Range: 9856-9864
Publication Date: 25 March 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
2023 Dr. Krekhno investigated mechanisms of pathogenic E. coli-caused infantile diarrhea, providing insights into host-microbe interactions. He employed computational and molecular biology tools to provide the first comprehensive overview of the changes in the regulation of gene expression during infection. Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology (PhD)
2023 Dr. Davis studied the effects of temperature and resource availability on ecosystem functioning. She showed that rates of nitrogen supply usually accelerate with warming, and documented two important ecological effects of this pattern. She also identified a key limiting resource in a seagrass ecosystem recovering from decline. Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
2023 Dr. Ripoche studied evolved stellar populations, from giant stars to their remnants. He developed new tools to analyze data from X-ray space telescopes, measure distances in space, and identify dead stars, called white dwarfs, in large surveys. His findings will help us better understand the structure and history of our Galaxy and the Universe. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2023 Dr. Crescenzo measured the viscosity of airborne aerosol particles formed from the gas emissions from plants. His thesis showed that many of these airborne particles are more viscous than tar pitch, or even solid like glass at many humidities & temperatures. His studies are helpful to improve the accuracy of climate and air quality predictions. Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)
2023 Dr. Wang devised and carried out landmark experiments using radio-frequency and millimeter-wave fields to control and probe the evolution of ultracold molecular plasmas. His findings have provided new insights into ultracold neutral plasmas specifically, and into disordered many-body systems in general. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)
2023 Dr. Mehrabifard's research has addressed the problem of human-induced earthquakes resulting from the shift towards cleaner, lower carbon energy resources. By developing a deep understanding of the physics underlying these earthquakes, he has created effective predictive models and identified appropriate mitigation strategies to minimize their occurrence. Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Engineering (PhD)
2023 Dr. Nelson's work focussed on the role of the carbonic anhydrase enzyme within the unique respiratory system responsible for the success of the teleost fishes. Her work advances our understanding of the function, development, and evolution of a respiratory system present in half of all vertebrate species. Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology (PhD)
2023 Dr. Pan investigated new conditional inference and prediction methods after fitting a joint distribution based on vine copulas, including prediction of an arbitrary variable given others, prediction of a right-censored response, and prediction of an ordinal or continuous response when some explanatory variables are nominal categorical. Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD)
2023 Dr. Jana rigorously investigated algebraic invariants of two spaces: Classifying space for commutativity and Unordered flag manifolds. Their research explored algebraic topology, employing algebraic methods to analyze shapes. The core of the research lies in the pursuit of simplification through decomposition, marking its fundamental significance. Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD)
2023 Where do the chemical elements come from? Using the nuclear physics technique of mass spectrometry, Dr. Jacobs investigated potential astrophysical sites where some of these elements are produced. The findings point to binary neutron star mergers as a prime candidate for explaining a range of elemental abundances observed in stars. Doctor of Philosophy in Physics (PhD)

Pages

 

UBC evolutionary biologist Dr. Dolph Schluter named AAAS Fellow

Internationally renowned evolutionary biologist Dr. Dolph Schluter has been elected to the newest class of American Association for the...

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How art can help us talk about the green transition

Elders, researchers and musicians are using art to get people talking about the challenges and opportunities of a transition to renewable...

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UBC adding 778 student spaces across technology and life sciences programs thanks to provincial investment

B.C.’s Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation, the Honourable Brenda Bailey, was on site at UBC’s Vancouver campus Friday to...

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Tropical coral-infecting parasites discovered in cold marine ecosystems

Parasites thought only to infect tropical coral reefs have been discovered in a large variety of creatures in cold marine ecosystems along...

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New gravitational wave signal helps fill the ‘mass gap’ between neutron stars and black holes

A collaboration of researchers including UBC scientists have observed gravitational waves from the collision of what is most likely a...

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With the planet facing a 'polycrisis', biodiversity researchers uncover major knowledge gaps

A scientific review has found almost no research studying the interconnections across three major threats to planetary health, despite UN...

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