Research Projects

Canadian Immigration Updates

Review details about the recently announced changes to study and work permits that apply to master’s and doctoral degree students. Read more

Currently Open Research Projects

This list of possible research projects is non-exhaustive. It only shows positions that are specifically advertised in the G+PS website.

Position Title Supervisor(s) Faculty Research Classification
Applications Open for UBC Master and Graduate Certificate in Global Surgical Care Faculty of Medicine Medical, health and life sciences
Postdoc Research Associate in RNA biology Xuesen Dong Faculty of Medicine Cancer drug development and therapeutics, Urology

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Faculty Members Recruiting Students

This list shows a selection of faculty members who are currently looking for new graduate students. They may have specified particular projects they wish to fill. Please ensure to review the departmental profile of each faculty member to learn more about their research interests and to ensure a good fit to your intended studies at UBC.

Last namesort ascending First name Research Interests Desired start dates: Project areas
Menzies Charles Social sciences; Indigenous studies; Natural Resource Management; Maritime Anthropology; Western Europe; Ethnographic Film Any time / year round

First Nations students engaged (and/or interested) in community based research, decolonizing practices, and process that support Indigenous authority and jurisdiction are encouraged to connect with Professor Menzies to discuss potential applications to graduate study.  Other students interested in exploring the relations of power and inequality within contemporary capitalist society and... Read More

Menkis Richard Canadian history; Historical memory; Jewish history; Holocaust studies 2021

Historical writing, historical memory and identities of Canadian Jews

Canadian responses to the Third Reich and to the Holocaust

 

 

McKay Heather Population health interventions; Aging process; Social and biological determinants of aging; Health promotion and disease prevention; Prevention, treatment and support of youth health; Medical, health and life sciences; Knowledge translation and implementation science in health; Health and community services; Aging Process; Public and Population Health Any time / year round

Healthy aging

Implementation science

Scale-up of health promoting innovations

Adapting effective health promoting innovations for equity deserving groups

Health equity

Equity in implementation science

McCormick Kelly Asian history; Visual theory, visual culture and visual literacy; Modern Japan; History of Visual and Material Culture/Photography; History of Technology; History of Gender and Sexuality 2022

Modern Japan; 20th century visual and material culture

Mayor Thibault Biochemistry; Genomics; Aging; Cell Biology; Neurodegenerative diseases; Proteasome; Protein Degradation; Protein Folding; Proteomics; Proteostasis; Ubiquitin; Yeast Genetics Any time / year round

The main lab focus is protein quality control and how misfolded proteins are triaged within the cell. In the next years, we want to establish several new projects and here are some examples:
- Identification of protein quality control pathways mediating rare genetic diseases in human.
- Reconstitution of the quality control machinery in vitro to better understand the molecular... Read More

Mayer Ulrich Geology; groundwater contamination; groundwater remediation; hydrogeology; low-temperature geochemistry; mine waste management 2024, 2025

Development of multicomponent reactive transport modeling tools for multiphase systems

Refinement of multicomponent reactive transport modeling approaches for mine waste management

Matthews Philip Animal physiology, respiration; Insect biology; Animal physiology, biophysics; Comparative biomechanics; Animal physiological ecology; Comparative Physiology; biomechanics; Insect physiology; Respiratory Physiology 2024

The biomechanics and energetics of xylem-feeding bugs

The evolution and physiology of hydrostatic organs in the aquatic larvae of the midge family Chaoboridae

Masse Louise Health care administration; Health sciences; Public and population health; Childhood obesity with specific interests in prevention and treatment using lifestyle modification; Films, Membranes and Multiphase Polymers; Health Promotion; Nutrition; Obesity; Physical Activity
  1. Understand how behaviour modification works to change lifestyles behaviours associated with obesity - Randomized control trial
  2. Understand how transitioning from elementary schools to secondary school influence student health behaviours associated with obesity
  3. Understand the influence of the Active Play standards influence licensed childcare centre as well as the... Read More
Marshall Toph Cinema studies; Classical Greek and Ancient Rome history; Classical archaeology; Classical linguistics; Film, television and digital media; Religion and religious studies; Literary or Artistic Works Analysis; Performance and Theatrical Productions Any time / year round

I am interested in Greek and Roman poetry and its receptions, and most of my scholarship has focused on ancient theatre. I look at how genre and structure (including metre and other formal elements) can shape a literary work and how it is perceived and understood by its original audience, and by subsequent audiences. My research falls into four broad categories: Greek and Roman Theatre and... Read More

Marshall Hallie Performing arts; Ancient Greek Theatre; Arts and Cultural Traditions; Classics; Contemporary British Theatre; Cultural Industries; History of the Book; Literary or Artistic Work Dissemination or Reception Contexts; Performance and Theatrical Productions; Poetry; Reception Studies; Religion, Culture and Space; Theatre; Tony Harrison Any time / year round

See my areas of research interest.

