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

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
Kassam Rosemin Medical, health and life sciences; Child Health, Malnutrition, Adult Chronic Disease, Geriatrics Any time / year round

Global Health - Improving child malnutrition in low-resource countries

Karsan Aly Hematological tumours; Cancer molecular targets; Leukemia; Hematopoiesis; Genomics and epigenomics; Noncoding RNAs; Aging Any time / year round

The major research focus of my lab revolves around acute myeloid leukemia, and preleukemias referred to as myelodysplastic syndromes. Within this context we are interested in various posttranscriptional mechanisms that drive these cancers, how aging increases the risk of developing leukemias, and how to potentially target genomic and epigenomic vulnerabilities.

Kamat Vinay Ramnath Anthropology; Global Health and Emerging Diseases; Dispossession; East Africa; ethnography; Extractive Industry; Global Health; India; Malaria; marine conservation; Medical Anthropology; Outsourcing of Clinical Trials; political ecology; Tanzania

Politics of marine conservation and natural gas extraction in East Africa; Behavioral Aspects of Tuberculosis and Dengue in India.

Kalia Sunil Skin Cancer; Optics and Photonics; Skin Disorders; Epidemiology; optics; photobiology; dermatoepidemiology; Cancer Any time / year round

Dermatoepidemiology; Examining the epidemiology of skin cancer in the general population and identifying high risk population groups Skin cancer prevention; Using national surveys conducted by Statistics Canada, I have examined skin cancer prevention behaviours practiced by Canadians; Spectoscopy; Using imaging to differentiate skin cancer from benign lesions. Photobiology to study properties... Read More

Jones Steven J Bioinformatics, genome science, mutations, cancer progression Any time / year round

Bioinformatics Cancer Genomics

Jin Xiaoliang Mechanical engineering; Manufacturing Processes; Solid Mechanics; Machining Mechanics and Dynamics; Manufacturing Processes for Advanced Materials; Material Characterization; Surface Integrity; Vibration Assisted Machining

Surface integrity in vibration assisted machining process.
Surface texturing process.
Chip formation stability in high-speed machining process.

Jenstad Lorienne Other health sciences; hearing aids; Aging; audiology; hearing health; amplification Any time / year round

New ways of assessing hearing aid outcomes; encouraging older adults to seek and use hearing health care services; acoustic and behavioural assessment of hearing aid processing.

Communication between audiologists and patients.

Jenson Jennifer Other languages and literature; Digital Cultures and Education; Digital Games; Game-based Learning; Gender; Online Learning; technology; Technology Implementation and integration Any time / year round

Anything related to digital culutres and education. 

Jelovica Jasmin Civil engineering; Mechanical engineering; Finite element analysis; Machine Learning; Metals and Alloys; Production and Process Optimization; Sandwich structures; Solid Mechanics; Stress Analysis; Structural optimization; Ultimate, fatigue and impact strength; Welding and joining of metals Any time / year round

1) New finite element analysis techniques for advanced structures;

2) Development of optimization algorithms for structural optimization; 

3) Machine/deep learning methodology for reduced order modeling of mechanical systems.

Jean Francois Medical virology; Protein trafficking in cell biology; Proteomics; Enzymes (including kinetics and mechanisms, and biocatalyst); Organelle function; Virology; Systems biology; Cellular virology; Emerging human viruses; COVID-19; Host-virus interactions; Broad-based antiviral agents; Antiviral agents; Natural products as antiviral agents; Lipid-modulating drugs; Cellular protease inhibitors; Viral protease inhibitors; Human coronaviruses; SARS-CoV-2; Human flaviviruses; Dengue virus; Zika virus; West Nile virus; Influenza A virus; Human microRNAs; Therapeutic microRNA; Viral and cellular biomarkers; Molecular diagnostics for detecting viral infection; Circulating exosomes; Exosomal microRNAs; Proteomics-based technologies; Multiplexed and Mass Spectrometric quantitation assays Any time / year round
  1. Antiviral strategies and antiviral therapeutics

  2. Comparative phenotypic profiling and genomic analysis of circulating SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern

  3. Discovering broad-spectrum therapeutics  for human viral diseases

  4. Discovering novel broad-spectrum antiviral agents from natural product libraries

  5. Unraveling the... Read More

Jan Eric Biochemistry; Virus; Nucleic Acids; Proteomics; Antiviral innate immunity; Zika; coxsackievirus; enterovirus; Innate immunity; molecular biology; picornavirus; protease; Protein synthesis; RNA; RNA structure function; RNA virus; ribosome; SARS; tRNA; translation; Virology; virus host interactions; mRNA therapeutics Any time / year round, 2025

Projects include

  • elucidating virus host interactions such as antiviral innate immunity and viral proteins that modulate cellular processes
  • identifying host protein substrates by viral proteinases
  • non-canonical protein synthesis mechanisms used by viruses and cellular mRNAs
  • mRNA therapeutics

Approaches include biochemical, molecular and cell... Read More

Iurascu Ilinca Comparative literatures; Theories of cultural studies; Media, visual and digital culture; German literature; Comparative Literature; Cultural Studies; media theory; Media history; critical theory; film studies Any time / year round

German studies; comparative literature; cultural studies; media theory; media history; critical theory; film studies 

Irwin Darren Zoology; evolutionary genetics; genomic differentiation; hybridization; ornithology; seasonal migration; speciation Any time / year round

Please see: https://www.zoology.ubc.ca/~irwin/irwinlab/

 

Hurd Laura Sociological methodology and research methods; Sociology and social studies of health, health systems and health care; Aging; Gender; health; ageism or age-based discrimination; sociology of aging; sociology of health; embodiment or embodied experience; body image; chronic conditions or chronic illness; disability; Assistive technology; qualitative methods; media representation; LGBTQ+ aging; intersectionality; information and communication technology 2025

I supervise students with backgrounds in sociology or socio-cultural studies. Students under my supervision typically conduct research in the areas of aging, gender, health, illness, body image, embodiment, disability, physical activity, sexuality, and assistive or information technologies.

Huot Suzanne Occupational therapy; Human geography; asylum seekers; bilingualism; community-engaged research; critical theory; francophone minority communities; francophones; french; Gender; immigration; intersectionality; Migration Studies; Migrations, Populations, Cultural Exchanges; occupational science; Qualitative research; refugees; social inclusion; social integration; Platform economy 2024

global migration, occupational science, francophone minority communities

Hung Lillian Geriatric nursing; Medical and biomedical engineering; Impact of technology and environment on the care experiences of persons with dementia; dementia education; quality improvement; Participatory action research 2021

Robotics and digital health for dementia care

Hudson Zachary Synthesis of materials; Functional materials in materials chemistry sciences; Organic chemical synthesis; Optical properties of materials; Luminescent materials; Organic electronics; Polymer chemistry; Organic chemistry; Organic light-emitting diodes 2021, 2022

1) Luminescent materials design for applications in organic electronics.

2) Fluorescent polymer nanoparticles for biological sensing with high sensitivity.

3) Ultrastable fluorophores for catalysis, electroluminescence, and two-photon fluorescence.

 

Huddart Emily Sociology; Environment and Society; Social and Cultural Factors of Environmental Protection; Gender; social class; Sustainable consumption 2025, 2027
  • Cultural impacts and barriers of decarbonization
  • Sociological study of emotions and polarization over climate change
  • Understanding how engagement in environmentalism is related to social class, political ideology, and gender
Huberman Isabella Indigenous literatures; Environment, space and place; Quebec literatures; Indigenous Literature; Cinema of Quebec; Francophone Indigenous narrative arts; Environmental Humanities; Archives and cinema studies; Quebec-Indigenous studies; Decolonial and anticolonial theory; Research creation 2023, 2024

Indigenous literatures of Quebec

Quebec Studies

Cinema studies of Canada

Environmental humanities of Quebec and Canada

Franco-Canadian Cultural Studies

Huan Tao Bioinformatics, n.e.c.; Analytical spectrometry; Metabolomics; Separation science; Cancer progression and metastasis; Human nutrition and metabolism; Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Machine Learning; Bioinformatics Any time / year round

Our research interests include:

  • Integration of metabolomics with other ‘omics’ (epigenomics, genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics) data for the systems-level interrogation of biological problems
  • Application of state-of-art metabolomics technologies in various biological challenges, such as mechanistic understanding of cancer metabolism and disease biomarker discovery... Read More
Holsti Liisa Medical, health and life sciences; premature infants; neurodevelopment; stress; pain; measurement; technology transfer; sucrose; rehabilitation; pediatrics Any time / year round

neonatology, pediatrics, occupational therapy, measurement, rehabilitation

Hohl Corinne Emergency Medicine; Epidemiology; Pharmacoepidemiology; Health Information Systems; Health Care Organization; Decision Making; Patient Safety; Medication Safety; Adverse Drug Events; Drug safety and effectiveness; Health Information Technology; Clinical Decision Making; Health services research; Adverse Event Reporting

My research group is working with Ministry to develop, implement and evaluate a new provincial medication safety information technology we have developed. This work will provide multiple opportunities for graduate students to be involved in. With the implementation of this technology more robust data will become available on adverse drug events experienced by patients. Future projects include... Read More

Hodgson Antony Image guided surgery systems; computer assisted orthopaedic surgery; Medical Imaging; surgical navigation; orthopaedics; biomechanics; surgical robots; Image Processing; Machine Learning Any time / year round

Computer-assisted orthopaedic surgery

Ultrasound image acquisition and processing

Surgical navigation systems

Hodges Nicola Sport and exercise psychology; Behavioural neuroscience of learning and memory; action anticipation and observation; coaching and motor skill expertise; skill acquisition; Motor learning; observational learning and instruction; sports skill development Any time / year round

Sport development pathways, women's and men's soccer, action observation and prediction, observational learning of perceptual motor skills, optimizing practice conditions through practice manipulations and instructions, motor skill expertise and associated processes

Hirsh Elizabeth Sociology; Law; Structures and Organization; Inequality, Gender and Race Discrimination, Work Organizations, Law Any time / year round
  • Analzying the impact of diversity policies on gender and race workplace diversity
  • Case studies of employment discrimination and human rights complaints
Hermiston Nancy Jane Performing arts, n.e.c.; Other medical sciences; opera, voice, theatre, interdisciplinary work with a diversity of fields and opera; Opera training and its effect on sculpting the brain - Wall Opera Project, Hermiston/L/Boyd/J Werker Any time / year round, 2023

Wall Opera Project - Does Opera Training sculpt the brain. Does the study of opera performance change the brain function for students with learning disabilities ? Does it have positive effects for all students studying opera. If there are positive effects to be found how could this help people who have other brain disfunctions or have succombed to diseases or stokes affecting the brain?

Hearty Christopher Particle physics, experimental; Experimental Particle Physics; e+e- collider; Physics beyond the Standard Model; Dark sector; dark matter 2024, 2025

See https://phas.ubc.ca/~hearty/ 

Hayden Michael Genetic medicine; Health counselling; Neurosciences, biological and chemical aspects; Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Diabetes; Disease progression; Drug development; Gene Therapy; Genetic Diseases; Huntington disease; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neurodegenerative disorders Any time / year round

Hayden Lab Research Projects

Huntington Disease (HD) is a devastating incurable neurodegenerative disease that affects about 5,000 Canadians. Inheriting a single mutant copy of the Huntingtin (HTT) gene from either parent is sufficient to cause HD. The mutated HTT gene codes for production of the toxic, mutant huntingtin protein (mHTT) that is responsible for killing... Read More

Harris Leila Critical identity, ethnic and race studies; Gender, sexuality and education; Human rights, justice, and ethical issues; Africa; Development Policies; Drinking Water; Environmental justice; equity and social justice; Ethics and Fundamental Issues of Law and Justice; Fresh Water; Gender Relationship; gender and social difference; Ghana; International development; participatory resource management; Resources Management; Social Contract and Social Justice; Social and Cultural Factors of Environmental Protection; South Africa; Turkey and Middle East; Water; water governance; water politics

Please see www.edges.ubc.ca and www.watergoveranance.ca for ongoing research efforts. There are currently funded research opportunities with the decolonizingwater.ca project on Indigenous water governance issues (in Canada and elsewhere) and there may be upcoming support for analysis of non material dimensions... Read More