Marshall Katie Animal physiology, environmental stress; Environmental Change; Marine biodiversity; Population Ecology; invertebrates and temperature adaptation

Population variation in enzyme activity, metabolic rate

Manges Amee Health sciences; Immunology; Microbiology; Public and population health; Epidemiology; Molecular epidemiology; Public health

Human microbiome research and molecular epidemiology

Maharaj Anil Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences, n.e.c.; Pharmacometrics; Pharmacokinetics/Pharmacodynamics; Obstetric and Pediatric Pharmacology Any time / year round

Master’s and PhD Students 

Potential Projects:
•  Assessment of breast milk-drug partitioning
•  Evaluation of the influence of renal replacement therapy on drug pharmacokinetics in children
•  Development of a Bayesian population pharmacokinetic platform for use in clinical practice

 

Madden Kenneth Geriatrics and gerontology; Exercise interventions; Sedentary Behaviour; Syncope; Falls Prevention; Sarcopenia; Machine Learning 2025

Dr. Ken Madden holds the Allan M. McGavin Chair in Geriatric Medicine at the University of British Columbia and the editor-in-chief of the Canadian Geriatrics Journal. His lab has examined the effect of exercise interventions in older adults with Type 2 diabetes, the ability of different forms of exercise to impact arterial stiffness in subjects at high cardiometabolic risk, and the impact of... Read More

Madden John Electrical engineering, computer engineering, and information engineering; Medical and biomedical engineering; artificial muscle; electrochemical devices; electronic skin; Functional and Intelligent Materials; medical devices; smart materials; supercapacitors; wearables Any time / year round

We are developing new wearable technologies for medical, robotic and consumer applications.

MacLean Karon Computer and information sciences; Information Systems; design of user interfaces; haptic interfaces; human-computer interaction; human-robot interaction

Human-robot interaction, user interface design, interactive sensing

Macfarlane Allison Research, science and technology policy; science and technology policy; energy policy, regulation; nuclear energy, nuclear waste management Any time / year round

Nuclear waste management and disposal, nuclear energy policy and regulation issues.

Lynn Francis Diabetes; ß-cell development; ß-cell biology; Human pluripotent stem cells; CRISPR/Cas; transcriptional regulation Any time / year round

Research in the Lynn lab is targeted at understanding the insulin-producing pancreatic β-cell, how it fails during diabetes mellitus and how we can make surrogate cells to cure diabetes. We use a variety of models to study the regulatory pathways important for embryonic β-cell genesis and function. The current focus of research in the lab is understanding how DNA-binding transcription factors... Read More

Loucks Catrina Medical, health and life sciences; Pharmacogenomics; Pain management; Medical Genetics; Model organism genetics; Drug reactions Any time / year round

In our work, we strive to make a meaningful impact on maternal and child health by contributing to leading-edge research aimed at improving pain management.

Safe and effective pain management is influenced by individual genetic differences that dictate both how we feel pain and how we respond to specific pain relievers. Using pharmacogenomics, the study of how genetic... Read More

Lorincz Matthew Genetic medicine; Developmental Genetics; genomics; chromatin; chromatinopathies; Epigenetics; Epigenomics; Gene regulation; Neurodevelopmental disorders Any time / year round
  • Role of epigenetics in male and female germline development
  • Role of retroelements in gene regulation
  • Interplay between epigenetic marks and DNA methylation in the early embryo
  • Impact of the Histone H1 frameshift mutation in Rahman Syndrome (RMNS) on chromatin structure and transcription
Loewen Peter Cardiology and circulatory sciences (including cardiovascular disease); Clinical pharmacy and pharmacy practice; Knowledge translation and implementation science in health; atrial fibrillation; Pharmacoepidemiology; Thrombosis and Embolism; adherence to medication; Cardiovascular diseases; Arrhythmia; Heart Failure; stroke; Health Care Technologies; Professional Practices; Hematology; decision making; clinical prediction rules; healthcare communication technologies; hospital pharmacy practice; knowledge translation of evidence to patient care; patient complexiometry; patient decision aids; patient education; pharmacy practice; prediction of stroke and bleeding in atrial fibrillation patients; quality of care, quality drug therapy; Shared decision-making; stroke prevention therapy; use of mobile technology for clinical decision-making Any time / year round

In the above domains, to be worked out with excellent candidates. I am well funded by CIHR and have an excellent track record of mentoring MSc and PhD students. 

Loewen Christopher Genomics; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS); Autism; Cancer Cell Metabolism; Cell Biology; Cell polarity; Endoplasmic Reticulum; Genetic Networks; Golgi; Lipid Signalling; Lipid Traffic; Membrane Contact Sites; Membrane Diffusion Barriers; Membranes and Organelles; Super Resolution Microscopy; Systems Biology Any time / year round

We currently have projects in the areas of genetic networks, cell signalling, membrane contact sites, cell polarity, cancer metabolism and autism. We use multiple model systems to study these topics including budding yeast for genetic network analysis, model human cell lines for cell signalling and microscopy, and knockout mouse genetic models for in vivo functional analysis.

Liu-Ambrose Teresa Neurosciences, biological and chemical aspects; Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Physical therapy; Rehabilitation medicine; Healthy Aging; exercise; Fall prevention; Cognitive Aging; Randomized Controlled Trials; Physical Activity; Mobility; Neuroimaging; Sleep Any time / year round

Increasing precision in exercise prescription to promote cognitive and brain health. The neural interplay between cognitive function and mobility. The relationship between sleep and cognitive function. Preventing falls in high-risk older adults.

Lim Chinten James Cancer progression and metastasis; Solid cancer tumours; Hematological tumours; tumour cell biology; mechanisms of drug resistance; integrin cell adhesion and migration; tumour microenvironment; pediatric oncology Any time / year round

Integrin cell adhesion in chemotherapeutic resistance. Targeted drug susceptibilities. Tumour microenvironment. Immunogenic cell death. Pediatric oncology.

Li Shyh-Dar Drug discovery, design and delivery; Nano-technology; biopharmaceutics; drug delivery; nanomedicine; pharmaceutics; Gene delivery and therapy Any time / year round
  1. Development of lipid and polymer based nanoparticles for targeted drug and nucleic acid delivery
  2. Development of child-friendly formulations
  3. Ocular drug delivery
  4. Drug delivery to the brain
  5. Sustained drug release formulations
  6. Needle free delivery of proteins
  7. Gene therapy and vaccine
Levings Megan Immunology; Cell therapy; Immune tolerance; Transplantation; Autoimmunity; Gene Therapy; Regulatory T cells 2023

Various projects related to regulatory T cell therapy biology and clinical applications

Lester Richard Infectious diseases; Digital health; Mobile health (mHealth); Precision Public Health; Patient-centered care; Global Health Any time / year round

Global digital health for patient engagement in care and virtual care. Work in Canada, Africa and globally. Quantitative and qualitative studies, implementation research, data science, and digital health policy and ethics. Especially among scaling interventions to benefit vulnerable populations and health equity.

Lemieux Victoria Archival, repository and related studies; Records and information management (except business records and information management); Digital humanities; Blockchain technology and Ecosystems; Trust and Records; Privacy; security; Risk management; Transparency and the public interest (in public sector and financial contexts) Any time / year round

1. Privacy-Enhancing Technologies for Archives, specifically decentralized, blockchain-based federated machine-learning for archival data exchange and research

2. Blockchain Ecosystems, specifically understandng and exploring the 'life worlds' of blockchain ecosystems

Leavitt Blair Genetic medicine; Neurosciences, biological and chemical aspects; Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Alzheimer's disease; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis; Ataxia; Dementia; Experimental Therapeutics; Frontotemporal Dementia; Gene regulation; Gene Silencing and Gene Editing; Gene Therapy; Huntington disease; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells; Medical Genetics; Mouse models of disease; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neurogenetics