Hansson Gunnar Linguistic structures (including grammar, phonology, lexicon and semantics); Cognitive sciences; theoretical phonology; morphology-phonology interface; phonological typology; historical linguistics (language change); locality relations; Icelandic Any time / year round
  • theoretical phonology
  • phonological typology
  • segmental phonology (esp. harmony/dissimilation processes, locality)
  • morphology-phonology interface (e.g. allomorphy, paradigm gaps, construction-specific phonology)
  • diachronic phonology and "morpho-phonology (e.g. sound change, phonologization, lexicalization/morphologization, "analogical change")
  • ... Read More
Hamlin Kiley Psychology and cognitive sciences; Cognitive development; Moral Judgement and Duty or Obligation Morals; Infant / Child Development; Foundations of Religious, Mystical, Mythical and Moral Thoughts; Infant moral cognition; infant social cognition Any time / year round

Our work focuses on the early development of moral cognition and action in infancy.

Hallensleben Markus Transcultural Studies; Artistic and Literary Theories; Literary or Artistic Works Analysis; Migrations, Populations, Cultural Exchanges; German Language Cultures and Literatures; Transnational Literatures; Visual Arts and Literature; European Studies; Literature and Sciences; Literature and Migration; Narratives of Belonging Any time / year round

Literature and migration; literature and Visual Arts; critical European Studies; gender, race, ethnicity; diversity and super-diversity; sociographic approaches to literatures; postmigrant condition; narratives of belonging; avant-garde arts, literature and theories; art and bioart performances; biopolitics; images of the body;

Hallas Alannah Condensed matter experiments; Solid state chemistry; Quantum materials; Materials design and discovery; magnetism; Disorder; superconductivity Any time / year round

Materials innovations have sparked most of the major technological advances across the millennia – from the stone, bronze, and iron ages through to the current silicon age. Science now stands on the precipice of a new era: the age of quantum materials – materials with extraordinary electronic and magnetic properties that rely on quantum mechanical effects. In the Hallas group, we use state-of-... Read More

Hallam Steven Microbiome; Microbial ecology; metagenomics; Biological engineering; Synthetic biology; Bioinformatics; Machine Learning; Entrepreneurship Any time / year round

We have ongoing opportunities for highly motivating individuals to work at the interface of microbial ecology, biological engineeing and bioinformatics across a range of basic and applied science projects. 

Haji Faizal Health care safety and quality improvement; Surgical Education; Global Surgery; Simulation in Healthcare; Health Professions Education; Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Any time / year round

Global Surgery (multiple topics)

Health Professions Education (multiple topics)

Surgical Education (multiple topics)

Healthcare Simulation (multiple topics)

 

Hach Faraz Cancer; Algorithms and computational genomics; Computational Genomics; biomolecular sequence analysis Any time / year round
  • sequence analysis
  • algorithm design
Haase Kristen Nursing, n.e.c.; oncology; Older Adults; Geriatric oncology; Health systems research; Mixed Methods Research; Qualitative research; Self-management; E-health Any time / year round, 2021, 2022

Currently my research focuses on supporting older adults and their caregivers as then engage in managing cancer treatment and survivorship. I am looking to develop patient-oriented research partnerships in BC.

Haas Kurt Medical and biomedical engineering; Neurosciences, biological and chemical aspects; Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Autism; Brain Circuit Development; Dendritogenesis; Epilepsy; Genetics of Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases; Neurodevelopmental disorders; Neurological diseases; Neuronal Communication and Neurotransmission; Neuronal Computation; Neuronal Modeling; Neuronal Systems; Neuronal and Synaptic Activity; Plasticity / Neuronal Regeneration; Synaptic Plasticity Any time / year round

Understanding neuronal integration of information. Development of neuronal encoding properties. Developmental epiletogenesis. Metaplasticity. Genetic and molecular mechanisms of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Gustafson Stephen James Mathematics and statistics; Mathematical Analysis; Differential Equation; Global and Non-Linear Analysis; Mathematical physics; Nonlinear partial differential equations; Nonlinear waves; Topological solitons Any time / year round

Mathematical analysis of fundamental properties (e.g. stability and dynamical behaviour) of topological solitons in physical systems such as ferromagnets.