Mouse models of neurodegenerative diseases
Clinical biomarkers of neurodegenerative diseases (Imaging, CSF, Blood)
Gene silencing, gene editing and gene therapy for brain diseases
Transcriptional regulation of disease genes
Experimental therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases
Induced pluripotent stem cells models of human brain diseases

Lazrak Ali Finance and Accounting; Economic Phenomena on an Individual or Organizational Level; Asset pricing, Corporate Finance, Behavioral Finance, Household portfolio choice

Different research projects in the finance area are available

Laronde Denise Cancer; oral cancer screening; malignant transformation; early detection; oral premalignant lesions

oral cancer screening

early detection

markers of progression

Lange Philipp Bioinformatics; Genomics; Pathology (except oral pathology); Cell Signaling and Cancer; mass spectrometry; pediatric cancer; personalized medicine; post translational protein modification; Proteomics Any time / year round
  • translational portoemics in childhood cancer
  • advancing precision medicine in childhood cancer
  • proteolytic regulation of cell-cell communication
  • computational and experimental approaches to better understand and classify proteoforms
  • new algorithms in quantitative mass spectrometry data analysis  
Lamers Yvonne Human nutrition and dietetics; Nutrition; Nutrients; Biological and Biochemical Mechanisms; Breast Feeding and Infant Nutrition; Clinical Chemistry; Maternal and child health; Micronutrients; Newborn Screening; Nutritional Biochemistry; Nutritional Biomarker; Periconceptional folic acid supplementation; Pregnancy; Prenatal Supplements; Toddler Nutrition; Vitamins Any time / year round

My enthusiasm for research draws from my interest in the biochemistry and physiology of nutrition-related diseases and in targeted and population-based strategies of chronic disease prevention and optimal health promotion. My research focuses on micronutrients and specifically B-vitamins and their kinetics and functions in human metabolism. B-vitamins are required for normal cell growth and... Read More

Lallous Nada Cancer drug development and therapeutics; Cancer progression and metastasis; Cancer molecular targets; Biochemistry; Biophysics; Cancer biology; Therapeutics; Protein research; Drug resistance; transcription factors 2021

Expression, purification and biophysical characterization of various prostate cancer targets.

Lalji Fawziah Epidemiology (except nutritional and veterinary epidemiology); Pharmacoepidemiology; Infectious diseases; Immunization; Antibiotics and Resistance; Vaccine preventable diseases 2025

Understanding the quality of antibiotic prescribing to migrants in two Canadian provinces (British Columbia and Ontario) for common infections

Antibiotics are very important medications that are used a lot in Canada. These medicines help stop infections caused by bacteria. However, antibiotic treatment can lead to superbugs, which then go on to become more common in our... Read More

Laksman Zachary Cardiogenetics; Stem cell disease modeling; Drug screening Any time / year round

Development of iPSC-based tissue models to study and model contributions of genetics to heart disease. You will be mentored in tissue engineering, microscopy, cardiac electrophysiology, and more.

Lague Marysa Climate modelling; Environmental monitoring; Atmospheric dynamics and thermodynamics; Planetary atmospheres studies; Atmospheric sciences, n.e.c.; Mathematical modelling and simulation; Mathematical biology; Other natural sciences, n.e.c.; Climate Modelling; Land-atmosphere interactions; Climate Dynamics; Climate; Planetary Science; Atmospheric dynamics; Water, Ice, Landscapes; Climate: Science, Change, Action; Earth System Modelling 2025

I’m a climate scientist who studies how the land surface modifies the rest of the coupled Earth system. Broadly, I study land-atmosphere interactions, climate dynamics, atmospheric dynamics, climate modelling, and the coupled climate system, as well as being active in the development, use, and analysis of both idealized and complex Earth system models. 

I study how changes in the land... Read More

Lagresa-González Elizabeth Languages and literature; Early modern Literature and Culture; Early Modern Drama; Early modern Visual and Material culture; Queer, Gender and Sexuality studies; Cross-cultural and Comparative studies Any time / year round

Early modern Spanish literature and culture. Transatlantic Studies. Mediterranean Studies. 