Gunderson Lee Paul Languages and literature; reading-research; immigrant-achievement; home literacy environment Any time / year round

ESL(ELL) Literacy Assessment

Groat Lee Mineralogy and crystallography (except soil mineralogy and chemicals aspects of crystallography); Inorganic geochemistry; Economic geology; mineralogy; crystal chemistry; Geochemistry; economic geology; gem deposits; pegmatites 2021

Gem deposits and pegmatites in northern Canada.

Granville David Autoimmunity; Medical molecular engineering of nucleic acids and proteins; Proteases; Granzymes; Extracellular matrix; Chronic inflammation; Aging; Disease models; Autoimmune disease; Skin; Vascular biology Any time / year round, 2025

I am looking for post-doctoral fellows. Trainees will be actively involved in the translational research effort pertaining to understanding the physiological and/or pathophysiological role(s) of the serine protease family, granzymes, in the context of skin or vascular inflammation regeneration, in aging, autoimmune and/or chronic disease. Granzymes are a family of 5 serine proteases in humans... Read More

Graham Sean Plant phylogenetics; Plant systematics; Plant evolution; Organelles; Phylogenomics; Land plants; Mycoheterotrophs Any time / year round

Plant phylogenetics and molecular evolution

Gordon Michael Neurosciences, biological and chemical aspects; Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Zoology; Chemosensation; Drosophila; Feeding; Gustation; Neural circuits; Neuronal Systems; neuroscience; Sensory systems; Taste Any time / year round

Most projects centre on the neural circuits underlying taste processing and feeding in the fly brain. Potential projects include looking at circuit mechanisms underlying taste integration, hunger, feeding, taste memories, chemosensory integration, and taste circuit development.

Goldbach Toby Susan Law and legal practice; Political Culture, Society and Ideology; Procedural Law; Jurisprudence; Comparative Law; Dispute Resolution; Judicial Politics; law and development Any time / year round

Fairness hearings in class action settlements in the US; judges' international travel for judicial education; development of court-connected ADR in Ghana

Goerges Matthias Electronic health (e-Health); Health information systems (including surveillance); Expert systems technologies in artificial intelligence; Anesthesiology; Medical devices; Human-computer systems and interface; Bio-signal processing and analysis; Digital health; predictive analytics; decision support systems; Critical Care Medicine; Biomedical Technologies; Health Care Technologies; Human Computer Interaction and Design; Medical informatics; Software Development; patient-oriented research; Data sharing / open data 2025, 2026

The introduction of information technology in medicine has enabled a transformational change in recent decades. The coronavirus pandemic further accelerated the introduction of virtual care and digital health solutions. Thus, most of my work focuses on designing, implementing, and evaluating ways that leverage technology to improve patient-relevant outcomes.

Clinical... Read More

Glassheim Eagle European history (except British, classical Greek and Roman); History of Central and Eastern Europe; Environmental History Any time / year round

Environmental history; histories of health of communities and landscapes; mining history; histories of communism in Central/Eastern Europe

Gibson William Genetic medicine; Genetic Diseases; Chromosomes: Structure / Organization; Epigenetics Any time / year round

Genetics of Rare Obesity and Overgrowth Disorders; Epigenetics of Body Weight and Body Composition; Genetics of Familial Intracranial Aneurysms.     Please note that recruitment is extremely competitive. Applicants with external scholarship/fellowship funding are strongly preferred, as are applicants who already have an MD or MBBS degree, or who are applying to UBC's MD-PhD program.... Read More

Giang Amanda Atmospheric sciences; Mechanical engineering; Natural environment sciences; Atmospheric Pollutants; Chemical Pollutants; Climate Changes and Impacts; Public Policies; Social and Cultural Factors of Environmental Protection

modelling the impact of technology and policy on the long range transport of global pollutants; developing tools and processes to support community-based environmental monitoring; understanding the role of scientific assessment in environmental governance, from global to local scales

Giammarino Ronald Financial management; corporate theory; bank regulation; real options Any time / year round

Municipal corporate finance

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