Laffin Christina Humanities and the arts; premodern Japanese literature; medieval Japanese history; women's writing; Japanese women's history; travel writing; autobiography; Japanese poetry; Literacy; socialization; wet nursing; narratology Any time / year round

Heian and Kamakura-era literature, late Heian and medieval women's history

Kwakkel Erik Archival, repository and related studies; Library science and information studies; Codicology; History of Libraries; History of the Book; Medieval Manuscripts; Paleography; History of Reading 2025

Manuscript studies; History of the Book; History of Reading; History of Libraries; Materiality of Information (Book Design); Digital Humanities where it intersects with the History of the Book.

Kuo Calvin Biomechanical engineering; Medical devices; Biomedical instrumentation (including diagnostics); Sensing human motion; How humans make sense of their own motion; Sensorimotor Neutrophysiology; Wearable Sensing; Musculoskeletal Modeling

Cardiac arrest sensing and emergency response.

Kubota Ryuko Specialized studies in education; critical applied linguistics; culture and language; Language Rights and Policies; language education; language ideologies; multicultural education; race and language teaching Any time / year round

Antiracist and justice-oriented language education

Kronstad James Bioinformatics; Immunology; Microbiology; Plant biology; Mycology; Fungal diseases of plants; Genomics and Proteomics; Medical Mycology; Molecular Genetics; Pathogenesis of infectious diseases; Plant-Microbe Interactions Any time / year round
  • Characterization of iron uptake and regulatory functions in Cryptococcus neoformans
  • Analysis of virulence factor export to the cell surface in Cryptococcus neoformans
  • Characterization of the chloroplast as a target of fungal attack
  • Analysis of nutrient acquisition during fungal pathogenesis
Kontogiorgos Vasileios Food colloids, gels, foam and emulsions; Food chemistry (including fermentation); Food rheology, food texture and sensory evaluation; Nutraceuticals, functional foods and bioactive; food chemistry; Physical chemistry of foods; Food colloids; Food emulsions; Food polysaccharides; food proteins Any time / year round

Food colloids

Food rheology

Food emulsions

Food polysaccharides

Plant proteins for food

Koehle Michael Systems physiology; Other clinical medicine; Musculoskeletal biology and physiology; Exercise Physiology; air pollution; Sport and Exercise Medicine; Environmental Physiology; Altitude 2025, 2026

Interaction between exercise and air pollution.

Klonsky Elisha Clinical psychology; Suicide (theory, motivations, transition from suicidal thoughts to attempts); emotion; personality. 2022

The lab's primary focus is suicide (including theory, motivations, warning signs, improved measurement of key risk and protective factors). Secondary lab interesets include classification and assessment of emotion and personality.

Klein Geltink Ramon Pathology (except oral pathology); Metabolism; Immunotherapy; Cell Signaling and Infectious and Immune Diseases; Auto-Immune Diseases; Cell Therapy of Cancer; Adoptive cellular therapy; Immunometabolism; T cell function Any time / year round

My research program at UBC/BCCHRI aims to better understand how the immune system can be used to treat childhood diseases. In children with cancer, the immune system is no longer able to rid the body of cancerous cells. In children with autoimmune diseases the immune system gets rid of healthy cells of the body. We are particularly interested in the metabolism of immune cells. 

Cellular... Read More

Klein Peter Media Types (Radio, Television, Written Press, etc.); Video and New Media; Global Health and Emerging Diseases; Large International Projects; Media and Democratization; Global Journalism; Innovation in Journalism; Documentary Production; Investigative Reporting Any time / year round

Investigative reporting on global supply chains

Kim Kwang Ho Other engineering and technologies; Forest Bioproduction and the BioeconomyTechnology and Innovation; Biomass conversion engineering Any time / year round, 2025

Biomass conversion; Lignin chemistry; Green solvents

Keenan Harper Curriculum, pedagogy and didactics; Gender, sexuality and education; Inter-disciplinary, trans-disciplinary learning and education; Colonialism; early childhood and elementary education; Educational Context; Gender; race; sexuality; teacher education; childhood; Transgender Studies; LGBT Studies; queer studies 2023

I am currently working on projects in multiple areas:

- Gender self-determination in early childhood and elementary education

- Trans pedagogy as practiced by trans educators outside formal schooling environments

- The experiences of transgender workers in PK-12 schools

I am most interested in working with students whose scholarship would contribute to or expand... Read More

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